The Astronef, a vessel designed by Professor Rennick and built by Lord Redgrave, embarked on an extraordinary journey through the Solar System, beginning on November 5, 1900[1]. The voyage commenced with an unexpected encounter with the American liner St. Louis in the Atlantic[1]. Lord Redgrave, the Earl of Redgrave, revealed the Astronef to Captain Hawkins and Miss Lilla Zaidie Rennick, informing them of an impending war between Great Britain, France, and Russia[1]. He delivered a treaty of alliance between Great Britain and the United States, and controversially, abducted Miss Rennick to prevent her arranged marriage and include her on the space trip[1]. Following this, the Astronef ascended two thousand feet into the air and disappeared into the upper mists[1].
The Astronef made a significant stop in Washington, landing in front of the White House on the eve of the Presidential election[1]. It projected a message via searchlight, "Vote for sound men and sound money!" which quickly spread across the United States, influencing the election and demonstrating the vessel's power[1]. This display also served to deter a potential war by showcasing the Astronef's capabilities[1]. During this period, Lord Redgrave and Zaidie were married within the Astronef, poised five hundred feet above the Capitol[1].
The journey to the Moon spanned nearly two hundred and fifty thousand miles, completed in less than twelve hours[1]. Upon arrival, the Astronef rested on the crater wall of Tycho[1]. They explored a "City of the Dead" within a crater, observing immense, flat-roofed stone houses and a large pyramid[1]. This city was littered with the bones of giants, suggesting a race that had perished due to a diminishing atmosphere[1]. They also ventured into the Newton crater, a dark, marshy abyss where they encountered blind, double-limbed creatures preying on eel-like fish, and larger octopus-like beings that consumed the smaller ones[1]. Subsequently, they explored the Moon's unknown hemisphere, which was found to be a replica of the visible side, containing ruins of cities along ancient sea beds[1].
The Astronef then journeyed over a hundred million miles to Mars, a trip that took eleven days[1]. They first landed on Deimos, the outer moon, which was airless and lifeless[1]. Next, they visited Phobos, the inner moon, which provided a clear view of Mars[1]. Mars itself possessed a pale, rosy atmosphere[1]. They observed cities, canals, and ice-caps[1]. The Martians, described as "over-civilised savages," attacked the Astronef with winged air-ships that fired poison gas[1]. Redgrave retaliated by ramming and destroying their vessels[1]. They encountered a Martian leader, a large, bald, emotionless being who spoke English phonetically and regarded Zaidie as property[1]. Zaidie shot him in self-defense[1].
The Astronef continued its journey, traveling 150 million miles to Venus[1]. Venus was characterized by a dense, pearl-grey atmosphere and towering, snow-capped mountains[1]. They landed on a snow-dome, where they found the air to be cool, fresh, and sweet[1]. Here, they encountered winged, human-like inhabitants, referred to as "Bird-Folk" or "angels," who communicated through song[1]. These beings were gentle, innocent, and appeared to be free from earthly vices[1]. Zaidie sang "The Swanee River" and "Home Sweet Home," which the Bird-Folk understood musically[1]. The Venusian guests could not endure direct sunlight[1]. Ultimately, Lord and Lady Redgrave decided to depart from Venus to avoid introducing "original sin" into its pure world[1].
The Astronef proceeded to Jupiter, covering 500 million miles from Earth[1]. Jupiter appeared as a colossal three-quarter moon, with its satellites Europa, Ganymede, and Calisto distinctly visible[1]. They landed on Calisto, which was a dead, icy world with thin, cold air[1]. Next, they visited Ganymede, which had an atmosphere and was covered with what appeared to be "glorified hot-houses" or glass cities, indicating an advanced civilization living indoors due to the planet's decline[1]. The inhabitants of Ganymede were highly intelligent but emotionless, living in a society based on the "survival of the fittest"[1]. They attempted to descend into Jupiter's atmosphere, described as a mass of "blazing, boiling rock and metal"[1]. They narrowly avoided falling into the molten surface when the combined gravitational pull of Jupiter's satellites aligned, saving the Astronef[1].
The journey continued to Saturn, a distance of over 340 million miles[1]. Saturn appeared as a "celestial spinning-top" adorned with multi-colored rings[1]. They traversed the rings, which were found to be composed of countless tiny meteorites[1]. On Saturn's surface, they encountered a dense, greenish-yellow atmosphere and gigantic, double-headed, jellyfish-like creatures that engaged in predation[1]. These creatures attacked the Astronef, becoming entangled in its propellers, but they burst at higher altitudes due to pressure changes[1]. They also observed a "Reptilian Age" zone teeming with giant reptiles and other large animals, and higher elevations inhabited by "gorilla-like" tree-dwellers, believed to be ancestors of a future Saturnian race[1].
After exploring Saturn, the Astronef began its homeward voyage, a journey of over a thousand million miles[1]. They encountered a "dead sun," an invisible, massive body that pulled the Astronef off course[1]. Redgrave had to exert the Astronef's full power to counteract this force, nearly depleting their R. Force fluid[1]. During this critical moment, they witnessed the birth of a new sun, named Lilla-Zaidie, formed from the collision of two dead stars[1]. To conserve power, they landed on Ceres, a large asteroid with a breathable atmosphere and dense fluid[1]. They strategically navigated between the orbits of Mercury and Venus to leverage their gravitational pull[1]. Facing the imminent danger of falling into the Sun due to dwindling R. Force, Redgrave prepared morphine for a painless end[1]. However, at the last possible moment, Earth's attraction pulled them back into its orbit, saving them[1].
The Astronef successfully re-entered Earth's atmosphere, clearing the Bolivian Andes and making a quiet landing in the Pacific Ocean, twenty miles west of Mollendo, Peru[1]. Their return was first spotted by an assistant astronomer from Harvard University Observatory at Arequipa, and they were later met by a British cruiser[1]. After replenishing the R. Fluid, the Astronef flew back to Washington, landing in front of the Capitol steps, four months after its initial departure[1].
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