Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers by Matthew McElligott

Victor and Scott. “If you’d like to have a seat, I think I can explain everything.”
    Franklin led Skip to a stool and sat him down. “I know from your son that you are a man of good character. I feel we can trust you with our secret.”
    â€œSecret?” said Skip. “What’s this all about, Mr. Benjamin?”
    Franklin sat down on a stool and pulled it close. “Perhaps that is a good place to start. You see, my name is not Mr. Benjamin. Rather, it is Mr. Franklin . . . ”

    With Victor and Scott’s help, Franklin brought Skip Weaver up to speed on the Modern Order of Prometheus, the Great Emergency, the Wright brothers, and the lightning net.
    â€œYou guys have to understand,” Skip said apologetically, “this is a lot to take in. Why exactly am I here again?”
    â€œYou’re here, Dad,” said Scott, “because we need to make lightning, and only you know how to do it.”
    Skip shook his head. “I told you, buddy—it can’t be done.”
    â€œNot exactly,” said Franklin. “You told us it could be done, but you didn’t know how. We’re hoping that maybe, with all of us working together, we can solve that second part.”
    â€œThe big problem is the heat,” said Skip. “You’d need a tremendous amount of power to generate it.”
    Franklin gestured to several large machines behind him. “As it happens, generating power is something we know how to do. And as for heat, perhaps you’ve heard of the Franklin stove?”
    â€œSure, but what does that have to do with—” He suddenly remembered who he was talking to. “Oh, right. But even if you could generate the heat, you’d need to aim it upward, almost like a cannon.”
    THE FRANKLIN STOVE

    â€œYou’re talking about focused heat projection,” said Victor. “Ben, isn’t that how the Hyperion coiling system works?” He pointed to a large spring leading into the ground at the rear of the laboratory.
    â€œIt is,” said Franklin. “When lightning strikes the antenna on the roof, excess heat is dissipated down into the earth through those coils.”
    â€œLike a radiator,” said Scott.
    â€œExactly,” said Victor. “Now, what if we could redirect that coil upward? If we had a big enough charge, it would generate an enormous amount of heat. I’ve been down here during a thunderstorm, and the temperature in the room rises a good twenty degrees every time the Hyperion coil kicks in.”
    â€œOkay,” said Skip, “but don’t you have this backward? Your coil there generates heat when lightning strikes. But you guys want to make lightning with the coil. How are you going to heat it up in the first place?”
    â€œWe could plug it in,” offered Scott. “Or use lots and lots of batteries.”
    â€œOr,” said Franklin, pointing to the large metal orb hanging from the ceiling, “we could use just one big battery.”

    Hours later, the plan was finally starting to take shape. Skip stood at the chalkboard, going over the details.
    â€œThe timing on this whole thing is going to be critical,” he said. “As soon as the Wright brothers are in view, we’ll need to fire the Hyperion coil. That should heat the air directly above us. When the air rises high enough, it will cool and form ice crystals in the cloud tops, generating electricity. We’ll have to ionize the kite net right away in order to draw the lightning down.”
    â€œWhat if there isn’t any wind?” Scott asked. “How will we get the net in the air?”
    â€œShouldn’t be a problem,” Skip explained. “All that heat should create a massive, localized front. We’ll be generating our own wind.”
    Victor couldn’t believe it. He was actually impressed with Skip Weaver.
    â€œA million things could go wrong, and it will be enormously