Eu li esse romance no início dos anos 1970, mas pode ter sido escrito já nos anos 50.
Esse O Segredo do Nono Planeta por Donald A. Wollheim , publicado pela primeira vez em 1959. Há um Project Gutenberg etext . Aqui está a sinopse da contracapa da edição da 1965 Paperback Library :
SOMEONE—OR SOMETHING—WAS STEALING THE SUN!
At first the theft was imperceptible—soon daylight seemed strangely dim. It was unseasonably cold Then the growing darkness and increasing frost posed a real threat to the survival of Earth! The world was alarmed and the hunt was on.
The solar system had to be searched. And because Burl Denning was close to the scene of the first disturbance, he was picked to go on the Magellan, the most incredible spaceship in the world. On planet after planet, Burl discovered Sun-Tap stations, strange machines that were draining the sun's energies away from Earth. The monstrous mechanisms had to be stopped before the world froze to death!
Provavelmente foi uma ciência difícil,
Por algum valor de "ciência pesada" que inclui naves espaciais anti-gravidade.
romance para jovens adultos;
Sim, publicado originalmente na série Winston Science Fiction .
o protagonista era um menino,
Burl Denning, um estudante do ensino médio.
e demonstrou o que sabíamos sobre o sistema solar na época.
O tour do sistema solar incluiu paradas em Mercúrio trancado, Vênus aquática, Marte com canais e cidades mantidas por uma civilização de insetos, Callisto, Iapetus, Oberon, Plutão e Tritão.Quando me lembro do enredo, começou com o menino (e talvez o pai dele) encontrando alguma tecnologia alienígena abandonada na Terra ou na Lua.
Burl e seu pai, em férias no Peru, vão ao local da máquina alienígena a pedido da USAF. depois de ter sido visto do espaço. Os alienígenas não o abandonaram exatamente; está desacompanhado, mas em operações nefastas, até que Burl o desliga.
Nada funciona até o menino tocar em um dispositivo, o que lhe dá um choque.
As his hands touched the metallic ball, there was a sudden terrible flash of power. He felt himself grasped by forces beyond his control, paralyzed momentarily like one who has laid hold of an electrically charged wire. He opened his mouth to scream in agony, but he could say nothing. A great force surged through his body, radiating, charging every cell and atom of his being. He felt as if he were being lifted from the floor. Then the globe seemed to dissolve in his hands. It became a glare of light, grew misty, and then vanished.
Depois disso, o garoto descobre que pode operar tudo.
After resting a moment, he decided to try the useless controls again. Going over to one small board, he idly shoved a lever. This time he felt resistance. The lever was activated. There was a slight change in the radiance of one globe.
"Dad!" Burl shouted. "It works! It works for me now!"
Mark Denning watched as Burl turned dials and levers and got responses. "You must have been charged in a special way," he said excitedly. "That's how they lock their devices. They will only respond to a person carrying that special energy charge, whatever it was. Come on, let's get to the main control, before the effect goes away—if it does."
Há um encontro com alguns bandidos que eu acho que são alienígenas do mal, que são combatidos.
Não, o primeiro encontro direto com bandidos está no sistema solar exterior.
As autoridades são trazidas - o pai do menino é algum tipo de cientista ou oficial do governo - e eles determinam que os bandidos estão tentando tornar o sol mais escuro, ou explodir o mundo, ou algo igualmente ruim.
"It is apparent that some race of beings, some species from outer space, unknown to us, has begun a process of tapping the power and light of the Sun for transmission elsewhere. The station on Earth, which you shut down, was an important one. But . . . it was not the only one. There are others, operating in this solar system." He nodded to Merckmann.
[. . .]
"Measurements of the amount of Sun power being piped away, and of the effect of the magnetic disturbances used to create and maintain these stations, have shown that they will have a definite effect on the structure of the Sun itself. We have not yet completed all our calculations, but preliminary studies indicate that if this type of solar interference is not stopped, it may cause our Sun to nova in somewhere between two and three years time."
Os mocinhos decolam em uma espaçonave com o menino e seu pai.
Não, o garoto sai na missão, mas o pai fica para trás.
O grande final acontece em Plutão, o nono planeta. Os bandidos fizeram uma última luta para deter os mocinhos. O campo de energia do garoto desapareceu e ele precisa tirar suas luvas de traje espacial para operar a máquina.
Na verdade, essa cena acontece no Triton:
In a covered panel right next to the door, Burl found the typical Sun-tap controls. He tried to work them, but they would not function through his gloves.
He hesitated, knowing that removing his glove this time might prove very risky. Then he hastily drew off his left gauntlet and the thin nylon glove that was the inner protection of his suit. He placed his hand on the control. The icy cold bit into it. He twisted, the control worked, and he tore his hand away, replacing the gloves.