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It is the year 2075 and Mankind has realised the dream of colonising space.
There is steady traffic between the Earth and the Moon. Cliff Leyland is
a hydroponics engineer stationed on the Moon. He is looking forward to
vacation with his family on Earth. Unfortunately Cliff hasn't had the easiest
life, and is currently experiencing financial hardship. He decides to catch
the freight capsule instead of the shuttle to save money.
The freight capsule does not have rocket power of it's own. It is launched into orbit along an electromagnetic linear accelerator. The launch appears routine until there is a partial failure in the accelerator. Launch control quickly realises that Cliff has not gained enough acceleration to achieve a stable orbit. His capsule is doomed to circle the moon once in a degrading orbit, only to crash into the surface close to where he started. Launch control scrambles to find a way to rescue Cliff. They only have 6 hours. Van Kessel, chief of Maintenance Space Vehicles Division, is called in to help. Van Kessel is a no nonsense, tough as kevlar space engineer. He is used to working under pressure and when lives are at stake. Can Van Kessel figure out a way to save Cliff's life before it's too late? In the tradition of Apollo 13, Maelstrom II is about courage and resourcefulness in the unforgiving environment of space. |
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Maelstrom II Screenplay Copyright © by Jeroen Lapre' 2003. Maelstrom II first published in Playboy 1963. Collected in The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. Copyright © by Arthur C. Clarke 1963, 2000 A Distant Galaxy Production PO Box 817 Forest Knolls CA 94933 USA Business license number: 023379. Registered in the county of Marin. |