Jack Swan Adventures-The first Set of Disasters

By James Spencer

Jack Swan Adventures is about a time travel experiment that goes hilariously wrong. An energy vortex gives two Salisbury swans the ability to speak and act as humans. The main character, Jack Swan, unfortunately, and unintentionally, destroys Britain's best tourist attraction, a country house and a small Wiltshire village. He helps solve an age-old mystery and may have found the true discoverer of America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Spencer
• Release date: Aug 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301308095

James Spencer

BiographyJames C.Spencer.Born: Cardiff, Wales, 1944. Happily married 34 years. Travel writer, adventurer and videographer. Today, James and his wife Lydia, live in semi-retirement in Volcan, Panama, he still writes for several Panamanian news and current affairs publications.“Jack Swan Adventures” came from bedtime stories composed some 40 years ago for daughter Xanthe, who still lives in Salisbury, England; locale for “Jack.”Many of the stories use historic events. In book two: "Jack Swan Adventures - The Time Travel Disasters," the author uses his discovery of one of Mark Twain’s lost steamers on the Rio San Juan river, in Nicaragua. Also, in Panama the author researched how Albert Einstein may have helped in the rescue of Jewish families fleeing the Holocaust.Currently, James is writing and researching the biography of Britain’s premiere parachutist; Elsa Spencer. David's childhood friend first parachuted from a balloon in 1901. Elsa was the inspiration for David and his brother to serve as paratroopers in the British Army.James 14- year biographical odyssey of life in Central America; “The Accidental Adventure,” with true-life stories of mass murder, serial killers and political corruption will be ready in the spring of 2014.

Book preview

Chapter One-

When nature goes weird – wonderful things can happen

Science is wonderful. It has enabled us to land a man on the Moon and a large size vehicle on the surface of Mars. We can chat and see friends on the opposite side of the world. In seconds, we can access copious amounts of information from the Internet.

Many good men of science have tried to unravel the last remaining secrets of the universe in the hope that they can make life better for all. Professor Dylan Jones of Cardiff, Wales, is such a man. His experiments with time travel have been incredible - however, he did have a few little- how shall we put it- accidents along the way. While conducting one of his time travel experiments, he unexpectedly sent himself off into somewhere or other and didn’t come back for a while. His laboratory was in an old Roundhouse on Harnham water meadows in the English country town of Salisbury. As he accidentally whisked himself off into the netherworld of time, a strange energy vortex was swirling around inside his Roundhouse laboratory. On that same cold and windy night, two swans thought the warm glow was inviting (there were no humans around), so they waddled inside the Roundhouse. Neither they, nor the world, would ever be the same. As the energy vortex swirled around them, something weird and wonderful happened.

Now, all of us, I am sure, have heard birds talk. Nevertheless, unlike parrots that simply mimic human speech, our two adventurous swans suddenly developed the ability to speak. Their English was almost perfect even though their punctuation and grammar did leave a great deal of room for improvement. The energy vortex also implanted in their brains instant knowledge and memory that would make a university professor turn green.

Mr. Henry Moggs, a local Salisbury historian, and his adopted daughter Emma Jones, made the strange discovery the following morning. Emma’s father was the gallivanting time traveler, Professor Dylan Jones. It was Henry Moggs and Emma who named the two swans Jack and Eliza. It was a mystery of gargantuan proportions. It seems Professor Jones had indeed managed time travel although it appeared he made a pig’s ear of his first trip. Now, two of Salisbury’s whooper swans were candidates for the Guinness Book of Records and nobody felt more confused than our two feathered friends.

Obvious to many close observers that Jack and Eliza were – how can we put it nicely – different. Jack somehow and somewhere bought a World War II leather flying helmet and goggles. This somewhat strange attire became as much a part of his persona as his big beady blue eyes. Eliza, somehow, somewhere had learned how to bake. Her cooking was exceptional by any standards. There was that embarrassing time when someone added an ingredient to one of her famous brownie cakes – but we would rather not even mention that.

Mr. Moggs, it's not that I am complaining, said Jack, but how come we can speak English and yet none of the other swans can?

Mr. Moggs was a kind old gentleman with bushy white hair and small round eyeglasses. The story begins with Emma Jones’ father, said Mr. Moggs. Dylan Jones was a scientist who was working on a project that he claimed would change the world.

Dylan was a good friend of mine, Mr. Moggs continued, but I never could understand what his experiments were all about. I do know he had discovered some secrets from the great Scientist Nikolai Tesla. As her father had mysteriously disappeared some years before, Emma Jones wanted to hear details.

Professor Jones had discovered a way to produce unlimited amounts of energy direct from coils buried deep in the ground. Mr. Moggs went on to explain that Professor Jones believed this free

energy would help the entire world. In poor countries, all the people, such as those in Africa could have electric lights, refrigeration and clean drinking water.

Emma smiled and said, Wow, my dad was a great inventor; it’s a pity he screwed it up so badly! Yes Emma, said Mr. Moggs, "he wanted to make the whole world a better, safer place. Most

importantly, Emma, he wanted to give his invention away free to anyone that needed it. What happened to him," asked Jack impatiently.

Well Jack, that's where you and Eliza come into the story, said Mr. Moggs. Just before he disappeared, Professor Jones said he had made an incredible breakthrough. It involved 'quantum entanglement.’

Quantum what? Asked Emma, puzzled.

Don't ask me Emma said Mr. Moggs, I don't understand it all; I think you had better look it up on the Internet. But your father believed that it might make – wait for this – time travel possible. Here in the Roundhouse he had everything set up and working. He owned a beautiful vintage 1932 Lagonda convertible car and he installed the computer in the backseat and then . . . he suddenly disappeared.

Eliza looked confused. Does this have a connection with our ability to speak?

Possibly, Eliza, said Mr. Moggs. You see, after Professor Jones disappeared, the front door to The Roundhouse was wide open and who do you think wandered in here one windy night and started building a nest?

Jack's big beady eyes bulged. Yes, I remember. We were just settling down for the night when the professor's stuff started to shake and everything went so bright I had to shut my eyes tight.

Then everything went quiet and suddenly the professor's stuff just, well, it just vanished.

Yes, I remember, said Eliza. That's the first time I turned to Jack and spoke. I said 'what on earth was all that?'

Emma was bursting with expectation, What did Jack say?

He didn't say anything, asked Eliza, he just stared at me with those big blue eyes of his as if I were some space alien that had suddenly landed in his living room.

Did he say anything? asked Emma.

Well, after a few seconds he opened his beak and said, 'You are speaking, you are talking just like the humans in the park.' Eliza smiled and then continued: Well, I just looked at him and said, hey! Brain of Britain, what do you think you are doing right now?

Both Emma and Jack laughed heartily. Then Eliza continued: Next day, Mr. Moggs came by and discovered us and, well, we've been living here – and talking – since then.

Mr. Moggs smiled and explained that he decided the two swans should have names and Jack and Eliza seemed both cute and dignified.

Well as you know, young Emma, that was when I adopted you and you came to live with me and Mrs. Moggs.

Emma went quiet and Mr. Moggs asked Something wrong Emma? What about my dad, Mr. Moggs, do you think I will ever see him again?"

Mr. Moggs pondered his answer for a few seconds. Emma, my love, I can't say for sure, but I feel your dad is going to come back. I think Professor Dylan Jones is out there somewhere, having the time of his life, traveling through the mists of time.

Eliza jumped up and said, Enough of this, let's talk about something more important! Who would like a cup of orange pekoe tea?

As the weeks and months passed, the story of the talking swans gradually faded from the newspapers and television. Jack and Eliza started to settle down to as normal a life as was possible – given the circumstances.

It soon became clear that although Jack had the great gift of speech, sadly he was lacking in certain other areas of life. In short, Jack was not the brightest or smartest swan in the world. Jack soon developed a taste for Chinese food, and this, with his rather lazy attitude, resulted in his gaining weight. Jack was soon unable to do what swans normally do all the time - and that was - to fly.

Mr. Moggs gave them a small television set so they could see what was happening around the world. Eliza watched the news and happenings of the planet with great wonder and awe. Jack, however, became addicted to daytime soap operas. Eliza found this annoying. She had to remind Jack that now they were no longer ordinary weed-and grass-eating swans but fully functioning members of the local society. Jack had to do household chores such as take out the dustbins and keep the area around The Roundhouse tidy.

A local animal trainer, Morton Cuthbertson – who specialized in training animals for the movies – gave Jack the idea that he could perform in front of the camera. He told Jack he would be an animal star. Not only could Jack talk with the director in English, but Jack could take direction and receive motivation for certain scenes.

Cuthbertson asked Jack to imagine a scene where Jack believes the love of his swan life – Eliza - has just left him for a Bassett hound. Jack adopted a slightly sad and melancholy look.

How about this Cuthbertson, sad enough?

Wait Jack, because I want you to imagine that it is even, even worse. Imagine as you are sadly swimming along the riverbank and a local ladies’ hairdresser dumps 5 gallons of hair dye into the water. Now you are not only heartbroken, but now you have turned purple.