Topsy-Turvy · Chapter
What Was Found in the Notebook of J. T. Maston and What It No Longer Contained explained
The Inquiry Committee analyzes J.
What happens
The Inquiry Committee analyzes J. T. Maston's seized notebook, revealing the N.P.P.A.'s plan to fire a massive cannon to shift Earth's axis by 23 degrees 28 minutes using a powerful explosive called melimelonite. The critical page containing the location 'x' has been torn out and eaten, and Maston refuses to speak from prison. The world is left in suspense as Barbicane and Nicholl have disappeared, and the operation is set for September 22nd.
Themes in this chapter
Scientific Hubris
The N.P.P.A.'s plan to deliberately shift Earth's axis demonstrates extreme overconfidence in human technology to reshape the planet.
Secrecy and Public Anxiety
The torn-out page and Maston's silence fuel global fear and uncertainty about the impending catastrophe.
Progress and Its Consequences
The potential for a single technological act to cause worldwide geographic and climatic upheaval highlights the double-edged nature of progress.
Characters to notice
- J. T. Maston
His notebook is seized and analyzed; he is imprisoned in Baltimore City Prison and refuses to reveal the location 'x'.
- President Barbicane
Referred to as the head of Barbicane & Co.; he has left Baltimore and is at the unknown location where the cannon is being built.
- Capt. Nicholl
Credited with discovering the explosive melimelonite; he has also left Baltimore with Barbicane.
- Alcide Pierdeux
His earlier prediction about the recoil effect is confirmed by the notebook's calculations.
Key passages
“The notebook, which was taken possession of by the police, had thirty pages covered with formulae and figures, including all the calculations of J. T. Maston.”
Police seized Maston's notebook, which contained thirty pages of his mathematical work.
Describes the physical state of the notebook and its contents.
“But this last page had been torn out and eaten up by the accomplice of Impey Barbicane, and Maston sat imprisoned in the Baltimore City Prison and absolutely refused to speak.”
The final page, which held the secret location, was torn out and destroyed by Barbicane's accomplice, and Maston remains silent in jail.
Explains why the crucial location remains unknown.
“If the President succeeded in making this monster cannon and its projectile—in a word, if the operation was carried out under the above stated conditions—it would modify the earth’s axis, and within six months the earth would be subject to the consequences of this audacious attempt of Barbicane & Co.”
If Barbicane completes the cannon and fires it as planned, Earth's axis will shift, causing global upheaval within six months.
Summarizes the dire stakes of the N.P.P.A.'s project.