A Columbus of Space by Garrett P. Serviss

A Columbus of Space Garrett P. Serviss's science fiction serial begins with the narrator recounting the extraordinary exploits of Edmund Stonewall, an ingenious inventor who has unlocked atomic energy using radioactivity principles. After years of secretive experimentation with radium, thorium, and interatomic forces—inspired by contemporary scientific theories from Thomson, Rutherford, and Tesla—Stonewall constructs a remarkable steel vehicle resembling an eighteen-foot cylindrical boiler. When Stonewall demonstrates his creation to friends Jack Ashton, Henry Darton, and the narrator at his laboratory, the vehicle rises into the air, defying gravity through controlled atomic energy. While companion Will Church observes from outside, the others ascend approximately two hundred feet above the city, viewing the lights below and Venus on the horizon. As they begin descending, the craft unexpectedly accelerates upward, circling like a bird before shooting westward and disappearing from view. Church's account captures the mysterious and terrifying nature of Stonewall's creation and his apparent scheme.