I'm done with my zine!!!!!!!!

This title has absolutely nothing to do with my book, but i just finished my Zine project. I have no way of stapling it, but that's okay.
Back to my book. This section will actually be titled Exploring Florida. This is the section after their arrival at Florida. Barbican and his men, the four of the committee, wake up really early the next morning so they wont have to deal with the hundreds of people that constituted the greeting party and have been following them around. They ride on horseback and their guide takes them through Florida. They notice a large difference between the top half and the bottom half of the state, geographically, the top is more pleasant to live in. At one point, the mud they are traversing is so deep that it goes up to the horses' knees, yet the guide swears they are on a road. As they are riding, Barbican absentmindedly says, "Yes, my dear friend, it is a necessity of the first order that our Columbiad (the canon) be cast in ground of commanding elevation" (105). He goes on to explain himself. It's not that putting the canon on higher ground would bring it closer to the moon, it would keep away water. Water will present a real challenge to these men during construction as well as whilst preparing before the launch.

Arriving in Florida

Barbican and his men went to Florida soon after the decision was made. They had traveled down to survey the land and pick potential launch sites. When they arrived, Barbican got out of the boat and had planned on making a speech. He said only a couple words before he was completely drowned out by a mob of welcomers. They screamed and shouted really loud and scared Barbican and his Men. They had planned on making a grand welcome and firing off a cannon, but, in waiting for the boat to arrive, they had gotten bored and shot off all of the cannon rounds in an effort to amuse themselves. It had been hours, so they were all a little mad, very hungry and very disheveled.
Even though this mob's greeting effort had turned ineffective, this still illustrates to us how much the public supports this project. Every member of the Gun Club reads at least six newspapers every morning in order to keep up with the project's progression and the public opinion. For the month or two that the public has known about this, everyone continues to obsess over it every day. Book stores can not keep books about space or artillery in stock and book companies are competing in production of these books.

Florida

Barbican, the leader of the Gun Club, came up with a fantastic idea on how to solve the dilemma on where to have the gun, which is currently consuming the nation as Texas and Florida, as well as every newspaper in the nation, are at each others throats on where it should be. Florida. Because in Florida, there is one main city, Tampa. In Texas, there are six that would instantly fight over the cannon, making the problem exponentially worse. The Committee was unanimous in this decision. The Gun Club was sure to alert the Police before they announced this to the public because as soon as they did, the delegates where in the streets with their rifles at twenty paces. (meaning they were shooting each other at a duelers distance, it meant just that much) I find it amazing that everyone cared this much about the location. Instead of just being ecstatic over the concept and anxiously awaiting the shooting, the whole nation is bickering over every decision, even though it is still a private operation and not their decision to make.

Florida or Texas?

In this chapter of my book, From the Earth to the Moon, the committee that decided on the bullet, powder and gun meet again to determine where the launch will take place. They know it has to be in Texas or Florida, because those are the only states that extend under the 28th parallel. One of the four gentlemen, Marston, does not know that Texas is this far south and proposes that the US invade and annex Mexico in order to get there. His comment sets of a riot of laughter and comment s to the point where they are not able to accomplish anything that night. A tabloid hears of their indecision and jumps on the opportunity to publish their views. Soon the whole nation is siding with either Texas or Florida and many delegates from these states are in Baltimore, where the Gun Club is, and are literally fighting in the streets. Police have had to stop several delegates from engaging in rifle battles.

THE ENEMY

This chapter is about Captain McNicholl, who is the "Only" opposer to the moon shot. He is not actually the Only opposer, but way more than 99% of the public is in love with the idea that no one listens to him. When he first began his opposition movement, the newspapers wouldn't even publish his article ranting and raging over the idea of shooting a projectile to the moon. They soon began publishing them, but no one read them and everyone continued to follow and support the project. His arguments discuss how impossible to shoot a 20,000 pound bullet at 7 miles per second and that if they did, the bullet would just melt from the heat generated by the combustion of the large amount of gunpowder. Captain does not know about guncotton, nor does he know any of the specifics decided at the three sessions. This information is still private.
During the civil war, which this book began at the end of, the two big fighting forces were not north and south, but the Ironclads and the Cannoners.
The ironclads were focused on armored troops and tanks and close combat and the shooters were focused on the art of pushing bigger projectiles farther. And where Barbican was the leader of the gunners, Captain is the leader of the Ironworkers.

The Bullet, the Gun, and the Powder

In Chapters 6-9, a team of 4 gunners meet on three consecutive nights to discuss what the projectile, the cannon and the propellant will be made of. On the First night, the men decide on the projectile. It will need to be nine feet in diameter, so they can observe in through a telescope. Because of this enormous size, it will weigh close to 20,000 pounds and will be made of aluminum, which is three times lighter than cast iron, but very expensive. It will need to be fired at 12,000 yards per second, or about 7 miles per second. On the second night, they discuss the gun from which the bullet will be fired. One of the four on the committee states that it will need to be over a half of a mile long, rationally to other cannons of the time. Everyone is appalled by this number, and they are able to make calculations providing the length to be only 225 feet. Because of the enormous amount of explosive that will need to be used, the canon will be very thick and underground, preventing a burst. This gun will be a cannon and a howitzer and a mortar. A cannon because of the propulsion concept, a howitzer because the gun can not kick when it fires, and a mortar because it will be vertical. On the third night, the decide upon the propellant. Gunpowder is the first alternative, but because of the massive volume they would need, is ruled out. The winning material is guncotton, which is a treated cloth that is many times more explosive than gunpowder, leading to less space consumption-only 27 cubic feet. guncotton is also unaffected by moisture, so it will preserve well while they are setting up.

Chapters 2-4

I have read up to chapter 4 in my book, From Earth to the Moon, by Jules Verne. In this selection, the president of the Gun Club announces he has big news and asks for anyone interested to attend his upcoming speech. The castle-sized building is jam-packed when he gives his speech. He announces that the members of the Gun Club,who still know nothing about this, will be shooting a ball to the moon. The whole crowd goes absolutely nuts with excitement, as does the entire nation thanks to it being broadcast on radio, and the festivities continue to the early hours of the next morning. This topic consumes the next issue of over 5000 magazines as they critique/rave about the idea. The Gun Club receives letters from many large corporations offering their assistance. The president then sends a letter to Cambridge University with several questions he needed answers to regarding things like velocity, where to shoot, when to shoot, and other matters. He finds out that the Moon will be in it's zenith on December 1st of the next year, being the time when the Earth and Moon are closest together, and if they miss that opportunity, the next with all of the right conditions is eighteen years away.