My Life Among The Dogs That Think They Are Human

…or maybe they think I’m a dog. Whatever.

The Doclopedia #28

Places That Don’t Stay In One Place: Professor Pilbon’s Flying Laboratory

It was in the early fall of 1881 that young Professor Archimedes Pilbon decided that having to leave his laboratory to go to various locales on missions for the Queen just would not do. Not that he didn’t love going on adventures, mind you, and he certainly wanted to be of service to Her Majesty and England. No, it was the whole immobility situation with the laboratory that just would not do.

So, after a solid month of brainstorming with his assistants and Certain Well Respected Men Of Science, he devised a plan to free his place of research and, indeed, his entire home, from the earthly ties that bound it. Three years and a rather startling amount of money later, he did just that.

The two story laboratory and the attached cottage home now rest upon a very large sheet of that incredible metal alloy, Liftonium. The sheet is 12 centimeters thick and has a 1 meter high railing around the entire thing “so as to keep things from sliding off”. Since the Liftonium really only cancels out the weight of the lab, house, passengers, etc, a very large cigar shaped balloon does the real lifting and a pair of steam engines power the fore and aft propellers. In inclement weather, a series of tent canvases can be unrolled to keep things fairly dry.

The craft is piloted by Captain Dunworthy and his crew of four, who live in a small cabin. Besides Professor Pilbon, there are his three assistants (Smythe, Hergenberger & Soames), his maid/cook Molly, his man Williams and the two dogs, Nipper & Willy. On a few occasions, Pilbon has been joined by his fiancée, Elizabeth.

The Flying Laboratory has traveled to every continent and attracts much attention wherever it goes. Some of this attention comes from men of less than sterling character who would like to use the incredible craft for their nefarious plans. Professor Pilbon and his crew will hear nothing of that and have, on several trips, given such villains a good sound thrashing using both science and a great knowledge of fisticuffs.