The gravity machine

the long version

When Harry Ehlers demonstrated his gravity machine at an American Physics conference he thought there would be some interest from the press and society at large. He wasn't prepared for the overwhelming manner in which he was thrust into the spotlight as the man who was changing history. His ideas would impact on just about every structure of society: transport, town planning, global mobility, altered power balances and availability of space flight. Harry patented the theory, but discovers there are many people who believe they are entitled to proceeds. Potential manufacturers clamour for information, and a semi-secret international organisation wants to acquire the patent rights. Harry refuses to sell, and then hears that an Armenian scientist claimed prior submission of the gravity machine ideas. By nature Harry is a loner, and he battles to come to terms with the different pressures on his life. At a personal level he discovers his new girlfriend has been raped, and then she rebuffs him when he is set up with a starlet. He finds out just how high the stakes are when he is confronted by an assassin on a dive boat...