Danny Dunn, Invisible Boy
Encyclopedia
Danny Dunn, Invisible Boy is the thirteenth novel
in the Danny Dunn
series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin
and Jay Williams
. The book was first published in 1974.
material Prof. Bullfinch was evaluating. Prof. Bullfinch is able to use this altered material to create ISIT (the Invisibility Simulator with Intromittent Transmission), a dragonfly
-like probe which could be piloted with a Telepresence
helmet and gauntlet gloves.
The trio each tries out the device. Irene uses ISIT to birdwatch
. Joe uses the device to observe a beehive from the inside. Danny discovers a bully nicknamed 'Snitcher' cheating
by copying the word list to the school spelling bee
and dishonestly winning himself a boombox
. The ISIT is outfitted with a speaker which is subsequently used by Danny as a means to pretend to be the bully's conscience
, in order get Snitcher to confess to his father.
However, ISIT also causes problems, as soon afterwards Prof. Bullfinch is visited by General Gruntel. The general reveals (in very authoritarian language) he wishes to use ISIT as a tool to spy
not only on enemy governments, but against Americans as well
. General Gruntel attempts to seize the unit, but is rebuffed by Doctor Grimes. While going to get authorization to seize the ISIT, he leaves the professor's lab under guard.
Danny, Irene, and Joe decide to take matters into their own hands and stealthily break into the lab to recover the probe. The probe's absence is realized which leads to Colonel Twist, the commanding officer of the two guards, to delusively believe the device has been stolen by a foreign power. As he is being confronted by Twist, the Professor realizes the trio of friends are responsible. He informs Danny that without destroying his notes detailing the creation of ISIT, either the Soviets or the US military could still recreate it. While the local national guard arrives to secure the house against foreign spies
, Danny and the Professor make their way to the probe's controls and use it to cause a fire that destroys both the notes and probe.
Dr. Grimes arrives with orders from the Governor for the military personnel to stand down and leave the Bullfinch residence. Bullfinch informs Grimes that the device and his notes have been destroyed, leaving him the only man to remember the blueprint
s by memory. Professor Bullfinch also tells Dr. Grimes and Danny that he will not recreate ISIT until the world is ready for it.
have developed a tiny robot
, the Micromechanical Flying Insect
(MFI), that they say will one day fly like a fly
.
Dr. Robert Wood of Harvard has created a robot weighing 60 mg and with a wingspan of 3 cm. Such Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) have successfully launched.
WowWee seems to be developing a toy dragonfly
that would fly under remote control.
The Central Intelligence Agency
's Directorate of Science & Technology
developed a dragonfly-like flying machine with a listening device in the 1970s but said in 2003 that the device was "never deployed operationally". However, unconfirmed reports of field uses of this technology by agencies unknown have been made in recent years.
MacDonald and Jane's
Pocket Books/Archway Books
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in the Danny Dunn
Danny Dunn
Danny Dunn is the name of a fictional character and protagonist of a series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s...
series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin
Raymond Abrashkin
Raymond Abrashkin was an American writer best known for writing, co-producing, and co-directing the acclaimed movie, The Little Fugitive, and for co-creating and co-authoring the highly successful Danny Dunn series of science fiction books for children with Jay Williams.-Family:Raymond's parents...
and Jay Williams
Jay Williams (author)
Jay Williams was an American author born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Max and Lillian Jacobson. He cited the experience of growing up as the son of a vaudeville show producer as leading him to pursue his acting career as early as college...
. The book was first published in 1974.
Plot summary
Danny exacerbates a small electrical fire, altering an experimental crystalline semiconductorSemiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
material Prof. Bullfinch was evaluating. Prof. Bullfinch is able to use this altered material to create ISIT (the Invisibility Simulator with Intromittent Transmission), a dragonfly
Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
-like probe which could be piloted with a Telepresence
Telepresence
Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
helmet and gauntlet gloves.
The trio each tries out the device. Irene uses ISIT to birdwatch
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
. Joe uses the device to observe a beehive from the inside. Danny discovers a bully nicknamed 'Snitcher' cheating
Cheating
Cheating refers to the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. Cheating can refer...
by copying the word list to the school spelling bee
Spelling bee
A spelling bee is a competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States....
and dishonestly winning himself a boombox
Boombox
Boombox is a colloquial expression for a portable cassette or CD player. Other terms known are ghetto blaster, jambox, or radio-cassette. It is a device capable of receiving radio stations and playing recorded music , usually at relatively high volume...
. The ISIT is outfitted with a speaker which is subsequently used by Danny as a means to pretend to be the bully's conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
, in order get Snitcher to confess to his father.
However, ISIT also causes problems, as soon afterwards Prof. Bullfinch is visited by General Gruntel. The general reveals (in very authoritarian language) he wishes to use ISIT as a tool to spy
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
not only on enemy governments, but against Americans as well
COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.COINTELPRO tactics included discrediting targets through psychological...
. General Gruntel attempts to seize the unit, but is rebuffed by Doctor Grimes. While going to get authorization to seize the ISIT, he leaves the professor's lab under guard.
Danny, Irene, and Joe decide to take matters into their own hands and stealthily break into the lab to recover the probe. The probe's absence is realized which leads to Colonel Twist, the commanding officer of the two guards, to delusively believe the device has been stolen by a foreign power. As he is being confronted by Twist, the Professor realizes the trio of friends are responsible. He informs Danny that without destroying his notes detailing the creation of ISIT, either the Soviets or the US military could still recreate it. While the local national guard arrives to secure the house against foreign spies
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
, Danny and the Professor make their way to the probe's controls and use it to cause a fire that destroys both the notes and probe.
Dr. Grimes arrives with orders from the Governor for the military personnel to stand down and leave the Bullfinch residence. Bullfinch informs Grimes that the device and his notes have been destroyed, leaving him the only man to remember the blueprint
Blueprint
A blueprint is a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a technical drawing, documenting an architecture or an engineering design. More generally, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan....
s by memory. Professor Bullfinch also tells Dr. Grimes and Danny that he will not recreate ISIT until the world is ready for it.
Current science
Biologists and technologists at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
have developed a tiny robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
, the Micromechanical Flying Insect
Micromechanical Flying Insect
The Micromechanical Flying Insect project is research effort to develop a flying robot based on living insects flight techniques, i.e. an ornithopter. The flying robot will be capable of sustained autonomous flight. The design of artificial fly is based on bionics principles and relies on...
(MFI), that they say will one day fly like a fly
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
.
Dr. Robert Wood of Harvard has created a robot weighing 60 mg and with a wingspan of 3 cm. Such Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) have successfully launched.
WowWee seems to be developing a toy dragonfly
FlyTech Dragonfly
The Flytech Dragonfly is WowWee's entry into remote-controlled flying toy industry. The Dragonfly has been incorrectly billed as the world's first commercially available RC ornithopter...
that would fly under remote control.
The Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's Directorate of Science & Technology
Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology
The Directorate of Science and Technology is the branch of the United States Central Intelligence Agency charged with developing and applying technology to advance the United States intelligence gathering.-Origins:...
developed a dragonfly-like flying machine with a listening device in the 1970s but said in 2003 that the device was "never deployed operationally". However, unconfirmed reports of field uses of this technology by agencies unknown have been made in recent years.
Editions
McGraw-Hill- ISBN 0-070-70546-1 (Paperback, 1974, illustrated by Paul Sagsoorian)
- ISBN 0-070-70547-X (Hardback, 1974, illustrated by Paul Sagsoorian)
MacDonald and Jane's
- ISBN 0-356-04908-6 (Hardback, 1974, illustrated by Anne Mieke)
Pocket Books/Archway Books
- ISBN 0-671-29733-3 (Paperback, 1975, #2 in their series, illustrated by Paul Sagsoorian)
- ISBN 0-671-45068-9 (Paperback, 1983 reissue, illustrated by Paul Sagsoorian)