Defying Gravity

First Contact • Clean Sci-Fi • 1947 Roswell

One woman’s brilliance could save humanity—if anyone will listen.

Rated PG-13 for psychological and ethical conflict.

In 1947, as whispers of an alien invasion spread, Mary Goss, a nineteen-year-old physics prodigy, is recruited for a top-secret Army project.

She expects scientific discovery.
She uncovers something far greater — proof that humanity is not alone.

But while Mary races to decipher alien technology, her male colleagues dismiss her at every turn. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Mary must rise above prejudice and self-doubt before it’s too late.

Clean, family-friendly, and uplifting, Earth’s Secret Alliance is soft science fiction that explores courage, conscience, and cooperation more than technology or war. Perfect for readers who enjoy Contact’s wonder and Hidden Figures’ determination.

(Part 4 of From Roswell to Area 51 — each story also stands alone in the Earth’s Secret Alliance universe.)

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Clean-read promise: no profanity • no on-page sex • non-graphic violence • uplifting tone.

Genres & tags

First Contact • Alternate History • Historical Sci-Fi • Clean Sci-Fi • Hopepunk • Military-adjacent (non-grim)

Ideal for

13+ readers who enjoy smart, hopeful sci-fi; teachers & librarians seeking high-interest, low-barrier entry points.

Reading Paths

Start with the Novel

From Roswell to Area 51 revises & expands the early episodes (including this one) and threads Charlie’s retrospective narration.

Read the novel

Or read by Episode

Each stands alone; reading order adds depth.

Length: 25k words
Formats: eBook • Paperback • Audiobook (planned)
ISBNs: 978-1-7781914-8-0 • 978-1-0698372-2-6

Reviews & Reader Notes

★★★★★ “A very nice and easy read. I love how it handles the theme of women in men dominated fields and how to overcome it. I love how it was built and told. Overall just a really nice read.” — Goodreads Reviewer

★★★★★ I like alien, first contact stories. I like very much the idea of a young woman with a PhD proving to the “big boys” that she more than knows her stuff. I liked that it was a quick approachable read, and would easily recommend it as a high interest, low lexile read.

I think it’s billed as being part of a series, but I don’t think series is the right word. It’s more of a “universe” as I feel like Mary Goss’s story stands alone. I do, however, think having read the earlier “episodes” would improve my grasp of the “universe” the author has built.

Look Inside

Chapter One – A Man’s World

October 1947
“We have reached the moon, sir,” the pilot’s voice crackled over the radio. “Nuclear torpedo ready to launch. Destination distance, five miles.”
The general’s face was a neutral mask. His hawkish eyes were sharp and his lips were set into a firm line. “Launch.”
“Roger.”
A loud whooshing filled the audio. A second later, the torpedo appeared on screen, flying out into the depths of space. The image on the monitors burst into light, and then the screens fizzled and went black.
“What happened?” the general demanded. “Get me eyes on them, stat!”
Mary’s fingers flew over the keyboard so fast they almost blurred. A nearby probe brought itself around to the spacecraft’s last location. New images were projected on the high-tech screens: One showed the moon, vast, cold, and empty. Next to it, suspended in space, was the spacecraft. It was completely dark.
“I’ve found them,” she informed the others, “but they are on a collision course toward the moon. I estimate that they have about two hours before they crash.”
The general looked down at Mary. “Doctor, it sounds like you have two hours to save their lives. I suggest you get on with it.”

Six Months Earlier
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
The door seemed more foreboding than any other time she’d stood in front of it, but Mary still pushed herself to knock. It was about time for the results of her dissertation to be ready, and she was certain it was the reason Professor Hunt had called her. Dread settled in her gut like a stone. If he wanted to see her personally, it probably wasn’t good news.
“Come in,” came the aged voice of her professor.
Mary pushed on the heavy wood door and entered. The smell of stale pipe smoke and dust overwhelmed her. The room hadn’t changed since the last time she’d been there, with floor-to-ceiling shelves lined with thick books—many of which had been written by the man sitting behind the sturdy oak desk at the rear of the office. He thought he knew everything, but she proved him wrong several times.
When the professor saw Mary, his face dropped, and he groaned.
The professor huffed, and greeted her stiffly. She leaned over the desk to shake his hand, then he dropped hers, and she stepped back. His cold eyes stared at her over his long, thin nose. He’d been her mentor for all three years she had attended MIT and he hadn’t changed one bit in all that time.
“You wanted to see me, Professor,” she said, hoping to rid the air of its tension. Professor Hunt continued to stare at her, frowning.
“Yes,” he said through his teeth. Slim fingers plucked a folder from amid the stacks of paper on his desk.
“This is the letter regarding your dissertation. I know I could have mailed it, but with you being the youngest and first female astrophysics doctoral candidate, I wanted to give it to you in person. You can now add a Ph.D. to your name. Of course, it won’t be official until the June ceremony, but…congratulations, Dr. Mary Goss.” The corner of his lip curled downward at the words, but Mary couldn’t bring herself to care. She was smiling widely.
“Thank you, sir.” She took the folder, flipping it open to marvel at her letter. “I was wondering if we could discuss sponsorship for my post-doctoral research?”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. We have brought you to this point in your journey, but neither I nor any other professor here can take you any further in your education or career. You have made it abundantly clear that you know far more than we do, and quite frankly, we’re done hearing it. We will see you in June at the ceremony. Good luck, Dr. Goss.” His accent was a hint more British than Bostonian.
He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, and then he returned to his work, as if she wasn’t even in the room. Mary’s fingers tightened around her letter. Head bowed, she headed to the door, but when she was about to turn the handle, she stopped. This was the last time she could vent to the professor. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t contain her anger anymore.
“Excuse me, sir. You talk about how you and the other professors have had so much trouble teaching me, but what about the trouble I’ve gone through getting here? I’m labeled a genius regahding my knowledge, but I never had the chance to learn social skills.” Mary’s Boston accent was in full force.
“I spent a day in kindergahten, and the teacher called my ma to say she didn’t know what to do with me because I already knew more than they teach at that age. The next day I was in grade one, and the same thing happened. By the end of the week, I found myself, still five years old, in grade three with a bunch of students who were eight and nine.” Mary had to pause a moment, feeling the pipe smoke choking her.
“I spent the next two years in grades five and seven, attending middle school at eight. I spent two years there. The other students resented me because I was so much younger than them and so much smahtah. I tried to dumb down, but it just wasn’t me.” Looking at his face, she could see it was useless, but she just had to carry on.
“My parents knew it was tough, but they were too busy with their own teaching caheers to be able to help. I was transferred from my mom’s science class because they thought we were cheating. I finally graduated high school when I was eleven and wore a junior bridesmaid dress to the prom because it was the only thing fancy enough that fit me.” He opened his mouth, but Mary continued before he could speak.
“I stahted college the same year, and at first, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. It was so different from high school. I had to be responsible for my own supplies, books, and registering for classes. Some people did help me, but most just laughed at my expense. It was the first time I really felt stupid, so I vowed I’d never feel that way again.
“I worked hahd at my classes and got through my bachelor’s degree in two years instead of four. Then my masters was equally fast, though certainly not easy.” Mary gazed at the ceiling for a second.
“That brings me here. I came to you when I was sixteen, saying I wanted to get my doctorate in astrophysics. You were nice enough but you laughed as I walked out the door. Like before, I was determined to prove you and everyone else wrong, that I did belong and I could do it. So I researched more, read longer, and studied hahder than any of the other students. I came up with theories that you tore down and found known facts that went against your teachings.” Mary looked directly at Hunt.
“Now, I know this won’t change your mind about me, but it sure made me feel better getting it out.”
Professor Hunt was sitting behind his desk with his lips pressed so firmly together that they were stark white. Mary couldn’t tell if he was more shocked by her words or that she had the gall to say them. She decided it didn’t matter and strode out the door, closing it for the very last time.
A little further down the hallway, Mary collapsed against the wall with a heavy sigh. Opening the folder again, she let her eyes scan it. The letter spoke of congratulations and praise, but she could read the contempt behind the words. Why can’t I get any respect in this place? It says here that I got high praise from the external examiners, but everyone treats me like a leper. She pushed off the wall and headed outside.
“Hey! Look who it is!”
Mary looked up to see two students walking up the green. One of them was the tall and lanky figure of Chris Smith, a young man she knew well. He and his companion strode right up to her, and he swung an arm around her shoulders irreverently.
“If it isn’t Miss Know-It-All herself. What weah you doing in there? Was Prawfessah Hunt just giving you the bad news that they don’t give doctorates to gahls who think they’ah smahtah than Einstein?” His Boston accent was a little thicker than most of the students, as he was of Irish descent.
Mary rolled her eyes. Why did I ever go out with this turkey? I’m glad it was only once. She ducked her way out of his grip and walked away, feeling their eyes burning into her back and hearing Chris laughing as his friend whistled. She stiffened and told herself to ignore it, but before she could stop herself, she turned around and flashed them a smug grin. “That’s Doctor Know-It-All to you.”

#

GOSS FAMILY HOME
Mr. Goss was reading a paper in his living room chair when Mary entered. It had been a few months since Dr. Hunt gave her the letter—a few months since she’d left campus and never returned.
“How did the interview go?” her father asked.
She frowned. “Same as the others. Did you ask your friends what they said in my references?”
He looked over his glasses. “First, your professors ah not my friends. They ah from a different discipline. Second, when I do see them, they make some excuse and leave.” Like Mary, his accent was very light, as they tried to avoid it on the university grounds.
Mary walked up to read the headline on the back of his newspaper. “Now they ah saying it’s a weather balloon?”
Mr. Goss looked at the front page. “That’s much more likely than aliens. If you do the math…”
Mary interrupted. “…Yes, yes, I know. It would take several generations for a ship to travel between solar systems, or the power requirements would be astronomical to get anywhere near the speed of light.
Mr. Goss nodded and went back to reading his paper.
“But how much power is released when you split an atom?”
“E equals MC squared, you know that. But they’ll never be able to control that much energy. It’s not good for anything but a bomb.”
“I’m still hoping for aliens,” Mary said.

#

“…therefore, we ah unable to offer you a position at this time.”
With a cry of frustration, Mary threw the letter down onto the kitchen table next to the dozen others she’d already received. “I don’t get it, Craig! It’s been four months of applying since receiving my doctorate, and I’ve been rejected by every single laboratory in the state! I graduated from MIT with a PhD in astrophysics at the age of nineteen! Why ah they not impressed by that? Why can’t I get a job? I’m so desperate at this point that I even left a résumé at the ahmy recruitment office, of all places! You know how I hate the ahmy.”
Her brother, who was younger by a year, was preparing his fifth cup of coffee that day, filling the air with its rich aroma. He looked at her with knowing eyes and slurped some of his drink. He took it with three teaspoons of sugar, the heathen. “It’s because youh prawfessahs hate you.”
“It’s not my fault that theah ah obvious flaws in their teaching. What am I supposed to do? Just ignore their mistakes?” Mary stood up, the legs of her chair scraping against the tiles, and started pacing.
“That’s exactly what you should’ve done, genius. It sure would make life easier for me.”
Mary grumbled. “What ah you talking about?”
Craig took another gulp of coffee before putting his mug down on the counter. “Do you know what it’s like to be the great Mary Goss’s brawther? Half of the univahsity expects me taw be as smaht as you, and the awthah half just hates me because you’ah my sistah. If you’d just kept youh head down and gone through school without a fuss, I wouldn’t have taw deal with that!”
Mary rolled her eyes. “That’s not my fault either. They shouldn’t be judging you for who youh family is.”
“OK, fine, but listen, Mary. You know how much those old prawfessahs hate being questioned, let alone proven wrawng. It’s even worse because you’ah the only gahl in youh field. And you wonder why you couldn’t get any of them to spawnsah youh pawst-dawctoahal work, and why none of the labs will hiah you?”
“My prawfessahs probably gave me bad references. I sweah it feels like the whole world is against any person who is not a white male. Doors ah always closed for the rest of us.”
Craig shrugged. “Like it oah nawt, that’s the way the woahld works. You’ll just have taw get used taw it.”
“Sure, you’d say that. You fit the description!”
“As you would say, that’s nawt my fault. I’d like taw see you try taw change the woahld all by youh lonesawme.”
Mary was about to snap back with a retort, but at that very second, the phone rang. Craig glanced over at it, then looked back at Mary with a clear I’m not going to answer it look. Familiar tingles raced up her spine—the very same tingling sensation that she felt on the cusp of her biggest decisions. She ignored the feeling, huffed, and grabbed the phone receiver off the side table, answering it.
A male voice addressed her. “Is Dr. Goss available, please?”
Upon hearing her title, Mary felt the invigorating tingles again. Unbidden, her lips curled into a smile. “Speaking.”
“This is Sergeant Dow of the US Army. We received your impressive résumé, and we would like to schedule an interview.”
“That’s kind of you to say so, but the recruitment office told me that they weren’t hiring scientists,” Mary replied. “And I don’t want to build bombs.” Really, the only reason she’d left her résumé at the recruitment office in the first place was because she’d felt a strong urge to do so. The inexplicable urge had been nudging her to apply all summer, and she’d finally given in only a few days ago. She figured they wouldn’t even call back. How wrong she was.
The man on the phone laughed. “Dr. Goss, I assure you, we do more than just build bombs.”
Mary scowled, shoving down the elated feeling that rose once again at the use of her new title. “Sure. I bet they told that to Einstein, too.”
“Our aim here is to save lives, not end them. Going by your résumé, you seem perfect for the position we have available. Are you interested?”
Mary paused, considering the offer. On one hand, she’d never imagined herself working for the US Army, but on the other, she really needed a job. What do I do? What do I say? She looked over at Craig, who was watching her with curious eyes. Something told her to take the leap.
“Dr. Goss?” Sgt. Dow prompted.
“Yes, sorry. Yes, I’m interested.”
“Would you be able to fly to New Mexico to meet me for an interview?”
Mary nearly choked. “New Mexico? Where exactly in New Mexico?”
“I’m sorry, that’s classified.”
“Well, I’m sorry too, but I don’t make a habit of flying away to unknown destinations.”
Dow was quiet, and she could hear low mumbling over the line, meaning he was probably speaking to someone else. He spoke again after a minute. “How about I come to meet you tomorrow afternoon at the recruitment office?”
“I’d be alright with that,” Mary replied.
“Great. I will have them call you with the details.”
“OK, but I’m still not building bombs.”
Dow chuckled. “You won’t have to build any bombs, Dr. Goss. I’ll make sure of it. Good day.” Then he hung up.
The elated feeling was back once more, this time swelling in her chest like a helium balloon. Her head felt light and her heart was racing. Did I just do that? She couldn’t believe it.
“So, what’s the big news?” Craig asked, startling her out of her thoughts.
“That was Sergeant Dow from the US Ahmy. He saw my résumé and wants to set up an interview,” Mary told him breathlessly.
Craig frowned. “What could the ahmy possibly want with you? Ahn’t you an astrophysicist?”
“I don’t know.” Mary turned away from him. What could the army want with her? Her focus was in understanding the cosmos. How could that be of any use to them? “I really don’t know.”

For Educators & Parents

High-interest, classroom-friendly. Discussion prompts available in the Classroom Guide. Themes: courage, conscience, bystander intervention, diplomacy vs. fear, bias & first impressions.

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