The Science Club Kids

Sixty-five million years ago, the dinosaurs died. Well, maybe they didn't croak that instant, but sixty-five million years ago was definitely not a good year for the dinosaurs, who went into a bit of a prolonged decline thereafter.

On the other hand, sixty-five million B.C.?give or take a few millennia?was a darned good year for two groups of criminals about to be imprisoned in a null zone that connects two universes: instead of ending up in an inescapable hoosegow, they suddenly found themselves mapped into the higher dimensions of another universe?a more primitive universe?where they possessed god-like powers. Whatever history had in mind for this universe, it changed forever when the Titans and the Olympians arrived.

Sixty-five million years later, eleven year old Gene Beck, a brainy kid who likes reading and eating Zagnut bars more than he likes exercise, is gloomily anticipating his humiliation during Windbag Middle School's annual fitness test. While contemplating a dark and vile fate, Gene is surprised when two small maple trees?who have been thinking thoughts of their own?introduce themselves as Zeus and Apollo, the ancient Greek gods.

They want Gene and the other members of the Windbag Science Club to join the Benevolent Order of Olympus (BOO) to help stop a catastrophe about to occur elsewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy. Zeus and Apollo convince Gene?who would rather do anything than take a fitness test?and his friends, Jamal Wilkens, Samantha Barnes

Byron "Doc" Hansen has two degrees in nuclear science and engineering, obtained from Idaho State University, plus a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho. When he is not writing Science Club Kids books, Byron works for SCIENTECH, Inc., an engineering consulting company based in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Byron's favorite science fiction writer is E. E. "Doc" Smith, and his favorite science fiction story is E. E. "Doc" Smith's the Skylark series. Byron's greatest frustration is losing what was apparently this planet's last copy of the Skylark series.

Byron has a soft spot in his head for all the little hairy ones, but most especially for cats. (Sadly, Byron resists all therapeutic attempts to relieve this condition.) He enjoys tennis and road trips on his Harley.

Dennis Meier has two degrees in nuclear engineering, obtained from Texas A&M University sometime during the seventies. Having completed a second master’s degree in technical communication from Boise State University, Dennis granted himself the title "Masterful," because, quite literally, he is full of master’s degrees.

A native of College Station, Texas, Dennis moved to Idaho to work at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory when he learned that, yes, there are places on this planet that aren’t, hot, humid, and teeming with cockroaches and fire ants. He currently lives in Boise, with his wife, Donna, and their son, Justin. When Dennis is not writing Science Club Kids books, he writes and edits technical documents as the owner of 2(DM) LLC, a technical communications consulting company, and he sometimes teaches undergraduate technical communication at Boise State.