The Chimerical Quest (1932) deals with an eccentric scientist, crippled during the Great War, who has discovered a method of converting lead into gold but wishes to give his secret away as soon as he has perfected it, so that anyone will be able to make gold, thus fulfilling his dream of turning society upside down by obliterating wealth. The Black Sun (1921) offers an account of the planet-wide catastrophe that overwhelms the world when a collision with an errant dark star causes the sun's radiation to flare up dramatically, and tells of the heroes' battle for survival, hiding deep...