The Vortex Blaster - Hardcoverby E. E. Doc Smith (Author) Neal "Storm" Cloud failed his Lensman exam, but life has a strange way of making hero of even those who sometimes fail. Cloud's family is tragically killed when a misguided attempt to blow out a vortex lands one of the fragments right on his house. Devastated by the loss of his family, Cloud takes a leave of absence from the Radiation Lab where he works studying the vortices. As he drives he is struck with an idea for