Moonday Read online

  Peter put his helmet carefully on the bench before gently twisting his upper body to try and relieve the stiffness in his back. He had been awake since the first braking manoeuvre and had not been able to stretch properly in the Moon shuttle. Only now in the Moon Base entrance area was there enough room for him to stretch his back. He felt the muscles struggling against his movements and enjoyed the relaxing small pains. It felt good. He felt alive. His body needed the exercise after two days of sleeping. It was a requirement that they sleep during the flight, at first he had been disappointed when he had found out that they had to sleep from the near-Earth floating space platform, which served as the terminus of the space lift and as the gateway to space, until the beginning of the braking manoeuvre, but now as he stretched his back, he was grateful. As he twisted his torso slowly and stiffly, he noticed a growing pressure on his bladder. Resigned to accepting Columbus’ argument, he put his hand on his face and stoked his beard as he remembered the annoying inconvenience of emptying his bladder in space. Then he smiled as he realised that he was now on the Moon Base and the toilets were almost normal. Quietly he thanked Art Feldmann for her invention, the ability to control gravity. He frowned and metaphorically crossed his legs. He would still have to wait until the landing formalities were completed.

  The rest of the team soon stood behind him. Paul, who had been the last to disembark, had just joined the others and was about to take off his helmet. Peter looked at his team briefly smiling to himself before his attention was drawn to the window wall, it was fascinating to see the commotion around the Moon shuttle. An engineer in a Moon Base outdoor uniform stood a little distance away from the action, overlooking the dance of the Art Feldmann Robots. He didn’t seem to be doing anything. Peter watched the hypnotic movements of the hurrying machines and nodded gently, unconsciously along to the imaginary sounds of their rhythm. The work needed to be done quickly as the returning team wanted to take advantage of the Earth-Moon apogee when the distance between the Earth and Moon is at its minimum.

  The other team members were stretching leisurely, in a similar way to how he had just been doing. They were also stiff and tired, and seemed to be relieved that they had finally arrived. He smiled when he saw them sniffing the fresh air. And he wondered if they also thought that space smelled of barbecued meat. He smiled again as it occurred to him that they would probably also appreciate the Moon Base toilets.

  As soon as Peter noticed that the helmets were on the bench, he suggested that it was time to have the official Moon-arrival photo taken. The members of the eleven-strong team, who were still wearing their bulky orange spacesuits, came together smiling, laughing and full of anticipation. With calm, obedient movements, that showed both the extent of their training and their natural tranquil aptitudes, they moved into their predetermined positions and stood peacefully in an orderly line. The pilot took a step back and held her hands up to ward off the friendly and inviting gestures of the Moon crew. She was about to fly back, and she didn’t belong in this photo.

  Peter felt both proud and happy, he stood in the middle and looked around to make sure that everything was as planned. He breathed in sharply as he realised that he had almost forgotten someone. Luckily, Liam came in just then, and Peter waved to him to encourage him to take his place.

  Liam nodded and smiled without enthusiasm as he joined the others. He wasn’t happy, he’d had to leave the robots unsupervised to be in the photo.

  Peter assumed that the robots probably didn’t need monitoring if the work went well and there were no surprises. Then he noticed the mobile surveillance device in Liam’s hand and nodded, satisfied. Liam was conscientious, and Peter felt pleased that Liam was the twelfth member of his team. Liam was going to bring continuity to the working practices because he had volunteered for a second shift on the Moon Base, even though he looked like an outsider for this photo. The others were still wearing their orange spacesuits while Liam was wearing the white Moon Base outdoor uniform, still holding his helmet in his hand.

  On command they all smiled broadly, and that first photo was taken. The pilot, who was standing a little distance away, nodded encouragingly. They looked good.

  Peter gave the order to have the photo displayed on the window wall. He nodded as he looked at it. They were going to get to see this photo on Earth. As he looked he felt both proud and sad. His wife was going to see him in this photo - her husband and his team standing in Alpha 12 Moon Base not far from the South Pole of the Moon. He smiled when he thought of his wife, then he remembered where he was, and for the first time he felt the emptiness of the deep chasm of distance.

  He looked closer at the photo to distract himself from the sombre feeling. He was fascinated by how easy it was to recognise the smallest of details in the oversized photo. Filip and Damian’s green eyes seemed almost uncannily green, and John’s red hair stood in stark contrast to Peter’s brown. Peter’s eyes glided over the photo as he subconsciously checked the order of the team. They really were standing as they’d practised during training. Paul, the tallest, stood on the far right with his friend Filip, who the next tallest, next to him. Damian, who was smiling broadly was a smaller, older version of his son Filip, and was standing to Filip’s right. It warmed Peter’s heart and made him smile to see how much the two of them resembled each other. Next to Damian were the two scientists Dervla and John. Peter didn’t quite understand what they did professionally, and he had the uncomfortable feeling that he might not want to know. He himself, the Moon Major, was stood proudly in the middle of the picture. On his right-hand side was his mentor, the Moon Base doctor Beatriz, with her elegant grey hair and her friendly smile. Steve was holding his shoulders straight and looked taller than normal. He seemed proud of his position next to Beatriz. Next in line was Europa with her ruffled short hair and a forced smile on her lips. Peter already knew that this was the best he could expect from her. He smiled amused. She really didn’t like to have her photo taken.

  Then came the beautiful Maria, she was standing next to Europa. Her stance was graceful and relaxed, and she smiled charmingly. Her disarming smile, which reached her eyes, seemed to absorb the nearby light allowing her to shine brighter than the others. Charlie stood, with a barely hidden grin, closer than the regulations allowed next to Maria. His left shoulder was behind and looked as if it was just touching Maria’s right shoulder. The last person on the left of the photo, with maybe a little too much distance from the others, was Liam, who should have been standing where Steve was standing. Peter thought that Liam seemed a little distant, cut off from the rest of the team, but he was at least facing them, and it almost seemed as if he belonged. The others, who knew each well, had trained together on Earth. He hoped they would make Liam feel welcome in the team.

  Smiling Peter looked at the others expressing his satisfaction with the photo. He asked the others if there were any objections. Everyone nodded contentedly, and they all agreed that the photo was okay. Peter had the impression that they were too excited to focus on the photo. He nodded and ordered it to be sent to the space authorities. He knew that they would make their own decision. He hoped that it would be appropriate to publish.

  Peter glanced down at his bulky spacesuit. It was time to get changed. He grinned and thought he could try the toilets as well. After he was finished changing, Meichun, the returning Moon Major, approached Peter. She explained that her returning team was already waiting in the canteen and the pilot was sleeping in one of the guest rooms. She was taking the opportunity to rest for a few hours.

  Peter understood immediately what Meichun meant and instructed his team to go to the canteen as soon as they were ready. They didn’t need detailed instructions, they already knew that they had about three hours to discuss the handover before the Moon shuttle returned. Liam was ready first and was already waiting for the team. He needed to show them the way. Meichun pointed Peter in the direction of his new office. The route there took them past the Art Feldmann statue, which was in the
communication area. As they arrived, Peter stopped and looked up in awe at the statue. She was as impressive as he had heard. In an attempt to preserve the mystery of the Art Feldmann statue, there were no photos on Earth. That was one of the reasons why it was particularly impressive when you first saw her.

  With a small all-knowing smile, Meichun observed Peter as he looked the statue. She was remembering, with a pleasant easy feeling, how she had reacted in exactly the same way when she first saw this statue. And she knew intuitively that he needed a few moments to realise that he was really standing in front of this statue.

  The full-coloured statue was magnificent. He’d heard that it represented Professor Art Feldmann at a younger age, but he had heard nothing about the wonderful colours and the almost lifelike hair. He’d never seen a complete picture of the statue. A few Moononauts had sketched the statue from memory after they had returned to Earth. Peter had seen these illicit rough sketches and hadn’t been impressed by them. These Moononauts were obviously not artists, the pictures might have had a better quality if they had been. He found it ironic that contrary to all expectations of a flourishing Moon tourism, there had only been a few people who had ever made the journey to see the statue. Now the Moononauts were the only ones who made the long voyage, and before they could go to the Moon, they had to promise that they wouldn’t make any reproductions of the Art Feldmann statue.

  Peter shook his head. He could sense that his eyes were stretched wide open. He was really here. The statue was floating above him, almost touching the ceiling. It had been designed to prove that this woman was the one who had tamed gravity. Her body was almost horizontal, and she lay relaxed, as if she was on a chaise longue. He smiled more broadly, as he noticed that there was actually a glass of beer in her left hand. He had heard that it was beer, at least it looked like a beer glass, and the liquid in it was beer-coloured. It was this liquid that was most discussed in the Intellinet. There was no clear answer to the question of whether it was a liquid or only looked like one. He had heard that the statue had to be moved now and then. It was assumed that she was brought down for cleaning. And the tricky question was, if the statue within the local gravity of the environment was lowered too fast, would the liquid in the glass move downward at the same speed? If not, and the beer would fall slower than the statue, what would happen to the beer? Could it be possible for Art Feldmann to get beer in her face? People said that she had enjoyed beer a lot, but certainly not so much that she wanted beer on her face.

  He thought it was strange that no one had tried the experiment on Earth, but it was claimed that it would cost too much to create an Art Feldmann’s field on Earth. Up here, where the Feldmann field was permanently in use, it didn’t cost much extra to let the statue float.

  Peter looked at Meichun, remembering she was there. Embarrassed he opened his mouth to say something but lacked the words. He’d totally forgotten her. She smiled understandingly and suggested that they should move on. Peter nodded relieved. She led the way and as she walked past him, she whispered to him that she had been just the same when she first arrived. As they walked silently through the communication area, Peter looked around curiously. He noted that Damian and Liam would soon be working together in the communications area. The thought was pushed clean out of his mind when they entered his new office. He smiled unintentionally. It was exactly what he’d expected. They walked in the room together. Meichun automatically went towards her chair where she had been sitting for the last five years and put her hand on it. She managed to stop herself before she sat down in what was now Peter’s chair. She turned to Peter and smiled at him apologetically. Old habits are difficult to change.

  Peter suggested they hadn’t finished the official handover yet. And that while she was here, it was still her chair.

  They both sat down with a small, embarrassed laugh that released the confusion and tension. Meichun took her usual place and immediately began her official handover, “I know you’ve been getting weekly reports for the past few months. Nevertheless, I think it makes sense for us to discuss the most important points.” She radiated a relaxed self-confidence, especially when she smiled.

  Peter was impressed by Meichun’s quiet authority. He nodded and waited anxiously for what she would say next.

  “The Moon Major is responsible for the entire Moon Base, but you mustn’t forget that there is almost always back-up support on Earth.” She looked thoughtful, “At first it’s a bit strange with the communication delay, but you get used to it very quickly.” She looked him straight in the eye, “On average it’s about 1.3 seconds. I would advise you to contact Columbus as often as you can.” She nodded gently, “The people at the Earth Base Columbus are very reasonable. And sometimes the returning Major joins the Columbus team,” she smiled, and he wondered if she was going to do that.

  But she shook her head as if to say, “Not me.”

  “The main tasks on the Moon Base are tourism, finding water and scientific research.” As an afterthought, she said, “and of course there are the two storehouses for us and for the Mars Base.”

  She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head as she said, “There’s not much to do with tourism, we haven’t had any tourists in the last five years.” A little pensive she added, “But before that during the previous Moon missions there was a tourist. She stayed longer than expected, if I’m not mistaken her name was Molly Brown.”

  She noticed Peter’s worried expression and smiled, “But to be honest, don’t worry about it. No one will come.” She took a deep breath, “The third floor of the residential area in the main building, where we are now, is equipped with four VIP suites, and the robots know what to do if a tourist comes. The VIP suites are one floor up from the normal living area.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially, “It’s worth looking at them, they’re pretty special.” Then she continued in her normal voice, “We have fourteen normal apartments for the staff. The two extra ones are used by the pilots, and no one else. Have you thought about how to distribute the rooms?”

  Peter nodded, “We planned that on Earth. Actually, we had no choice. The authorities told us which room we had been allocated.”

  Meichun nodded impartially and thought, “That’s new.”

  “The second task is to find water. We are at the south pole of the Moon. Where the first water ice was found. The water-seeking robots search for new reserves of water and now and then they find something. Don’t worry though,” she smiled calmly, “we have enough water reserves for our requirements.”

  Peter nodded, “That’s good to know.”

  “The third task is scientific research. There are two types of experiments that we do here, the long-term ones, which last more than five years, which my team will hand over to yours and the short-term ones, which are planned with each shift change. Who will do the research for the effect of Art Feldmann’s field on dark matter?”

  Peter replied, “Europa has already done the handover and is ready to begin.” Peter didn’t know much about the subject, but he trusted Europa. She was sometimes a little difficult, but she was an expert in her field. “She worked at CERN for a few years and was even involved in artificially creating the effect of Art Feldmann’s field on dark matter.”

  Meichun nodded satisfied, but she looked at Peter seriously, “Always show respect for the statue. It’s pretty risky and disrespectful to experiment with it.”

  Peter nodded seriously. He tried not to smile and said, “I didn’t think about that at all.” But he thought it might occur to someone after five years of being here. He thought Meichun was quite curious about his team, she wanted to know what everyone was going to do.

  She cleared her throat and asked, “Who’s going to take care of the biological experiments in the gardens?”

  “Maria is our biologist. She’s quite young but well qualified and if necessary, Charlie will help her.”

  Meichun seemed satisfied with his answer. Peter wondered if she had heard of Maria’s profe
ssional reputation.

  “To be honest, there’s not much going on in the garden, but for everyday life it’s extremely important that they work well,” she paused briefly, “I prefer the small garden myself. It has dense plant cover and seems calmer.” She smiled before she continued, “And the doctor is Beatriz. I am sure she’s planned her own projects, and of course there is the extensive immune system research waiting for her. It is worthwhile to have everyone checked medically at the very beginning. Nothing happened to my team but in the previous team, there was a problem with someone’s immune system.” She looked serious again, “Not everyone can cope with cosmic radiation. He had to be sent home in the tourist escape pod, and they never replaced it.” She lowered her eyes and looked at the table, “He died shortly after his return.” She didn’t want to reveal any more details and Peter didn’t know if he really wanted to hear the story.