Moonday

by J F Clayton

  Steve shifted in his seat and sat up straighter in his chair, before he looked at Europa smiling almost coyly, “I was in the lab and the seismometers there and the ones we have at various site locations went crazy. It was really cool, and I was able to collect a lot of data.” He grinned. “Too bad John missed it.” He looked over to Peter, “We’ve had seismometers all over the Moon for over a hundred and twenty years. We know exactly what to expect.” Steve smiled as he noticed the interested attention from everyone there.

  “The seismometers are part of an ongoing project that is now my responsibility. Today’s quake was unusual. Polar moonquakes occur less frequently than their equatorial cousins. We only get about a fifth of the quakes near the Moon Base that you get at the equator.” He looked at Peter, who nodded encouragingly. Steve continued, “As you will have noticed moonquakes differ from earthquakes in that they last much longer. Often you can feel them for over ten minutes.” He was enjoying the attention, “Today’s quake was one at a shallow depth just below the surface, and not very far from the base. That’s why it felt so strong.”

  Liam was trying not to look bored.

  Peter let Steve finish. The others wanted and deserved to know.

  “At the equator, there are about five quakes per year that measure over five on the Richter scale.” He looked at Europa to see if she was impressed by his knowledge.

  Europa didn’t seem that interested but Steve wasn’t about to give up so easily and was still trying to impress her, “There are four different types of moonquakes. The first three types are mostly harmless. The first of these are the so-called deep moonquakes, these are about seven hundred kilometres below the surface. The second type are caused by the vibrations of meteors impacting.” He glanced around the group, “The third kind of the harmless quakes are caused by the thermal effects of the expansion of the icy crust when the Sun returns after a two-week moonlit night.” He looked at Europa for a reaction, “And the fourth type that we normally can feel are the shallow depth quakes that occur approximately twenty or thirty kilometres below the surface.” He looked at Europa again and smiled confidently.

  Peter thanked Steve for the explanation. It helped when he knew the science about what had happened. Although he kept quiet about hiding under his desk during the quake.

  Europa wasn’t smiling, “It quaked, and?” She wanted to get back to work and had no patience for such nonsense, “Statistically speaking, it was going to happen at some point during our five-year shift.” Her voice sounded bored.

  “I was worried about the plants.” Maria seemed deadly serious, “If I could only find the appropriate music for a moonquake, the plants would think they were dancing.”

  Peter wasn’t quite sure if she meant it.

  During the awkward silence that followed, Beatriz explained, “I thought it was very different from my experiences on Earth.” Then she admitted, “After about four minutes, I did start to worry.” She glanced in to the distance and added, “I was in Tokyo in 2129 for a conference when the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck.” She remembered a comment that she’d heard repeatedly over the years, “Admittedly, it wasn’t as bad as the quake on January 19th, 2038, but it was still bad.” She had a sad expression as she remembered and the mood in the room dipped. She looked down at the table.

  Peter knew that she had lost some friends that day and changed the subject. He asked Dervla if everything in the lab was okay.

  “It was quite a shock, but there is no damage, the machines have a built-in emergency mode.”

  Peter looked at Paul. Paul seemed uncertain, “I didn’t really notice it. I was out with the dog in the hall.” He laughed a little embarrassed.

  Peter laughed hard and thanked Paul for his honesty before grinning and admitting, “Actually, I hid under my desk.”

  The others laughed and didn’t believe him, except Beatriz, who still seemed worried.

  Peter looked at their faces, they were happy. He liked that. He found it difficult to return to a more serious expression as he started speaking, “Damian and his team haven’t been in touch, and there is no word from Columbus either. We followed the journey as far as possible, but because of the weather, we couldn’t see the landing. We don’t know why the communication didn’t work.” He had no trouble looking serious as he finished. He took a deep breath and couldn’t look at anyone as he said, “The question is, does anyone else want to go home? Granted, I don’t know what would be best. But I suggest that we carry on as normal. We all had our reasons why we came, and we can stay and finish our five-year shift.”

  They started nodding, pleased with the suggestion that was probably the least frightening of their options. Peter assumed that the five scientists would want to complete their research, and he suspected that the others, except Paul, had their reasons to stay.

  Unsure, Paul watched the others before deciding to join in the nodding.

  Peter relaxed. He was glad that the subject had been settled for now, but he knew there were still a few things to discuss, “Liam is still trying to contact the Mars Base. Unfortunately, that’s not as trivial as it sounds. The satellites communicate through Earth, and so far, we have no luck accessing any of the satellites. Maybe it could work if the satellites were properly aligned. I’ll let you know when we have any further news.” Peter forced a smile. He hadn’t given up hope and wanted to keep up the illusion for the others.

  Maria took her necklace and held it in her hand as she looked at Peter. She had something to say. He nodded formally at her to give his permission.

  “I am going to organise a yoga course. Yoga is very relaxing, and I think we should do yoga in a group.” Her whole face radiated. She was looking around for interest from the group. Charlie volunteered right away. Who could say no to Maria?

  Dervla turned to Maria and asked in a quiet voice, “Is it safe for expectant mothers?”

  Maria’s eyes flicked automatically to Dervla’s abdomen. How could she have missed it? Maria smiled with understanding, “Certainly.”

  Peter was glad that he was already sitting down. He smiled and nodded with his eyebrows raised. He didn’t trust himself to say anything. It took him a few seconds before he wondered who the father was. He watched how the others reacted happily and congratulated Dervla on her good news. After a few moments, he managed to congratulate Dervla too before he jokingly reminded them about their work.

  After the meeting was over, Beatriz went with Peter to his office. When they got there, he asked if it was okay if Meichun listened in on their conversation.

  Beatriz didn’t object, and they sat down happily.

  “I assume we can no longer contact and get any deliveries from Columbus.” Peter sounded thoughtful as if he was thinking aloud.

  Beatriz didn’t react, she didn’t think he was talking to her.

  He turned to Beatriz, “Do you feel lonely?”

  She smiled understanding, “Yes, of course I feel lonely, but let’s not think about it. It’s not going to help us.”

  With a soft voice Peter asked, “Are you also wondering what happened to the landing team?”

  Slowly and firmly Beatriz replied, “It’s not our fault.”

  Peter nodded as he handed Beatriz a scientific magazine, “I’ve been reading about the Re-Do Recycle machines. The so-called plastic eaters. I wanted to understand how they work.” Peter seemed suddenly older and said forlornly, “The data mining techniques I’ve used with Meichun have come up with nothing. Which is a disappointment as I would so love to know what happened on Earth.”

  Beatriz nodded. She’d like to know too. “Since the flight last week, I’ve had a low-level sickness in my stomach. Actually, since contact with Earth couldn’t be restored.” She looked Peter straight in the eye, “Keep calm and carry on, keep going as if nothing has happened.” She dropped her eyes and looked at the magazine.

  Peter offered Beatriz a whisky. He still had the rest of the bottle Paul had brought and it was a good on
e. He smiled with his mouth but there wasn’t enough energy in his expression to reach his eyes.

  Beatriz looked at her watch. It was early in the day, but she nodded. She liked whisky, but not too much and without ice, “If we lied to ourselves that everything could be all right, we’d be happier.” Her voice sounded both sad and amused.

  After he’d poured the drinks, he agreed and added a little glimmer of hope, “It could be worse.”

  Beatriz laughed quietly, “Yes, fortunately nobody’s sick.”

  They sipped the whisky and enjoyed the drink in silence.

  Peter put his glass on the table and asked, “While we’re talking about illnesses. Is moonquake sickness a thing?”

  Beatriz hid her amusement, “I’ve never heard of it.”

  Peter nodded thoughtfully before asking, “And what are we going to do with a baby?”

  Omega 13

  Date: Monday 2nd October 2141 – 10:17 CET

  Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base

  Holding his captain’s hat in his hands behind his back, Peter walked purposefully across the large common room, the canteen. The energy-saving lights switched on and off as he passed under the sensors. He was concentrating on keeping his steps regular as he crossed the room in a shorter time than normal. His pedometer, which was built into his shoe, beeped quietly and interrupted the silence, “Target reached.” He ignored it and carried on walking. He didn’t care how many steps he walked today.

  He got to the window wall that overlooked the main garden, and hesitated. He swapped his captain’s hat between his hands and began to turn it around slowly. This time he didn’t turn around immediately, instead he seemed to be waiting and looking through the window. The large illuminated garden was surrounded by the dark, never-ending sky. To the right of the garden, he could see part of the outline of the main laboratory, which had very few lights switched on. He murmured quietly. Dervla hadn’t worked there today, and that was fine. He looked at his feet, turned around and walked back where he had come from. The room was big enough for him to get a good pace up before he collided with the opposite wall. Once more he stopped and relaxed his arms, which now hung aimlessly by his sides. He pulled himself together and with renewed determination he turned ninety degrees to the right and went to the door. He stood waiting in the doorway. He was listening to the conversation between Steve and Charlie while Steve was cutting Charlie’s hair. Steve was a qualified hairdresser, a sought-after skill on the Moon, that he’d learnt while studying for his first degree. A little jealous, Peter wondered how he could have had the time and ambition to learn so many different skills, but then Steve would have done anything to get to the Moon.

  Peter could hear the gushing praise in Charlie’s voice as he thanked Steve for a job well done. His gratitude was so genuine that Peter thought he could almost touch it. Even so it didn’t cheer Peter up. Nothing was freeing him from the brooding feeling that hung over him.

  As Charlie left the hairdressing area, he saw Peter in the doorway. Charlie posing like a model showed him his new hairstyle. Peter knew that Charlie, who always wanted to look good, believed that Steve was a marvellous hairdresser, so he nodded without really looking at him and said in a lacklustre tone, “It looks good.”

  Charlie beamed and replied, “Thanks to Steve, we all look good.”

  Peter thought, yes, he’s right, compared to the previous Moononauts, they looked really good, and they had Steve to thank. Steve kept his own hair under control with a hair clipper.

  Charlie was in a very good mood and sounded almost flirtatious as he said, “There might be photos today.”

  Peter grunted in agreement. He didn’t know what to do with himself and went in to the gym that was next to the small hair salon. Maria sat there alone and was lifting weights now and then. It wasn’t intensive training, yet the effort showed up in her red cheeks, and the beads of sweat on her forehead proved that she was trying.

  She noticed Peter and greeted him with a single movement of her head that made it clear that she had nothing to say. She returned her concentration to her training.

  The corners of Peter’s mouth were turned down, and his eyes were focused on an imaginary distant point. He didn’t really notice Maria. He was thinking about the infirmary that was next to the gym. In particular, he was thinking about Dervla and Beatriz, who were there. He could pop in and see how everything was, but decided not to, he didn’t want to intrude, instead he wandered back to the canteen. It annoyed him that the others called it a canteen, and it especially annoyed him when he said canteen by mistake. It was a common room. They didn’t just eat there, there was also entertainment. He looked at the video corner, and then at the computer games area. Only then did he notice Paul and his dog, who was sitting next to him. Paul was playing on the computer game console. Peter looked at what he was playing. It was “Asteroids”. Peter smiled a little as his innocent childhood memories returned. His smile lifted his gloomy feeling a little.

  He sat down in the canteen and put his captain’s hat on the table, while he without interest watched Paul playing. The chair felt too small, too uncomfortable. Something was wrong with it. His legs were twisting under the chair. He just couldn’t sit still. He picked up his captain’s hat, put it squarely on his head, and stood up decisively.

  Peter glanced at Paul, but Paul paid no attention to him. His fingers glided easily and swiftly over the control mechanism, and his gaze was fully focused on the screen.

  The common room offered Peter no sanctuary. He decided to go to his office. He moved on automatic pilot taking one step at a time trying not to think. When he arrived at the door, he stood for a moment, perplexed that he was already there.

  Before he sat down in his chair, he fetched himself a cup of coffee, and then put his captain’s hat next to it on his desk. The coffee smelled good and he carefully tasted the hot liquid. He felt the warmth on his lips and it calmed him a little. He leaned back in his chair and tried to relax. After a while he asked Meichun if she was busy. If she had time to talk.

  With a compassionate tone she replied, “I am always there for you.”

  “I never wanted children. Even as a child, before I knew I couldn’t, I didn’t want any.”

  Meichun agreed, “Children are a lot of work.”

  Peter thought about his wife. His favourite picture of his wife formed in his mind’s eye. It was early autumn, and she was standing on the veranda, smelling the bouquet of flowers she was rocking in her arms, the late afternoon Sun shone on her hair, and made the subtle but fabulous colours dance in the light. She raised her face. Her eyes were looking for him. As soon as she recognised him, she smiled sweetly. He was still sitting in his car waiting, his muscles weak. He couldn’t get out of the car. He didn’t want the moment to end.

  “Jean, my wife, knew from the beginning that there wouldn’t be any children. It didn’t bother her. She thought there were already too many people on Earth. Nine billion is enough.”

  Meichun encouraged Peter, “Yes, that’s right.”

  “We could have had children, but only with serious medical intervention. And we didn’t want that. We didn’t want to risk losing our dignity.”

  Meichun attempted a supportive comment, “It could also have been dangerous.”

  “At first you don’t realise that you won’t have grandchildren either.”

  Meichun conciliated, “I wouldn’t have thought so either.”

  “I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I’d have been a father. While I was working on Earth, I never thought about it. We had each other, and we both focused on our careers and our life together.”

  Meichun tried to keep giving appropriate answers, “Work is important.”

  “I hope she’s all right, and that she can handle the situation there, that someone is there to help her. You know, if we’d had a child, they would be with her, and she wouldn’t be all alone.”

  The pain on his face was easy to see as he said, “It’s
been almost two years since the lights on Earth went out.”

  Meichun replied, “Two nice years.”

  Peter sat up and looked at Meichun. Today he just couldn’t explain to Meichun why they weren’t nice years. His thoughts were too distracted, too moody. He couldn’t concentrate properly. He drank his coffee and returned to the canteen.

  Paul was still playing “Asteroids”. It was distracting him from the situation. He was giving the game his full attention. Peter sat down in the canteen and thought the chairs were still uncomfortable. He considered eating something to distract him.

  Then they heard a baby crying.

  Peter stood up abruptly, his chair tilted backwards and rattled to the floor. He didn’t hear the noise. Paul turned around, his game forgotten, they looked at each other. Was it time? Paul carefully put his game console aside, stood on unsteady legs, and walked towards Peter. The wheels of the toolbox next to him clattered. In a deep, firm voice Paul said, “Stay.” There was no doubt in the tone.

  They stood nervously next to each other, and they walked, gingerly at first, the few steps to the infirmary. Each of them encouraged by the step of the other, and they walked the rest of the way with more confidence. They didn’t hear the chair righting itself behind them.

  In the infirmary, Dervla was half-laying half-sitting on the bed with the baby resting on her breast. Dervla looked tired, but she managed to smile faintly when she noticed Peter and Paul.

  Concerned Peter asked, “How are you?”

  Dervla whispered, “Good.” She didn’t want to disturb the baby.

  Beatriz replied quietly, “We are waiting for some test results, but otherwise everything seems to be in order.”

  Paul, who suddenly seemed nervous, said, “I’ve made a cradle. I can bring it here if you want. I hid it upstairs in my room.”