Moonday

by J F Clayton

  Charlie stepped up and assured Dervla, “He’s very tall and strong for a twelve-year-old, so he is ready to take a moonwalk.”

  Dervla smiled at Patrick’s excitement. It was going to be the first time that he’d go outside Art Feldmann’s area, and it was obvious that he was happy. Dervla reminded him, “You must behave well and don’t do anything dangerous.” Then she added, “And don’t forget your sunglasses.”

  Patrick nodded eagerly but stopped as he remembered what he wanted to ask his mother. There was a photo in his mother’s room, which showed Damian, Filip and John in their orange spacesuits just before they returned. He seen it almost every day and never really looked, but now he wanted to know why Damian and his crew were wearing orange spacesuits and not white and purple suits like his Moon Base spacesuit.

  But it was Paul who replied, “When you fly back to Earth, you wear orange. Orange has a higher visibility, so the search team can find you easily.”

  Patrick nodded and asked, “Can we take Astro with us?”

  Paul could clearly hear the pleading in Patrick’s voice, and he didn’t like having to disappoint him but had to explain, “Astro can only move around inside. He was never equipped for outdoor work.”

  Patrick looked sad but accepted the answer.

  Dervla raised her finger and warned Patrick, “Don’t spend too much time in the sunshine.” She knew that Patrick liked the Sun and wanted to go to Earth to enjoy sunshine with the protection of an atmosphere.

  The forming of a question showed clearly on Patrick’s face before he asked, “If we are in the Sun, can we sunbathe?”

  Paul shook his head and explained, “We can’t sunbathe, we’ll be wearing our spacesuits.”

  Charlie added, “The helmets have safety visors, and you’ll need your special sunglasses too.” Then he laughed and turned to Paul before asking him, “Which of the moon vehicles shall we take? Do you want to drive or shall I?”

  Paul and Charlie looked at each other and laughed before Paul said, “Are we ready? Let’s go.”

  Peter came with them and joined in waving goodbye to the party. They walked towards Art Feldmann’s statue together, well they would have if Patrick hadn’t been walking a little too fast. On the way Charlie and Paul discussed the pros and cons of which vehicle they should take with them. Patrick was listening with fascination, while trying not to walk to fast.

  With a sensible and serious expression Charlie explained, “We only want to drive about twelve kilometres. It’s enough to use one of the normal lunar vehicles. We don’t need to take an anti-gravity vehicle.” He looked at Patrick and said, “The antigrav vehicles can travel up to 200 km/h and they are equipped with a toilet and an autopilot.” He smiled broadly, and Patrick laughed with joy.

  Paul had an idea, “If we take a normal moon vehicle, Patrick can have a go at driving and try for his license.”

  Charlie objected, “He’s not old enough to get a base driver’s license. You have to be eighteen years old.”

  Paul countered, “He’s tall enough to reach the foot pedals and strong enough for the gear stick. Why not, and who really cares how old he is? It’s Peter who issues the licenses when we’re done.” He looked at Peter to see if it was okay.

  Peter nodded in agreement, it wasn’t a bad idea.

  Charlie thought for a moment and realised that nobody was going to mind.

  As they approached Art Feldmann’s statue, they realised something was wrong. A brown liquid was dripping from the statue. Peter looked at it, wished the others lots of fun and said that he would pursue the matter with the liquid.

  Peter took a closer look at the statue and knew immediately that Steve was responsible. Peter was annoyed and disgusted with him. How dare Steve disfigure the Art Feldmann’s statue. He could feel the blood racing in his veins and his heart pumping and he realised how angry he was. He actually enjoyed the feeling, the flow of energy in his veins. It had been a long time since he’d felt so alive and part of him was grateful to Steve. He looked at the statue for a while as he calmed down. He decided that he’d ask Liam to repair the damage. Peter shook his head. Steve had probably been bored and wanted to see what would happen to the beer and if it really would fall on her face if the statue moved too quickly. Regardless of why Steve had done it, Peter knew he needed to talk to him.

  The air in the main garden always seemed cooler to Peter than in other areas of the Moon Base. He resisted the temptation to cool his head by taking off his captain’s hat. He wanted to keep the feeling of authority. He breathed in and out deeply and enjoyed the smell of the flowers and plants. His step was slow as he walked towards the second lab, Steve’s lab. Peter just wanted to make sure everything was okay with Steve. He pressed the buzzer to announce his arrival, but without waiting he went straight in, ignoring his own rule. He knew Steve wasn’t doing anything dangerous and he also didn’t want to wait.

  Steve had placed a map of the South Pole of the Moon on a huge table in the middle of the room and was leaning over it marking a spot as Peter walked in. Without looking at Peter, he explained, “I am looking for caves. I don’t know if I’m going to find anything. It’s my new hobby. I started with a map of craters, but nobody cares. No one on Earth cares what we’re doing.”

  Peter said in a flat tone, “I’ve seen the statue.”

  Steve kept looking at the map, “I know, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

  Peter said as compassionately as possible, “What happened?”

  Steve deliberately misunderstood the question, “There was no beer in the glass, I shook the beer over her myself.”

  Peter was angry that Steve had dared to treat the statue so disrespectfully, “Someone has to clean the statue.”

  “That’s what the Sauberbots are for.” He looked at Peter provocatively, “I freaked out. I feel trapped, bored. I wanted to feel alive again.”

  Peter understood exactly what Steve meant, but asked, “Was it Moon Madness?”

  Steve ignored Peter’s comment and his voice sounded practical and resigned when he asked, “Will there be a punishment?”

  Peter replied, “No, not this time. Everything can be repaired.” Then he smiled and added, “You’ve probably touched too many moonstones.” He looked closely at Steve as he spoke and wondered if Steve wanted to be punished or if he’d changed his medication.

  Third renewal

  Date: Saturday 26th October 2154 – 10:00 CET

  Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base

  Peter was late, he stood up abruptly, stamped his foot on the floor to rid it of pins and needles and swiveled his head around. He felt his neck click and tried moving his shoulders to ease the tension. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. He gathered himself together and hurried out of his office. He didn’t know why he was late, he’d started preparing early enough. Although he had a vague feeling that he’d simply forgotten to get out of his chair on time. He decided that he could think about it later, but now he didn’t want to appear disrespectful to the others, not today, not the day of the renewal meeting. He concentrated on his breathing as he walked as fast as possible to the meeting room. Halfway there he stopped suddenly remembering that he’d forgotten his captain’s hat. He looked behind him and then forward again wondering briefly if he should go fetch it before deciding he could manage without it.

  Everyone was waiting as he arrived. He known they’d be waiting. Peter articulated every word as slowly and clearly as possible, partly because he was a little out of breath but also to hide his nervousness, “It is the beginning of our fifteenth year on the Moon Base and this means it’s time to renew our contracts.” He looked at them waiting for a reaction. None came so he remained calm and continued, “We are meeting for our annual get-together. The date was calculated in advance, as it has been every year, by Earth Base Columbus.”

  Europa interrupted him, “That is not true. This year the optimal perigee was June 24th and Columbus had calculated the shift change for that day.
In October this year, the Moon is simply too far away for a shift change to be practical.”

  Peter forced himself to smile as he realised that Europa also had the Columbus list of return dates. He should have known. He nodded at Europa and then looked down at the table to hide his mistake. He didn’t feel guilty about trying to lie about the date but was annoyed with himself for slipping up so easily. He’d deliberately delayed the meeting from June, delaying the confrontation for as long as possible and had won four months of peace for himself. He really should have known that Europa would have the list. Either she had it from Columbus or she’d compiled it herself.

  Peter forced his friendliest smile and looked at his attentive audience and explained, “We’re used to meeting in October, I didn’t want to disturb the cycle.” He watched their reactions and felt a moment of relief as they nodded, not really seeming to care that they were meeting on the wrong date.

  Peter was sure that their continued peaceful coexistence depended on his next sentence. He decided to keep his voice as calm and steady as possible, but he still breathed in deeply before he started the sentence and paused, before he rushed to say the words, “We can extend the contracts for another five years as we have done previously.” He stopped and looked at them. He had the feeling that if he explained slowly, that they would better understand and be more likely to agree. He added, “and then we wait until Patrick turns sixteen before deciding what to do next.”

  He waited for an apparent consensus. The response was underwhelming, and he made the most of it. He smiled at them as if he had good news and explained, “This will be the third extension, and the favourable conditions from the previous contracts still apply.” He nodded his head to encourage a positive response.

  Beatriz seemed confused and asked, “The third extension. What happened to the second one?”

  Peter thought she was joking as did a few of the others but Maria laid her hand on Beatriz’s arm gently and when Beatriz turned to look at Maria she said, “Don’t worry, it’s surprising how time flies.”

  Beatriz just managed to tolerate Maria’s kindness and forced her grimace into a smile. She calmed down enough to join in with the laughter that helped her hide her confusion and embarrassment.

  Europa leaned forward and put one hand on the table, straightened her back and announced, “I want to return before Patrick’s sixteenth birthday.”

  Peter gave her his full attention, she looked very serious. This wasn’t part of his plan.

  Steve sounded calm and thoughtful as he interrupted the silence, “It’s three years until Patrick’s sixteenth birthday that seems like a long wait to me. If there’s a chance to go back earlier, I want to go and I’m already on the returners list.” Steve continued looking at Peter and watched for his reaction.

  Peter kept his expression neutral. He could see that he meant it. It wasn’t even a challenge, it was more of a polite request. He looked around at the team. They were getting tired of being stuck on the Moon. On the one hand they knew they were safe here and could easily stay, but on the other hand they were craving change and contact with different people.

  Peter looked to Europa and asked politely, “Why do you want to return?”

  Europa sounded both honest and resigned as she answered, “I have done a lot of research and I’m slowly coming to the end of my work. I’ve had fifteen years with the most amazing equipment instead of the expected five. I want to go home to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of Sputnik and that means I have to fly before Patrick’s sixteenth birthday.”

  Steve snorted and mocked her, “Do you really think people on Earth are in a position to celebrate?”

  Liam looked at Steve disapprovingly and interrupted him, “I think it’s more than possible. Decades of preparation have gone into making this anniversary special and I can easily understand Europa’s desire to want to be there.”

  With a touch of surprise raising the tone of Peter’s voice, he asked, “Do you want to go as well, Liam?”

  Liam froze and looked worried almost scared then he laughed briefly before he replied in a firm voice, “I don’t have any urgent plan to return.” Liam looked at Peter. He knew the reason why he’d never return. Had Peter expected him to just change his mind?

  Apologetically Peter smiled at Liam and tried to appear nonchalant, but he worried about what could happen when the ship landed. They still had no idea what had happened and could die as soon as they landed, but then stopping them from returning, when they wanted to return, would also be dangerous. He observed the quick and questioning looks darting between the team and pretended to be waiting for a reaction, but he was weighing up the situation, they had to believe that they could decide freely and if they didn’t then they’d get the feeling that they were trapped. His eyes flicked through the faces before him and he cautiously explained, “The escape pods travel with three people. We have to send three people together, or someone is left here without a possible return.”

  Their answer was a general silence.

  Peter said, “Does anyone else want to return?”

  Paul looked at the table in front of him as he said in a small voice, “I should return,” he looked at Beatriz, “if I can.”

  Peter couldn’t hide the disappointment in his face but managed to ask in a controlled tone, “You want to go back?”

  Paul cleared his throat and half looked at Peter, he seemed sad as he said, “You all know about my DNA damage. I should have only stayed five years. The risk of problems increases with every year that I stay.”

  Peter eyes showed a deep sadness as he nodded stoically.

  Beatriz looked at Paul sympathetically and said, “We have the situation under control. The medication and the regular check-ups keep everything under control. Don’t worry about it. It shouldn’t be a reason for you to return.”

  Paul relaxed in his seat and breathed out audibly. He smiled at Beatriz before saying, “I’d like to go with Patrick when he flies to Earth. I want to show him the things on Earth that we have talked about.” As he smiled, the tears in his eyes caught the light.

  Peter nodded, completely confirming Paul’s feelings.

  Dervla looked at Peter and said in a determined tone, “I’m not going anywhere without Patrick.”

  Charlie looked around and added, “I’m both happy to stay or to return.” He looked pointedly at Maria.

  Maria hesitated, she took her necklace in her hand, turned it over several times before saying, “I’d like to stay with my gardens, I don’t want to return in a rush.”

  Steve looked at the people in amazement, “Do you want to die here? What are you waiting for?”

  Peter remained calm and wanted to stop Steve from disturbing the others, “We are waiting until Patrick is strong enough to survive the journey.”

  Disparagingly Steve replied, “Have you looked at Patrick lately. He is already strong enough to survive the journey. We might have muscle wastage problems because we’ve gotten used to a lower gravity, but he doesn’t.”

  Dervla turned to Steve, “He is too young. He’s just a child.”

  Steve laughed, “Is that really what this is about, or is it one child too many. There are ten people and only nine options to return.”

  Dervla looked at him angrily, she remained quiet but seemed about to explode. The rest of the group either looked at the table or were looking to each other for reassurance. Nobody wanted to say it, but they knew that Steve was right. They wanted to delay the decision because nobody knew what to do. They couldn’t leave someone on the Moon without a plan of escape.

  Peter took control, “Okay, does anyone else have anything to say? If not, I’ll extend the contracts, and if anyone wants to meet with me, just drop by.”

  Peter looked around, there weren’t any questions, and they seemed satisfied. At least nobody said anything. Peter’s eyes searched for his captain’s hat before he reminded himself that it was still in his office.

  Shortly afterwards, Pete
r was sitting in his office. He had his captain’s hat on his head, and was waiting patiently, or rather, he was trying not to think about who would come. He had a rough idea who would come, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. The first to come was Charlie. Peter hadn’t expected to see him, but he welcomed him anyway and offered him a lunchtime whisky. Charlie refused good naturedly. He explained that he was happy with the employment contract. He just wanted to talk about returning. He wanted to make it clear, that he wanted to stay with Maria. If she goes home, then he will go, and if she stays, he wants to stay.

  Peter nodded and told Charlie that he understood. He’d never expected anything else of Charlie. He knew how much Maria meant to him.

  Europa was waiting as Charlie left, and she wasn’t happy, “I meant it. I want to go back. It doesn’t have to be right away, and I know we need a third volunteer. I’m sure you can get someone to return with us.” She looked at him challengingly. “We all want to go home sometime. It’s only a matter of time.” Then she avoided his gaze before admitting, “At first I was too scared to return. I pretended that I wanted to stay for work and I think I even believed it myself. But it wasn’t true. I was too much of a coward.” She looked him straight in the eye, “I was scared, and I know I’m still scared but I also know I’m not getting any younger. I don’t want to wait so long that I can use my age as an excuse not to return.”

  Peter listened very carefully to Europa. When she was done, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror wall. He’d looked in the mirror before the meeting and not converted it back to a picture. Europa followed his gaze and looked in the mirror. They looked at each other’s reflection and smiled broadly both showing their wrinkles. Europa laughed, “Neither of us is getting any younger.”

  She turned to him again, “I know that my family is probably dead. I’m also aware that if we land, Columbus won’t be there to pick us up. I realise that it could be that I can’t get to my sister or to the Sputnik celebration. It’s risky to return to Earth, but if I don’t try, I’ll die here bit by bit, and I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”