Moonday

by J F Clayton

  With her clear, sensible and friendly voice, Meichun replied, “It takes at least two days for the escape pod to return and then they’ll be able to send a message.”

  Peter felt suddenly all alone.

  Second wait

  Date: Monday 26th September 2157 – 11:40 CET

  Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base

  Liam’s fingers flew over the keyboard. He felt old-fashioned using it, but he liked the feel of the keys on his fingertips, and that he could work slower and think about what he was doing before committing to an action. He liked the privacy the keyboard offered and even though there was often no one there, he didn’t like having to say the voice commands aloud. He knew he could have used the brain computer interface, but he didn’t trust his thoughts. He enjoyed the feeling of the keys clicking as he slowly and exactly typed the commands he needed. He liked it to be quiet while he worked and today would have been fine if it wasn’t for Peter’s occasional sighing. His breathing came loud and short when he was agitated but otherwise he’d not disturbed him and was waiting patiently.

  “Did you get a signal?” Peter’s voice sounded both hopeful and hopeless.

  Slowly Liam shook his head. He saw no reason to try and explain the situation. The satellites had moved further away from their orbits and he’d had to program his own devices precisely so that they could work with the signals from the new positions.

  Peter sighed. He’d not expected anything else, but somehow this time he’d hoped that they’d get a message. He wanted to know what had happened on Earth, and after every failed contact it took him a while to come to terms with his disappointment.

  Liam took a device out of a drawer near his seat. He showed it to Peter and said, “It’s not finished yet, but you can take it with you next month.” He looked at Peter for acknowledgement, who just looked at him, before he added, “It’s not got any plastic parts, but it will work.” He lowered his voice, “The signal is weak, but it should be enough for a simple short message.”

  Peter was a little taken aback, and he furrowed his forehead and smiled crookedly, he stared at the thing, “Is it made of wood?”

  Liam didn’t seem to notice Peter’s reaction, and he replied casually, “Yes, partly.”

  Peter wanted to ask something sensible, something encouraging, “Is there a manual?”

  Liam shook his head and said, “Paul knows how it works.”

  Peter nodded pleased and he managed to keep a serious enough expression to conceal his inner relief that the machine was now Paul’s responsibility, and he wouldn’t have to worry about how it worked.

  Peter had already started walking away when he realised he hadn’t said goodbye to Liam. Half-heartedly he turned his head in Liam’s direction, then he felt his shoulders fall and the energy drain from him. He turned around and continued walking back to his office. He thought about his whisky and how he’d have a little one when he got there. It would help with the disappointment.

  As he lifted the whisky bottle, he realised it was almost empty. He put the bottle on the desk and pulled open his whisky supply drawer, the bottom drawer in his desk. The quiet clinking of glass as he opened the drawer comforted him and he smiled automatically. Relaxing, he poured himself a whisky. He looked at his watch, it was still early in the day, but somewhere on Earth it was time to start drinking. He decided to add some water, because it was so early. He let a few drops fall slowly into the glass. He held it up to the light and looked at the light reflecting on the brown liquid and he felt tired. He put the glass down and then sat down carefully before holding his face in his hands and rubbing his tired eyes. His palms touched his cheeks and he remembered his two-day old beard. He took off his captain’s hat and put it on the table next to his glass. He held his chin in one hand and felt the stubble. He still had his dress uniform on and was prepared, admittedly he was only half prepared with the two-day old beard, but at least he’d tried. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk before he picked up the glass and started enjoying his whisky.

  After the first satisfying sensation of whisky on the back of his throat and the quickly following heat that slowly seeped down his oesophagus, he smiled unhurriedly and was glad that he didn’t have much to do today. Then he remembered that Patrick was coming to see him. It should have been the day after tomorrow, but Patrick and Dervla had had a fight. Paul had suggested that it would be better if Patrick took a break from working with Dervla. Peter smiled as he thought of Patrick coming, and he suddenly realised he was looking forward to Patrick’s visit.

  Peter reached into the drawer where he had hidden his wife’s photo and took it out. He stared at it for a moment and thought about her. He tried whispering her name, “Jean.” His favourite memory of his wife formed in his inner eye. It comforted him. She was standing on the porch and smelling the flowers in the bouquet she was rocking in her arms, but this time when she smelled the flowers, he saw the petals falling off and noticed the withered leaves. Had he waited too long?

  The mirror was still there from his earlier preparations, he looked at his reflection and wondered what it would be like to see her again, and he realised that he was afraid, scared that too many years had passed by, and he no longer knew if she’d be pleased to see him again. He wondered if his decision that he could never leave Liam without an escape pod was just an excuse and the real reason was that he was too scared to return, scared of what he would find. He didn’t like the unpleasant feeling that accompanied this thought. He turned to Meichun and asked angrily and almost tearful, “Are they all dead?”

  Meichun reacted with lightning speed, she knew what he was talking about, “We don’t know that they are all dead.”

  Patrick came into the room and unsuspectingly asked, “Who’s dead?”

  Peter hid his whisky glass under his hat, sat upright and smiled at Patrick. He was glad to see him. He jumped up, went over to Patrick, who was just standing in the doorway, and shook his hand energetically. Patrick was surprised and joined in smiling letting some of his positive energy flow into his hand. Peter enjoyed the feeling of Patrick’s energy, and felt he was getting rid of his own negative feelings into the handshake. As they swapped hands and started shaking with the other hand, they both started laughing which spread to a twinkle in both of their eyes. It wasn’t clear who’d started laughing first, and it wasn’t important to know.

  They heard Patrick’s stomach growling and after laughing again, Peter suggested they get the meeting over and done with as soon as possible. Peter had a hard time stopping laughing, “I hear you have questions for Meichun and me.”

  Patrick nodded, took a deep breath to calm his breathing. When his voice was almost under control he said, “I even have a list.”

  Raising his eyebrows and smiling, Peter asked, “Where?”

  Patrick held out his left palm and showed the questions he had written on it. Peter noticed how small and skilled Patrick’s handwriting was. He was momentarily surprised that Patrick, who was usually so clumsy, could write so neat and tidily. Then he noticed that Patrick was wearing a Handpaper, a very thin conductive plastic that resembled half a glove because only the palm was covered. Patrick had made notes with a finger on it, and luckily for him while he wrote the Handpaper automatically improved the legibility and spelling of the writing. Peter smiled at Patrick and then turned to Meichun, “Are you awake?”

  Meichun reacted immediately, “I don’t sleep.”

  Peter ignored her answer and said kindly, “Patrick is here and wants to ask you a few questions.” Peter turned to Patrick and encouraged him, “Ask the first question on your list.”

  Patrick cleared his throat, “I’d like to know something about the Earth.” He glanced at Peter, his eyes searching for permission to continue.

  Peter nodded encouragingly.

  Patrick breathed in deeply and then said very quickly, “Will my Pulsera work on Earth?”

  Meichun’s voice was almost mechanical as she answered
, “Yes, it will work.”

  Peter watched him relax and waited for him to ask his next question.

  Patrick looked at Meichun and asked her, “How is the Earth’s gravity going to feel on my body?”

  Meichun remained with her mechanical professional voice, “Your body is going to feel heavier and you will get tired faster than normal.”

  Patrick nodded then looked up to the ceiling before facing Meichun and asking his next question, “Is the horizon further away?”

  Meichun responded immediately, “The Earth’s radius is about twice the size of the Moon, but the Earth has an atmosphere with weather, that can block the view. Theoretically for someone approximately two metres tall the horizon on the Earth will seem twice as far away as on the Moon, but it isn’t likely that you will get to see so far, and I’ve ignored the differences of standing at different locations on the oblique spheroid.”

  Patrick was impressed and made a mental note to check this out when he got to Earth. He looked at his list and made a little movement with his finger and then asked, “What does the air on Earth smell of?”

  Meichun replied, “Humans can’t smell oxygen, because they have never known a world without oxygen. Earth’s atmosphere is made up of the same elements that we have here, but there are also unpredictable elements like pollen and dust. These elements can make a difference and I think that it is going to smell sweeter for you.”

  Patrick looked at Peter and asked, “Does it really?”

  Peter shrugged his shoulders, and pulled a general, I’ve-got-no-idea-face. He couldn’t remember, and he didn’t even know if he had noticed a difference. He could only think about barbequed meat.

  Patrick nodded and turned his attention back to his list, “Does rain tickle when it falls on your face?”

  Meichun remain quiet then admitted, “I don’t know. I don’t have any information about that.”

  Patrick accepted the answer and went straight to his next question, “Is it safe in the sunshine on Earth?”

  Meichun answered mechanically, “Sunshine is dangerous on Earth, but not as dangerous as here. The atmosphere acts as a filter but you still need to protect your skin and your eyes. Don’t forget your sunglasses.”

  Peter wondered if Meichun was trying to make a joke.

  Patrick crossed off the last question on his hand and while Peter was watching him his stomach rumbled again.

  Peter laughed, and he was relieved that Patrick hadn’t asked about what had happened on Earth and what was waiting for them there.

  Patrick raised his head and said, “I have one more question.”

  Peter felt fear growing up from the pit of his stomach, almost to the point that he could taste it. He managed to keep a calm exterior, as he looked at Patrick and smiled weakly at him.

  Patrick smiled and sounded curious as he asked, “How far will a golf ball fly, when you are playing golf?”

  Peter laughed relieved.

  Meichun took his question just as seriously as the others, “It depends on how hard you hit the ball.”

  Peter glanced over to the clock and calculated that the meeting was going to take place in about one hour. He suggested to Patrick that they go and get some lunch before the meeting started.

  Patrick jumped up immediately and then stood there looking at Peter. His mouth was turned down and his arms were hanging loosely by his sides. He appeared sad. Patrick asked, “Why can’t I come to the meeting? I’m almost old enough and it’s important to me as well.” His voice had a high-pitched pleading tone.

  Peter remained quiet, he didn’t know how he could justify it. He smiled widely and said, “Let’s go get something to eat.”

  As they ate, Patrick spoke about how he was going to discover everything on Earth, he wanted to see as much as possible. Peter let him speak, not hearing his words, just hearing his enthusiasm.

  After a while Patrick said something that Peter heard, “Paul has told me that I could go for a walk with Astro during the meeting.”

  Peter said nothing, and thought, when Patrick was a toddler, it was clear that he couldn’t come to the base meetings, but now, as he looked at Patrick, he realised how grown-up Patrick seemed, and he wondered if there was still a valid reason not to invite him to the meeting. Peter was still looking at Patrick and noticed that he didn’t look happy, his lower lip was sticking out but before Peter could say anything Patrick blurted, “I don’t want to see Dervla, she’s probably still angry at me because of the Re-Do machine.”

  Peter smiled and nodded, “Sounds like a sensible decision. We’ll see each other later.” Peter left Patrick sitting in the canteen eating his second dessert and went straight to the meeting room. His captain’s hat was still in his office where he’d left it, covering his whisky glass.

  As he entered the room, he was looking at the floor, but he still noticed that all five were already sitting on five of the six available chairs. Peter had made sure that the other six chairs had been hidden away. Three empty chairs hadn’t been a distraction for him, but Peter couldn’t cope with the sight of six empty chairs around the table, with the ghosts of their previous occupants sitting staring at him. He missed them. He caught himself thinking I missed the opportunity to spy on them before he’d come to the room. He could have observed them waiting. Peter looked up and smiled at them, trying to avoid looking into the eyes that were looking at him expectantly, it was an expectation that was briefly masking the habitual hopelessness of their everyday life. He shook his head slightly and said in an emotionless voice, “I’m sorry, but there hasn’t been any contact from Earth.”

  He could almost feel the light breeze emanating from the deep sigh that slowly spread through the room. No one looked disappointed, they were resigned to the facts. Peter glanced over to Liam, smiled and raise his eyebrows questioningly.

  Liam didn’t smile and shook his head slowly. He’d not got anything new to say.

  Peter’s shoulders fell a little and while he was sitting down he wondered if they were dead. He managed a small smile and explained calmly, “Let’s reconsider the reasons why we think we lost contact. There is the improved Re-Do machines running out of control theory, society falling apart about the tensions around limited water sources, and not to forget, the possibility of a new form of avian flu.” He’d forced his voice to remain steady and strong to the end of the sentence, but it didn’t matter because no one was paying attention. Their thoughts were all somewhere else. Beatriz was seemingly looking at nothing on the wall opposite, and Maria, who had a distant look in her eyes, was twiddling with her necklace. Dervla, Liam and Paul were looking at the table in front of them.

  Beatriz took her necklace, that was similar to Maria’s in size, in her hand and still looking at the wall, she said quietly but firmly, “I don’t want to go back.” She looked both unhappy and relieved. Then she lifted her head up and looked directly at Peter and said, “I am already seventy-two. I’m too old to return.”

  Still looking at the table, Liam added in a quiet voice, “I want to stay as well.”

  Peter looked at them and thought there were always three and there are three seats in the escape pod. He was waiting for someone else to say they wanted to stay. As he was waiting for a response, he started to smile. It’d occurred to him, there could be a place for him in one of the escape pods. He looked at Beatriz. She was qualified to take over as Moon Major. His relief didn’t last long, and his expression showed his disappointment clearly as it occurred to him that Beatriz and Liam wouldn’t have an emergency escape pod if he went home.

  Maria was still playing with her necklace as she asked Liam in a quiet, inquisitive voice, “Why don’t you want to return?”

  Liam spoke slowly, and he looked to his left as he replied, “I don’t have anything to return for and I like it here.” His voice sounded determined.

  Maria sounded apologetic as she said with a painful expression, “I didn’t want to be nosey. I just thought that maybe you might know something tha
t we didn’t.”

  Liam nodded and smiled understanding.

  Dervla interjected, “If we are planning on returning. I think it would be advisable for all of us to have a medical examination before we return.”

  Peter, who wasn’t sure if Dervla wanted to return at all, smiled and nodded as he was forming a plan in his head. Liam and Beatriz were staying. Dervla, Patrick and Paul could fly in one of the escape pods and he looked kindly at Maria, who was clutching her necklace against her chest and looking at Beatriz, and he and Maria could fly in the second escape pod. He smiled pleased with himself ignoring Maria’s unhappy expression. Then Peter’s eyes followed Maria’s gaze to Beatriz, who seemed confused and distracted as she asked, “Who’s returned?”

  Paul, who was sitting next to Beatriz, pointed discreetly at the medicine button on her arm.

  Beatriz smiled and nodded, so Paul pressed the button gently.

  Dervla insisted, “Patrick needs a medical examination before he can go home.”

  Peter watched the others nodding in response. He wondered if they were transferring their concerns to Patrick, so they didn’t have to worry about themselves.

  He knew there was nothing else to say, not at the moment, and there were only three weeks to the next return date.

  Motherly love

  Date: Wednesday 28th September 2157 – 11:55 CET

  Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base

  Peter was sitting in his office and was bored. He was ignoring his task list. It didn’t interest him, and he couldn’t believe the tasks were important. He felt and heard a low rumbling in his stomach, he glanced up and thought about eating something. He was craving something unhealthy, something full of sugar and preferably fried. Then he reminded himself that he’d decided to eat healthier. Nevertheless, his taste buds were longing for the taste of sugar, salt and especially for deep fried fat. He glanced down at his belly. He knew he wasn’t really hungry, but his taste buds were longing for something to do. He glanced down at his supply drawer. Then forced himself to look away. He switched his attention to the surveillance system and tried to distract himself from thinking about the bottles of whisky in the drawer. He flicked through the surveillance cameras randomly looking at different views. Nobody seemed to be doing anything interesting, and the options were limited, so few people to observe. Patrick and Dervla were taking a walk through the small garden. It occurred to him that this was unusual especially at this time of day and he smiled at the thought that they were taking time for each other before returning to Earth. As he smiled he thought of the salt on potato chips. He ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking maybe he was hungry after all. Maybe he should get something to eat. He put his hand on his stomach as it rumbled again, when he looked at the surveillance monitor, he noticed that they’d stopped walking and were turned to each other, both with a tense posture, as if they’d had a difference of opinion. He stared the picture and wondered if he should turn on the sound, but he didn’t. He just looked at them standing under a tree near one of the small, fenced off displays that didn’t properly contain the tree roots. There must be a microphone nearby, he could turn it on. His conscience started to bother him, their conversation was private, and he should keep it that way.