Moonday

by J F Clayton

Peter picked up his captain’s hat and held it in his hand, his voice sounded almost dismissive as he said, “I’m looking at the practical side. At least we have enough escape pods now. It makes it easier to decide who has to stay behind.”

  Beatriz laughed briefly and leaned her head to the side, but she didn’t say anything.

  Peter sounded honest and almost relieved as he admitted, “We’ll have room for everyone in the escape pods. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance to go home.” He poured himself a whisky. Beatriz refused.

  Peter looked over at Beatriz holding his glass in his hand and asked, “Could we really lock him up more than he already is?”

  Beatriz replied, “No, we’re all already locked up.”

  Peter knew exactly what she meant but didn’t want to have that kind of conversation. He pulled himself together and changed the subject, “Life must go on.”

  Beatriz sighed and reminded Peter, “We haven’t told Paul and Patrick. We have to tell them.”

  Peter put on his captain’s hat and ordered, “Meichun can locate the clothing chips for Patrick and Paul.”

  Meichun obeyed and said, “They are in the big warehouse.”

  Peter nodded contentedly and thanked Meichun before downing his whisky in one.

  Beatriz asked, “Shall we meet at the infirmary?”

  He sent Paul a message, “Is Patrick still with you?”

  Paul reacted immediately to Peter’s question with a simple, “Yes.”

  Peter answered, “Please come to the infirmary.”

  Peter was breathing hard through his nostrils as he left the infirmary. Patrick stayed with Beatriz and Paul. They were trying to comfort him. Peter wasn’t in a position to do that. He was angry and there was something he wanted to know. He went to Liam and asked him if had Steve left a message for anyone else.

  Moonday Sixteen

  Date: Sunday 2nd October 2157 – 08:30 CET

  Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base

  Patrick was on his bed laying on his back and could feel the pleasant heat and light from wake-up lamps on his face, he opened his sticky eyes briefly and started the slow process of waking up. He heard the soft, gentle birthday music and grinned. He stretched excitedly. Today was his birthday. Finally, he was turning sixteen years old and would be allowed to join in with everything. His mother couldn’t tell him what to do anymore. He sat up and smiled but it was a fleeting smile that melted away as he remembered that his mother was no longer there. He thought about the farewell ceremony and the words that Liam had spoken. He’d heard the soft comforting tone and seen that Liam had teary eyes, just like the others but he hadn’t heard what Liam had said.

  Patrick felt an empty feeling in his chest, and heard his mother’s voice in his head say, “Get up and brush your teeth now.” He got up and obeyed. He wanted to make his mother happy.

  After brushing his teeth, he carefully opened the door to his mother’s room still expecting her to be sitting on the bed. The air conditioning was running, but the room felt cold and deserted. He sat down on the edge of her still-made bed and hung his head. He looked at the floor. Everything was very orderly. The Sauberbots had tidied and cleaned up. It seemed to him as if no one had ever lived here, but he knew her belongings were still in the cupboards.

  Next to her bed was the bedside table with the top drawer, where she’d always hidden a little present for him. He looked at the closed drawer for a few seconds, and then holding his breath he leaned forward, and carefully pulled open the drawer. Had she left a present for him?

  He looked into the open drawer full of expectation and fear. Had she forgotten him? He gulped and smiled as he noticed a carefully wrapped package. Was it for him? Had she remembered. He saw his name printed on it and smiled as his chest filled with joy and his eyes filled with tears. He took it out of the drawer and opened it carefully, putting the wrapping paper on the bedside table. He held it in his hand, it was a small torch and it had a note stuck to it. There were instructions on the note. He ignored it and pressed the switch on the torch. Wherever he aimed the light, the colours changed. He laughed, it was strange and funny. He played with the flashlight for a while and then he picked up the note and read it. It was a UV torch. He wasn’t sure what it was and thought he’d have to ask Paul.

  He walked out of his mother’s room holding the torch and put the instructions in his pocket. He shone the torch on the height markings on the door frame, they looked different from normal. He smiled, because he could see them more clearly.

  He turned and looked at the now closed door of his mother’s room. He remembered that Peter had asked him if he wanted to move downstairs and join the others. Patrick had said, no. He didn’t want to leave the security, the comforting familiarity of his room, despite this, it felt strange without her, lonely. It was in the morning when he missed her most. She’d used to spend a lot of time in the lab, and he hadn’t seen her much in their suite during the day.

  He thought it was only going to be for a few days more. He leaned against her door and hugged himself to try and make himself feel better and managed to drop the torch. He leaned over to pick it up, smiled faintly, and was relieved to see that it wasn’t broken and put it in his pocket with the instructions.

  The communication device on his belt beeped. He looked at it, he should visit Beatriz. The results of the DNA test were ready. As he took the stairs, taking two at a time to walk down, he felt sad, even the view of the Sun from the stairs didn’t brighten his mood.

  Beatriz was waiting for Patrick to arrive. She recognised the sadness clearly in his face. Normally she would have asked him if everything was okay, but today she smiled at him. She knew how he was feeling.

  She given him the DNA test two days ago and had had the results since yesterday. She’d already discussed it with Peter, as she hadn’t known how best to explain the results. She thought Peter’s suggestion was good and was going to use it. In as cheerful a voice as she could muster she said, “I have good news and bad news for your birthday.”

  Patrick, who’d been expecting to hear his father’s name, looked confused. He looked at her and frowned, then shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

  Beatriz suggested that they both sit down before they continue.

  As Patrick made himself comfortable in his chair, Beatriz watched him and thought it didn’t look comfortable at all, but then he was sixteen and at that age you could sit comfortably in any cramped position. She smiled and checked if he was okay. She noticed Patrick looking at her expectantly.

  “First, the bad news, your father didn’t live on the Moon Base. We have a large stockpile of genetic material on the Base. We’re holding the genetic store that was destined for the Mars Base. Your father was one of the sperm donors. We have his personal information on file.” She showed Patrick a photo of a tall, handsome, red-haired man on the screen. Beatriz smiled and said, “He’s good looking and clever. I can understand why your mother chose him.”

  Patrick briefly looked at the picture. Then raised his hand and tried to touch it with his fingertips. His gaze was distant, and he seemed lost at first.

  Beatriz watched him and waited as he got used to it.

  Patrick looked her in the eye and asked, “And the good news, what’s the good news?”

  Beatriz bent her head to the left and breathed in and out deeply, “Your mother was a geneticist and she specialised in working with DNA and she was very good at her job.” Beatriz looked at him closely, “She applied her skills to you and has made some small improvements in your DNA.” She smiled wistfully and looked at him intensely to see if he’d understood.

  Patrick was curious and confused, “But what has she improved?”

  Beatriz glanced down at her list, “You have an improved immune system, which means you don’t get sick as often as other people.”

  He nodded not really understanding what that meant.

  She continued as objectively as she could, “Your bone and muscle density are
higher than normal. That means you are stronger and faster than other people.”

  He nodded and smiled.

  “And there’s something unusual about your vision. I haven’t found any research to explain exactly what it is, but you have a wider visual spectrum than normal. It explains why you can see UV light.”

  He smiled, got out his torch and showed her, then he looked a little worried, “Isn’t that normal?”

  Beatriz was touched by his naivety, “It’s not normal, but I’m sure you’ll be fine on Earth if you wear your sunglasses in daytime.”

  Patrick seemed happy. He looked at the picture and without moving his eyes away from it asked Beatriz, “Why did Steve send me the message?”

  Beatriz looked sad and thoughtful, “I don’t know. I’m sorry.” She would have liked to have known, but she had the feeling that it had just been one of his stupid jokes. She continued, “We’ll do your normal examination. If that’s okay.” She smiled friendly, “It’s Moonday. You always have an examination on your birthday.”

  He laughed, and they played the normal examination routine. But this time, Beatriz knew what she was looking for, and she was more careful and thorough than usual. It was, after all, going to be his last examination with her.

  This time she gave him an injection to keep him from growing too much, for the time being and she made a note of his bone and muscle density. She smiled when she wrote in his medical notes that it was safe for him to return to Earth.

  After they were finished, Beatriz checked the time. It was a little too early for the party, so she sent Patrick to Paul.

  Patrick found Paul sat behind his monitor in the warehouse experimenting with the robots. When he arrived, Patrick took the flashlight out of his pocket and asked Paul, “Do you know how it works?”

  Paul looked at the device, smiled and nodded before he explained, “This is a UV or a black light torch. UV light is just outside the visible light spectrum, that’s why, the human eye can’t see it.” Paul pointed to the torch, “Inside your flashlight is a light bulb with a black light filter glass bulb.” Paul was watching Patrick to see if he understood.

  Patrick was impressed that Paul knew so much.

  Paul went on to say, “There’s more.” He smiled, “Fluorescent dyes absorb a little energy from the short-wave invisible UV light and convert it into less energetic visible light.”

  Patrick got the feeling that Paul was reading the explanation from the screen and went over to check. An explanation of UV light was displayed on the screen.

  Paul laughed briefly, slightly embarrassed and then warned Patrick, “You have to be careful, the light bulb generates energy that can harm your eye, even if you can’t see it, the energy is still there, and it can damage your eye by looking at it.”

  Patrick thanked him for the explanation but wanted to know, “How did you know I would ask?”

  Paul raised his eyebrows and laughed before lying, “Your mother told me before she died and that I should prepare to explain it to you.”

  Patrick believed him easily, and he nodded as he looked at the flashlight. It didn’t occur to him that it might have been Paul, who’d hid it in the drawer.

  Paul had a plan and suggested that they turn off the lights and go on a flashlight discovery tour. Patrick liked the idea and ran off laughing to turn off the main lights. Paul looked at him with a smile as he ran off and thought it wasn’t necessary to go to the light switch, but he knew that running there was fun for Patrick. As soon as it was darker, the discovery tour began. They chased each other through the warehouse, looking for things on the shelves that fluoresced.

  Paul ordered Astro to follow them, and from time to time Paul checked where Astro was, and made sure he was still following. Every time Patrick found something fluorescent, he laughed and called Paul to come over and look. There were so many different colours of plastic that changed their colour under black light and the white boxes glowed a light blue. The light of the UV torch caused the weak colours that Patrick saw under normal light to shine out brightly. Patrick smiled at Paul and explained to him how funny it was to see the colours brightly, then he ran off again to investigate the small electrical appliances in the vicinity of Paul’s workplace. Paul followed slowly. He liked seeing Patrick enjoying himself.

  Patrick shouted to him and told him to hurry. He’d found something. When Paul finally arrived a little out of breath, Patrick said in admiration, “Someone’s written Happy Birthday on a parcel.”

  Paul looked at the bright green text on the package before smiling broadly and tauntingly saying, “Really?”

  Patrick, who was still in awe, asked, “Do you think it’s for me?”

  Paul kept his voice serious, “Lots of people have birthdays.”

  Then Patrick remembered something, “You did it, didn’t you?”

  Paul started laughing and Patrick joined in and forgot his sadness for a moment. The discovery tour was over, and Paul suggested that Patrick should look at Astro with the flashlight. Patrick called Astro to him, then bent down and shone the flashlight at his side. He looked up at Paul and grinned before saying, “Astro is wishing me happy birthday. It’s written on his side.”

  Paul’s armband gadget beeped and without looking at it, he said, “Let’s go to the canteen.” He smiled, “There might be something there for you.”

  It wasn’t long before Patrick and Paul arrived in the canteen. They hadn’t run, but then they hadn’t exactly walked. Everyone was already there to celebrate Patrick’s birthday. They were trying their best to follow Patrick’s normal birthday routine. They were standing around the table talking about the birthday cake. Patrick was surprised, and his eyes lit up and shone as he saw the cake. Steve wasn’t there anymore, and Patrick hadn’t been expecting a birthday cake. He didn’t think anyone else could bake.

  Maria noticed his confusion and joy and explained, “Steve baked the cake just before he returned. He wanted to leave a present for you.”

  Peter, who was wearing his captain’s hat, shook Patrick’s hand and congratulated him on his birthday. He hadn’t brought a certificate and Patrick didn’t seem to notice. A few days ago, they’d talked about the certificate and Patrick didn’t believe that he deserved one. The accident had changed everything. Peter had tried to convince Patrick that it wasn’t his fault and had told he shouldn’t feel guilty about it. He’d emphasised that accidents happen sometimes, but Patrick didn’t want to know. The lack of a certificate was Peter respecting his wishes.

  Before they cut the cake, Liam lowered the projection screen and the lights, then as he played the video mail, he said, “Just before they returned, Steve, Europa and Charlie filmed a birthday video mail for you.” He smiled at Patrick. Liam could feel Peter watching him intensely. He ignored Peter’s gaze, he pointed at the screen and continued happily and said smiling, “Let’s watch the video.”

  The video mail showed the three waving and looking happy on the screen. Maria was there briefly in the background as she tried to get out of the way of the camera. They sang Happy Birthday for Patrick and then congratulated him on his birthday, they explained how sorry they were they couldn’t be there for his party. When it was over Liam put everything away and Beatriz gave Patrick a well-wrapped gift.

  Patrick was pleasantly surprised and eagerly tore off the wrapping paper, which he let fall on the floor. It was a piece of fabric and he wasn’t sure what it was. He looked at Beatriz questioningly.

  She laughed briefly and explained to him, “It is a sunhat. You have to take it with you on the journey to Earth. You’ll need protection from the Sun.”

  The hat was light beige with a large brim going down to his shoulders at the back and a brim at the front to keep his eyes in the shade. Patrick put the sunhat on his head and smiled broadly showing off his present to the others. Patrick liked the attention and felt proud when he showed off the torch from his mother. He found it comforting to see their interest in his mother’s last gift.

 
; Beatriz laughed and said, “Maybe now you can imagine how other people see the world.”

  Paul started cutting the cake and joked, “It’ll be the last Moonday. In the future there’ll be an Earthday for Patrick’s birthday.” Everyone laughed loudly and mostly to hide their confused emotions about the end of an era and the start of a new one.

  After they’d finished eating the cake, they all went to the meeting room where the last meeting was going to take place. Patrick, who was there for the first time, was nervous and didn’t know which chair to sit in. With a hand gesture, Beatriz suggested the place where Dervla normally sat. Patrick looked at Peter for permission.

  Peter smiled, closed his eyes briefly and nodded to Patrick before putting his captain’s hat on the table in front of him. Patrick sat down, and Peter smiled to welcome them especially focusing on Patrick. Peter began to speak with a serious tone, “Today will be our last meeting together.” He watched people nod slowly and sadly. He felt sad and knew that today was kind of a goodbye.

  “There’s room for all of us to return, but I know that not everyone wants to go home.”

  Patrick was fidgeting in his seat, looking at the others excitedly and curiously.

  Liam said quietly and shaking his head, “I want to stay. I’m not coming with you.”

  That wasn’t a surprise for Peter. He’d expected Liam’s statement.

  Beatriz spoke next and announced, “I’m staying too. I’m too old to go back and I don’t think I can survive the trip,” She looked at Peter, “and without my medication, I’d become a shell of myself.”

  Peter nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. As they were still thinking about Beatriz’s words, Maria took her necklace in her hand and said quietly but clearly, “I’m staying as well.”

  Liam and Paul were both surprised and looked at Maria incredibly. Beatriz looked at the table. Maria’s statement was nothing new to her and Peter just looked sad.

  Patrick blurted out, “But why?”