Dark Side of the Moon

by Alan Jacobson

  “Maybe,” Vail said. “Maybe not. Each of the countries has its reasons for not discussing or disclosing what happened. It may all just fizzle away.” Vail turned away from the ocean and leaned her back against the railing. “So what was it like?”

  “It was …” Uzi stopped and thought a moment. “It was unlike any mission I’ve ever been on. In some ways, because of the environment, everything we knew about warfare and black ops was thrown out the window. And we were basically unarmed … against an armed opponent. Deep down, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it home.” Uzi turned to DeSantos. “I think it was about as tough a mission as we could’ve had.”

  “Amen to that,” DeSantos said with a laugh. “Then again, the mission planners could’ve put us down on the dark side of the Moon. That would’ve been a whole lot more difficult.”

  “The dark side of the moon is not a place, Santa. It’s a thing. A very dangerous thing, an element with the potential to give new meaning to the term ‘weapon of mass destruction.’ The Moon harbors a dark secret and Apollo 17 unwittingly exposed it.” He looked out at the setting sun. “Humanity’s got a horrible record with death and destruction. It’s in our DNA. Let’s hope caesarium stays where it is, a quarter million miles from where we can get our hands on it.”

  “So you told me what it was not like,” Vail said. “What was it like?”

  Uzi glanced at DeSantos. “What was what like? Playing astronaut? Blasting off with the world’s most powerful rocket on our backs? Flying to the Moon? Walking on the Moon? Splashing down?”

  “All of that. I mean, what you guys did … very few have done. It’s … well, it’s every boy’s dream.”

  DeSantos chuckled. “Every man’s dream, I think.”

  “I know some women who share that dream.” She studied his face. “I’m still waiting for an answer. I’m more than a little bit curious. And ‘every man’s dream’ doesn’t quite cut it.”

  “It was …” Uzi again looked off at the orange blaze reflecting off the rhythmic ocean waves. “Indescribable. Being on another planetary body, a moon … It was so desolate. Quiet. I mean, when we landed, there was no one there. No trees. No weeds. No noises. No water, no wind. No squirrels or birds. No bugs. A lifeless world. Everything that we take for granted on Earth, even color, none of that was there.”

  Vail shook her head, processing what Uzi said. “I can’t imagine.”

  “Setting down near Apollo 17’s landing site, looking at all the stuff that was left behind by Cernan and Schmitt was, well it was exactly the way they left it decades ago. Kind of creepy.”

  “Definitely creepy,” DeSantos said. “Like visiting a ghost town where the people just up and left one day.” He thought a moment. “It was everything Uzi said. And more. Looking up and seeing the sunlight but no blue sky. Seeing the earthrise. The stars were something else—they were everywhere, but there was no atmosphere, so they didn’t twinkle.”

  “Once you’ve done something like that,” Uzi said, “what can top it? I mean, you can hike the Grand Canyon or the Himalayas, and you’ve got a breathtaking view. Nature at its best. Climb Mt. Everest, hike up Machu Picchu. Beautiful and exhilarating. And yet none of it compares to what we experienced.”

  Vail thought about that. “Think it’ll change you in any way?”

  DeSantos turned back to the ocean. He looked up at the nascent Moon rather than the setting sun. “We were definitely changed by it.” He studied the darker irregular circles that stood out in relief against its smooth, bright white surface. Somewhere up there were his footprints, preserved in time. “If there’s one way to sum it all up, I’d have to say, out of this world. Literally.”

  77

  Langley, Virginia

  Earl Tasset and three of his confidantes stood inside a nondescript, secure room at CIA headquarters.

  Tasset took a deep breath and held it as he watched the drama unfold on a large screen at the front of the room.

  A covert paramilitary operations team from the Agency’s Special Activities Division/Special Operations Group–Ground Branch, waited at the rear entrance to Vandenberg Air Force Base storage building F, having taken out the guards with tranquilizer darts.

  Much like OPSIG, the CIA unit was a secretive special ops detachment that carried out hostage rescue missions, acts of sabotage that supported US interests, personnel and material recovery, kidnappings of key opposition personnel, and counterterrorism duties.

  “Power’s down,” one of the operators said. “Backup generator’s offline. Go, go, go!”

  Six black-clad men activated their chronometers and entered the facility. The drugged guards would be under for ten minutes at least, but the operatives needed to be in and out of the facility well before then—because standard operating procedure dictated that when the power went down and the generators did not come on, it triggered an automatic cell-signal based alarm. They activated a jamming device but did not know for certain it would be 100 percent effective.

  They had to assume the facility would be swarming with armed personnel within 120 seconds. And since this was an Air Force base, the response would be no-nonsense and forceful.

  At thirty seconds in, the operatives had secured the crew module, and fifteen seconds after that, they had removed the communications array. Behind it sat a thin metal container that looked like a small safe deposit box.

  The men opened the receptacle and removed a device from their kit. They took a reading, then slammed the lid shut.

  “We’ve got it, sir. Right where Carson put it. Geiger counter confirms. Exfiltrating now.”

  “Sixty seconds.” Tasset looked at the high resolution satellite imagery on his large screen and said, “You’ve got company. Two klicks out and approaching at sixty miles per hour.”

  “Affirm,” the operator said, slightly out of breath. “Implementing a tactical descent and departure.”

  Nine seconds later: “Helo’s inbound and we are en route to the exfil point.”

  Tasset dropped his chin and tapped his foot as he waited for the all clear.

  “Onboard,” the man said, his voice rising in pitch, “but taking hostile fire on the climb and acceleration!”

  Tasset turned back to the screen but the angle of the satellite, dense cloud cover, and nighttime darkness made it difficult to see what was transpiring.

  As the radio silence ticked by, Tasset put his head back and looked at the ceiling.

  Twenty seconds passed. Thirty. Then:

  “Dodged the rooftops. We are clear. Repeat, we are clear.”

  Tasset took a deep breath and removed his glasses. “Excellent work, gentlemen.” He wiped his brow with a sleeve and turned to Bansi Kirmani. “The Agency—the country—owes you a great debt, captain. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

  AFTERWORD

  I always strive for accuracy in my portrayal of real-world issues and the behind-the-scenes looks at how things work. In the case of Dark Side of the Moon, I have grounded my fiction in fact, but I took minor literary license where needed to advance the story or to keep it from getting bogged down in rocket science minutiae and governmental bureaucracy. NASA and the military are two sprawling complexes of acronyms, disparate locations, and compartmentalized functions involving not only their own agencies but corporate contractors. I have simplified it to keep the plot moving. For the dozens of you “in the know,” I’ve compressed, streamlined, or tweaked certain details. (In other instances, I was asked not to include certain information for security reasons.)

  Moreover, our world is changing rapidly as threats emerge, some of which are discussed or alluded to in this novel. New entities within the military are created or existing ones are collapsed and merged with others to address such challenges. What I write today may not be referred to in the same way, or organized as such, two years from now. The concepts behind how these things funct
ion, however, will likely remain as depicted.

  Another layer to all this is the integral role private industry plays in our military and public space endeavors. This has always been the case—going back to pre-Apollo and Gemini days—but perhaps more so now because of the enormous costs and increasing complexity of the technology involved in these missions.

  Finally, a note regarding what’s real and what’s not. Please read my discussion on this at www.alanjacobson.com/moon-hidden-page, but I at least wanted to note here that caesarium is my creation. While the astronauts on various Apollo missions did bring back hundreds of pounds of rock, and Moon rock does contain radioactive materials thorium and uranium, the extraordinary nature of caesarium, as well as Gene Cernan’s and Jack Schmitt’s comments about it, are fictional.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Dark Side of the Moon forced me to stretch my research muscles because most of what I needed to know for this novel fell well outside my normal sphere of expertise. It was a challenge finding the following esteemed professionals. Some insisted on remaining anonymous, especially those in private corporations, so to those of you not included below, I appreciate the extensive time, explanations, and access you provided me.

  First, a hat tip to Debbie and Josh Sabah for connecting me with Philip Dumont and José Hernández, respectively. This kicked my knowledge base into high gear and sent me off in exciting directions. Additionally, I would like to thank the following individuals, who gave generously of their time:

  Philip Dumont, PhD, scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), gave me a broad, early overview of what the Moon shot would look like, what issues the team would face, the challenges I had to overcome in getting my people to the Moon—and lined up some of the experts I needed to fill in all those blanks.

  José Hernández, NASA Space Shuttle astronaut (STS-128) (ret.), engineer, co-developer of the first full-field digital mammography imaging system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and currently principal of Tierra Luna Engineering, for all his assistance with astronaut training, NASA procedures, the US x-ray laser project, orientation regarding NASA’s SLS/Orion program, the Vandenberg shuttle pad and its utility for covert government missions; the required composition (and training protocol) of astronaut teams for my mission, the Russian space (and Buran shuttle) program, return-to-earth reentry issues and landing options. José has an inspiring story of how he became a shuttle astronaut—not to mention that he co-developed the first full-field digital mammography imaging system. I urge my readers to find out more about José by reading his biography, Reaching for the Stars.

  Charles Galindo Jr., planetary scientist, lunar processor, and lunar researcher for NASA contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman (ret.), and planetary scientist and education outreach professional at Tierra Luna Engineering. Charlie worked with the real Moon rocks brought back on Apollo 17 and educated me on lunar geology, new element discovery and the basics of minerals, the nomenclature of elements, and how the caesarium would be mined/retrieved—as well as its radiation concerns and how they would be addressed by the astronauts. He also helped educate me regarding the former military/NASA collaborations and the potential monitoring organizations, both government and private, that would first observe the Chang’e 5 launch.

  Kent Wong, senior manager, system engineering, Aerojet Rocketdyne, for explaining in great detail the way rocket engines work relative to fuel—and how one fuel might be used in a foreign engine, and the risks involved. Kent also assisted me with how to get the Apollo 17 tank to the Chinese lander and the details as to how that fuel transfer would happen, how and what parts would need to be printed, the scenarios in which rockets could malfunction, and the particulars that go along with that. In short, Kent was my go-to resource on rocket engine–related technology, terminology, and how to solve various problems the characters encountered—while keeping it within the realm of that pesky thing known as physics. His review of the space- and rocket-related portion of the manuscript caught many of my scientific flubs. (Any literary license I took to “make things work” is my responsibility.)

  Jonathan Adam, lead structures engineer, SpaceX, helped me understand the concepts behind manned space flight and rocket booster launch power; the relationship between payload, rocket capacity, and duration of mission. On personal time, Jon ran the numbers on crew complement and assisted me with the engineering concerns relative to this mission; and he gave me the options of places where the mission should be run, and launched, from. His information regarding the transportation of the Hercules II rocket, and the covert nature of portions of Vandenberg, made it the clear choice—and set up the information I would later learn from Moon Milham, below.

  Moon Milham, lieutenant colonel, USAF and Air National Guard, F-16 fighter pilot, F-16 Weapons School graduate, instructor, forward air controller, mission commander, and combat aviator in three conflicts (Desert Storm and Operations Northern Watch and Allied Force)—and a host of other things filling an impressive thirty-three-year military career. For this novel, Moon’s first “mission” was assisting me with Uzi’s and DeSantos’s F-18 training scene. He walked me through the entire process, step by step, of the onboard F-18 malfunction, post-ejection landing and search and rescue procedure, and fighter pilot terminology. Getting it right took weeks. As if that were not enough, Moon helped me understand launch trajectories—important for a Vandenberg launch to the Moon—and abort procedures. Moon also taught me about transponders, satellites, the Deep Space Network, communication jamming protocols and limitations, and private plane tracking through NORAD.

  Rich London, physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for information on the proposed laser deployment in lunar orbit; the nuclear properties of caesarium; explosive properties of nuclear weapons; destruction radiuses; transuranic superheavy elements; and the types of radiation detection devices. Although I have a science background, nuclear (and laser) physics is well outside my knowledge base—and what I used to know I’ve long since forgotten. Rich took pity on me and made sure I understood the nuances of his field—or just enough to tell my story. I stretched the physics of things here and there to make things work—but that reflects on me as storyteller, not on Rich as scientist.

  William “Red” Whittaker, Fredkin Professor of Robotics and director of the Field Robotics Center, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, for helping me understand how to connect the Chang’e 5 solar panel and battery to the Apollo 17 LRV (rover). As you now know, it’s a lot more complex than meets the eye, but Professor Whittaker—who has designed (and built) lunar and Mars rovers—walked me through the procedure like a true educator. When all was said and done, I actually understood everything we discussed.

  Heather Jones, PhD, project scientist, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, helped me with all of the above, as well as the particulars of the rover battery, solar panel array removal from the Chang’e and installation into the LRV—and the concept of the Moon as a junkyard in space.

  Steve Garrett, US Navy Hospital Corpsman senior chief (diver/free fall parachutist/Fleet Marine Force)—also known in military parlance as HMCS (DV/FPJ/FMF) (ret.)—for refining my parachuting techniques (Uzi and DeSantos thank him as well!). Steve also read the entire manuscript and corrected my Special Operations Forces terminology, procedures, and approaches. (Steve and I interviewed each other on www.the-lineup.com for The Lost Codex, OPSIG no. 3, which I recommend checking out. Steve’s Spec Ops skill sets are on full display.)

  Jason Rubin, captain, United States Marine Corps (ret.) and foreign service officer for the State Department, laid the groundwork as to where the F/A-18 scene had to occur, in what type of jet, and the perils of both ejection and flying over DC’s Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area; he also read and edited the chapter for accuracy.

  Valerie Neal, PhD, curator and chair, Space History Department, Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Mus
eum, for her efforts in getting me the contacts and information I needed to write this novel. Valerie understood what I was trying to accomplish and connected me with planetary geologist Bob Craddock and NASA’S head engineer of the Orion Program at Johnson Space Center, Julie Kramer White.

  Julie Kramer White, NASA’s head engineer of the Orion Program at Johnson Space Center; engineers Stuart “Stu” McClung, Jeffrey “Jeff” Fox, Thomas “Tom” Walker, Annette Hasbrook, and Gary Cox for information and explanations regarding the Orion chute deployment and splashdown procedure, the Orion hatch operation, the Orion avionics operating system, the flight software, and vehicle management computer, the Orion service module, and prelaunch sequence.

  Barbara Zelon, communications manager, Orion Spacecraft, and Laura A. Rochon, public affairs specialist, at NASA Johnson Space Center; Debbie Sharp, operations manager/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Radislav Sinyak, communications manager, Ares Corporation for making the connections with the aforenoted engineers.

  Robert Craddock, PhD, geologist, Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, for assistance with questions regarding the procedure and feasibility for opening the Orion hatch prior to reentry.

  Matthew Kramer, Lockheed-Martin, and Allison Rakes, SLS/Orion at Lockheed-Martin, for helping me get clearance through Rachel Kraft at NASA. Rachel then worked on my behalf to obtain answers to my questions.

  Tomás Palmer, senior cyber research engineer, for helping me understand and implement my idea of operating system malware. He also assisted me with the communications issues the Patriot encounters and the ways Uzi approached his solution. Tomás has a long-standing knack for helping me get my characters into, and out of, trouble.

  Mark Safarik, supervisory special agent and senior FBI profiler with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (ret.) and principal of Forensic Behavioral Services International, for reading the manuscript and correcting any FBI and/or law enforcement procedural issues I may’ve mucked up. Mark also helped with identifying and solving a logistical issue I had glossed over.