The Sun blazed, casting off streamers of flame. The stars glowed like suspended arc- lamps and the Milky Way laid its jewelled trail across the Universe.
Light patches of nebulous mist, like skybome will-o'-the-wisps, showed where new stars were in the making.
So casual did Rex become that he reached for one of his sandwiches, and while eating it, regarded with amusement a small piece of bread that had become detached. In the ordinary way it would of course have fallen to the floor; and Rex did in fact put out a hand to catch it. But the crumb remained where it was, looking unnatural and rather ridiculous. A slight touch sent it floating away like a dandelion seed.
6o,000 miles,' reported the Professor, reaching for his camera.
Looking down Rex saw the Earth as a complete ball. He made out the continent of America, conspicuous by its shape. But for the most part outlines were spoiled by what he knew must be cloud formations, although they looked like nothing so much as ostrich feathers stuck all over the globe. He had not realized that there were so many clouds.
His growing indifference to his surroundings was rudely shattered when he saw a long streak of blue flame shoot out below them. For a dreadful moment he thought they were on fire, and his fear was expressed by the cry of consternation that left his lips. This brought the Professor to his side. Almost at once the flame ran away from them across the sky and quickly died. But the Professor had seen it.
'What was that?' asked Rex, in a voice still brittle with alarm.
'Rather startling, wasn't it?' said the Professor calmly. ' can only think we must have passed through some stray particles of hydrogen. Being an inflammable gas our velocity might have caused it to ignite. There has for some time been a belief that there are belts of gases, of one sort or another, floating loose in space. Very interesting. Should the phenomenon happen again we shall know that we have nothing to fear. We may have passed through several layers of non-inflammable gas for all we know.'
The Professor returned to his instruments. 'I judge our distance from Earth to be about 100,000 miles, which means that we are nearly halfway.'
More time passed. The ball that was the Earth receded, and looking down at it Rex was filled with a great wonder as he was able to see for the first time that it was literally spinning in space round its fiery taskmaster, the Sun. Strange thoughts crowded upon him as he tried to grasp the mystery of gravity, that extraordinary force which could hold such a gigantic mass in space — not only the Earth, but the countless other bodies which, as he could now see clearly, were in suspension, swinging eternally round their predestined orbits. Gravity, he realized, was the all-powerful force that governed the Universe. He hadn't realized it before.
Without it, all would be chaos. And Newton, sitting in his garden, watching the fall of an apple, had been the first to realize it! Again, for the first time, Rex was able to appreciate the magnitude of that discovery.
The Spacemaster was now moving more directly towards the Moon, and turning his attention to it he found that the physical features were beginning to take more definite shape. The craters, with their curious rays, were conspicuous, as were the tips of the mountains where the light caught them. Some of the Professor's enthusiasm touched him as his eyes travelled over the dark patches which in earlier days had been thought to be seas. Soon they would know what they were. It would be funny if they turned out to be seas after all, or the beds of ancient seas that had dried up, leaving enormous areas of flat mud, like the bottom of a dried-up duckpond in summer.
'Distance from Earth, 200,000 miles. Distance from Moon, 38,000 miles. We are drawing near the theoretical zone of gravitational neutrality. As we are still travelling at a speed in excess of escape velocity I shall now start to slow down in order not to overshoot the mark and enter the gravitational field of the Moon.'
The jets began to hum, and the Spacemaster turned slowly until the faint blue haze of the exhausted cosmic rays, instead of pointing towards the Earth, thrust their force at the Moon.
This meant, of course, that the Spacemaster had turned upside down, as had everything in it; but as far as Rex could see, in some extraordinary way they were still in the same positions. Had he not noticed the Sun, Moon and Earth moving slowly across the portholes he would have been unaware of the change. Nothing in the ship had moved.
Nothing had fallen. The water was still in the carafes. The Moon, not the Earth, was now below. In spite of all that the Professor had told him, this fantastic state of affairs was getting beyond him, he decided.
The drone of the jets died.
'We are now without velocity,' announced the Professor. 'That is to say, we are, to all intents and purposes, stationary in space. If my instruments haven't lied we shall be falling neither towards the Earth or the Moon. We will check that by remaining here a little while. It should be possible for you all to confirm it with the naked eye.
Incidentally, if we could throw overboard a solid body, it would return to us, attracted by the gravity of the Spacemaster — the heaviest gravity available. It is in this area that the rocket experts propose to leave their extra fuel, and later on perhaps build a cosmodrome.'
For some time they sat in silence. Rex didn't care for it. He found it unnerving.
Wherefore he was glad when the Professor decided to move on.
'We'd better not waste any more time,' said the Professor. 'We've seen enough for our purpose. We will go on to see what the Moon has to show us.'
The jets began to hum again, and in a matter of minutes the Moon was perceptibly larger.
'My intention is to circumnavigate the Moon, leaving the photography to an automatic camera that will take a photograph every thirty seconds,'
explained the Professor. 'After rounding the opposite side, I shall again accelerate to escape velocity and return to the gravitational field of the Earth. The acceleration on this occasion will be hardly noticeable, as we have so little gravity to contend with. After escaping from the Moon we will have something to eat while we proceed in free fall most of the way home. We are now, of course, falling towards the Moon, with the jets breaking our fall. We should be able to see all we need to see of our unpleasant-looking satellite from a height of about ten miles. I shall be too busy taking observations to talk, but we can discuss what we have seen when we get home.'
Unpleasant, thought Rex, was the word. As they fell nearer to the objective he was appalled by what he saw. Such a picture of utter desolation was beyond anything he could have imagined, in spite of his having seen the photographs. In a vague sort of way it reminded him of photographs he had seen of no-man's-land in the First World War, on a gigantic scale, except that there were no shattered trees or ruined buildings. The general impression was of a world of mud from which rose gaunt, hideous mountains, the whole having been subject to prolonged bombardment by gigantic missiles. It shocked him. That anything, anywhere, could be so dreadful, filled him with an awe that was not far removed from fear. Certainly there was nothing like it on Earth. Could this, he marvelled, could this be the lovely blue disc that had made the nights on Earth so pleasant?
He tried to pick out the features that astronomers had named, but soon gave it up. From such a close range it all looked alike. He stared hard at the supposed seas, but still could not make out what they were. They looked like oceans of black mud. The huge craters seemed to be filled with the same sort of stuff, except where they streaked out into lines of white matter that might turn out to be salt.
Tiger joined him at his porthole. 'Pretty awful, isn't it?' Ghastly.'
'I can't imagine anyone living there.'
'Nor I. It scares me to look at it. I hope we're not going much closer.'
'Distance, fifty miles,' called the Professor cheerfully. 'I shall go on a little nearer. Notice the effect of the reflected light from the Earth.'
The Earth. Rex had for the moment forgotten it. Craning his neck he could just see it. But it was no longer the Earth he knew. It was a great silver moon, nearl
y touching the horizon — the great curving horizon of the true Moon. He sank back in his seat and found that he was trembling a little. It was all rather overpowering.
'You're now looking at something no man on Earth has ever seen before,'
stated the Professor, with a note of pride in his voice. 'The far side of the Moon. I can't say I'm surprised, but I must confess to a little disappointment that the character of the surface appears no different from the side we know.'
He was silent for a little while, studying the ground through his glass.
Then, turning, he went on in a tone that carried a hint of suppressed excitement. Gentlemen, we have made two discoveries of paramount importance. Around the edges of some of the craters, and in the maria, I can see a trace of green which, if it isn't metallic oxide, must be a form of vegetation. If there is vegetation it means there is life down there. Another thing. Here and there, sometimes near the green substance but more often in the valley bottoms, I can see marks that look remarkably like the tracks left by some heavy creature. Tending to support that impression is the fact that the marks converge on what appear to be caves. I'
m not saying that this is proof that there are creatures there now. But there might have been in the past. With no wind to fill the tracks with dust they might last for a very long time. Here, Group Captain, take the glass and see what you can make of them.'
Tiger took the telescope and studied the ground for a little while without speaking. I think you're right,' he said at last. The green looks as if it might be a dwarf shrub, like heather, or possibly a low-growing form of cactus such as one sees in desert countries.
What you call tracks certainly look like that, perhaps because I can't think what else they could be. If they were made by a beast of some sort it must have been a heavy one. As you say, they converge on the caves, which is significant. Take a look, Rex.' Tiger handed over the telescope.
Rex gazed down through the glass. He could see the marks under discussion, but could find nothing to add to what had already been said.
He was about to lower the glass when he thought he saw a movement. He wasn't sure. But it seemed as if a dark bubble had half risen in one of the smaller craters and then sunk down again. I think that's mud in the bottom of those craters,' he remarked.
'What makes you think that?' asked the Professor sharply. 'Because I thought I saw the surface of one break, or heave — like thick oil when it's been heated.'
'Indeed?' said the Professor, looking hard at him. 'I wouldn't swear to it,' said Rex.
The Professor took the glass and looked down for some time. 'I see nothing,' he averred, and went back to his instruments. Rex returned to his seat. He could no longer see the Earth, for the great mass of the Moon came between them. Another queer thought struck him. For the first time they were out of sight of their own planet. He was relieved when it came creeping round the edge of the Moon again; an edge by no means level, but serrated by the peaks of mountains, glowing orange where the light caught them. Sitting silent he watched the Earth 'rise', as he had so often seen the Moon rise. They had, he supposed, traversed the far side of the Moon. When, presently, he saw the Moon begin to fall away below, he knew that this was so, and that they were on their way home. He was not sorry. It was better, he soliloquized, to take this sort of thing in small doses until one became accustomed to it. Far away on that spinning ball, he reflected, people were just sitting down to afternoon tea.
Rather less than an hour later the jets died away and the Professor told them that they were now in free fall towards the Earth. 'It has been an enthralling day,' he declared. 'But that doesn't mean we can do without food. You'll find you can eat quite comfortably.' He smiled. 'No gravity is required for that. Would anyone care for a caramel?' He looked at Tiger, his eyes twinkling. 'If you can't make a chimney of your throat you might as well lubricate it with glucose. You can all go to sleep if you like. There's no danger. I shall be looking after things.'
Rex took a caramel, as did Judkins, sitting in his seat as impassive as the sphinx.
Later, he suspected that he had dozed, for he found this easy in the warm cabin breathing air heavily laden with oxygen. Anyway, when next he looked down he saw the Earth no longer as a ball, but as a dark section of one stretching right across the porthole. Moonlight glistened on the oceans.
'Time to put the brakes on,' said the Professor quietly, 'It's hard to believe, but at this moment we are falling at a speed of about five miles a second.' He pulled over a lever and the jets began to hum.
Àh! Now, there's a sight for you!' he cried suddenly, a minute later. He pointed. 'Look over there.'
Rex looked, and started. The sky was ablaze with a great hanging curtain of light comprising all the colours of the spectrum. It was in truth a magnificent sight. 'What is it?' he asked.
'The Aurora Borealis. We're looking over the North Pole.' 'What causes it?'
The Professor shrugged. 'There are several theories. Some people believe it to be meteoric dust, others stray particles of hydrogen. Yet another belief is that it is caused by electrons emanating from the Sun. Nobody really knows. We may find out one day. The phenomenon occurs chiefly in the ionosphere, between fifty and three hundred miles above the Earth. In view of the gas we encountered, hydrogen might well be the answer.
Seen from up here it is certainly a splendid spectacle.'
'Couldn't we go and settle the matter now?' asked Rex.
'No. I should have to make special preparations for that. You see, by the time we reached the area, if the lights are caused by refraction we wouldn't be able to see them, so we wouldn't know where they were. It would be rather like chasing a rainbow. But there are the red lights of home. I must attend to business.'
As Rex sank into his seat under the pressure of the reduced rate of fall a movement caught his eye. In an instant he had half struggled up with a shout of warning. 'Look!
Watch you don't hit him!'
'Hit what?' cried the Professor.
'An aircraft. It's a jet plane — a fighter. He's below, cutting across our track. I spotted his navigation lights.'
The Spacemaster's energy jets roared for a moment, spurting blue haze to one side as it changed direction slightly.
Rex, watching the aircraft, saw from the way it turned on a wing tip that the pilot had seen them. It came round in a beautiful climbing turn, apparently for a better view; but the Spacemaster flashed past it, leaving it somewhere above, and he saw it no more. '
Phew! That was close,' he breathed.
'I shall have to be more careful!' said the Professor. 'I'm afraid I quite overlooked the risk of collision with anything except a meteorite.
We must have given that fellow a rare shock. What a tale he'll have to tell when he gets back to his station. Ha! Of course, nobody will believe him. His friends will ask him what he had been drinking. Imagine his indignation!'
'Yes, I can imagine,' agreed Tiger smiling.
Tut he'll be the one to laugh if ever the truth is known,' put in Rex.
'Quite right,' said the Professor. 'Let us hope that won't be just yet.'
Overhead the gyro was humming. The red cross was conspicuous in the dark mass of the Scottish Highlands. The Spacemaster sank towards it.
Five minutes later the undercarriage legs touched the concrete apron with a gentle bump. Through his porthole Rex gazed up at the silver orb whose solitude had at last been invaded.
The Professor spoke. Gentlemen,' he said quietly. 'You have been to the Moon.
Congratulations!'
Rex got slowly to his feet. His limbs felt like lead. He was thinking. A week ago he had started out on a stalking holiday. Instead he had been to the Moon. Or had he? Had anyone told him that it was all a dream he would have had no difficulty in believing it.
Deep in thought, and stirred by strange emotions, he followed the others into the house.
8 Preparations and
discussions
It was a week before prepa
rations for the Moon landing were complete, for apart from overhauling the ship, developing the photographs, and in the case of the Professor writing up the log of the last survey, a considerable amount of extra equipment would be required — special clothing, portable oxygen apparatus, and radio for inter-communication being the most important. Actually, the Professor had already designed and prepared equipment for himself and Judkins, so it was only necessary to make the extra suits for Tiger and Rex — a task which the indefatigable Judkins undertook.
The special suits were less formidable in appearance than Rex had expected, consisting merely of airtight canvas overalls, supplied by a firm of mackintosh manufacturers, with a perspex headpiece in the manner of a diver's helmet, so that the wearer was hermetically sealed in his suit, which could be inflated and maintained at the necessary pressure from a cylinder of liquid air, controlled by a valve and carried on the back. The Professor admitted frankly, after they had carried out a full dress rehearsal, that the cosmosuits offered plenty of room for improvement. It was unlikely that they would stand up to full sea-level pressure for very long. But then, there was no need for that.
They would probably manage with less pressure. He was afraid that there might be some leakage. But the suits, he thought, should serve their purpose for the short period they were likely to remain on the Moon.
Anyway, there was no danger. If, under actual Moon conditions, the suits looked like failing, then they would have to return quickly to the cabin which would then be recharged.
As, naturally, the air in the cabin would be lost when the exit panel was opened, a large supply for repressurization was put aboard. The Professor said he did not know to what extent these and other safety preparations were necessary; or, indeed, whether they would prove efficacious in actual practice; for although there had been plenty of conjecture nobody knew for certain what the conditions on the Moon'
s surface really were. There might be an absolute vacuum, and as this was a state impossible to reproduce on Earth there could be no practical test. On the last flight the instruments had given indication of air of some sort; but he couldn't be sure of it because the instruments might not be one-hundred-per-cent reliable. They might have taken with them, from the Earth's atmosphere, traces of oxygen, hydrogen or nitrogen. But he thought there might be a slight atmosphere at ground level on the Moon. The nearest they had been was about ten miles, and at that height even above the Earth the air was very thin. The fact that they had encountered hydrogen proved that there were stray belts of gas in outer space. Such gases would, sooner or later, become attached either to the Earth or to the Moon.
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