by Dan Eaton
We had landed vertically with the forward part of the cabin where the crew lay on the couches now at the top of the cylinder that formed the passenger module. That meant from the crew couches to the floor was a drop of about four and some change meters. I wouldn’t like to drop from that height on Earth, but here on the Moon that worked out to falling less than a meter on Earth. To facilitate getting down without jumping down and a way to get into the bunks from the floor there were ladders attached to the ends of the bunks. They didn’t quite look like ladders because they were so lightly built, but for the load they would see on the Moon they were quite sufficient.
We all heard the motors, opening the shroud doors that would allow access to the passenger module from outside, but it was about fifteen minutes before we heard any further noises. At that point, there were some soft clanks from below the floor. Yukiko had climbed down to the floor about five minutes before and now checked the airlock for a good seal. She was then able to open the airlock door on the cabin side while the crew of the passenger transport had opened the door from their side. Yukiko had loaded the cabin with the first in going to the most forward bunks. That meant the Cherneski and Dumas families got to exit first, but at that point it was all good with me as long as we got to get off.
The passenger transport looked like a bus as far as the cabin was concerned. The rear of the cabin ended in the airlock we entered from. To enable the airlock to mate with the airlock on the lunar shuttle the whole cabin was raised up to match the height of the shuttle’s airlock. As soon as people entered from the shuttle the interior of the transport was completely forgotten as the views out the windows became apparent. I threw myself into a seat as soon as I saw the windows and looked out onto the actual lunar surface. The pad where we had landed looked to a square about one hundred meters to a side. Bordering the sides of the pad was a raised berm of dirt. Except this was the Moon and the dirt here is called regolith. The regolith berm completely surrounded the pad except for two breaks where access roads connect to the pad on each side. The pads, the inner faces of the berms, and the roads were paved with stones formed from melted or sintered regolith. Mom and Dad joined me in the next seat and I said, “Look, it’s the Moon. We really made it.”
Dad gave Mom a hug and said, “That we did Bryce, that we did. Look over there, I think that tower is the main solar power collector.” What I saw appeared to be a large open building that almost looked like a sailing ship the way the solar arrays sprouted from it perpendicular to the ground. Any place else and you would expect the arrays to run more parallel with the ground, but here at the lunar North Pole the Sun lay on the horizon instead of overhead.
About that time, Commander Davies came through the airlock after closing the shuttle’s hatch. She closed and sealed up both of the transport’s airlock hatches and nodded to Yukiko, who had taken a seat towards the front of the transport. Yukiko spoke into a microphone and suddenly the transport started moving very slowly away from the shuttle. It came to a stop after a couple of meters and then the compartment we were in started slowly lowering itself towards the ground. When the compartment had reached as low as it was going to go the transport started up again and smoothly accelerated towards the opening in the berm. Not that it got going very fast. It looked like we were going maybe 16 Kph if that. As we slowed down and turned onto the road running alongside the landing pad I could see there was what looked like another pad off in the distance and everywhere the sun was shining on the rim of the crater there appeared to be more solar collectors of one form or another. The transport hadn’t gone too far before it slowed down to start descending a ramp cut into the surface. The ramp ended at a door that opened for the transport and then closed behind the transport as it pulled up to the room’s second door. Once the second door had opened the transport pulled forward to a third room with another door on the far side of the room. This time we briefly heard the noise of air rushing around outside of the transport and when the third door opened, we pulled into a rectangular room with a rounded ceiling that was clearly a pressurized vehicle park. We had entered the Northern Lunar Habitat proper.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Orientation
The transport pulled up to a low set of lock doors meant for use by people. In front of the door waiting for us was a woman dressed in what we would later recognize as a standard issue habitat jump suit. We had to wait for a couple of minutes when a technician rolled up a short set of stairs to the airlock on the back of the transport. It was only a meter drop and in the lunar gravity, it was no big deal, but I guess they felt it was safer for us to walk down stairs than to just hop out.
While we were waiting I got a better look at the room we were in. The floor was paved with the pervasive sintered regolith paving blocks we had seen used on the landing pads and roads, although these stones looked shiny compared to the stones we had seen before. The walls and curved ceiling were also made from the shiny stones and I asked Dad about it. He said, “Good catch Bryce. To make the rooms air tight they build them with the sintered regolith stones and then seal the walls, floor, and ceiling by spraying them with a metal film.”
“How the heck do they spray metal,” I asked.
Dad said, ”They take advantage of the Moon’s lack of an atmosphere and use a vapor deposition technology. Basically, they heat up a metal hot enough to create a vapor and then blow the vapor on whatever they want sealed up. The vapor fuses to the cooler material and seals it. It’s not easy to do on Earth because you need to do it in a vacuum, but here on the Moon it’s pretty easy. I’m not sure what metal they used, but I’m guessing it’s probably some form of aluminum.”
The tech had finished hooking up the stairs and Commander Davies stood up to catch our attention. She said, “Thanks for traveling with Yukiko and I. I know it wasn’t a luxury voyage, but we did enjoy your company and wish you well for your stay here at the habitat.” While she was speaking, Yukiko had moved behind her and opened both airlock hatches so we could exit the bus. Smiling at us, Commander Davies said, “The last part of your journey is to walk out the airlock, go down the steps and over to the door where Dr. Johnson is waiting for you. Please remember to take it slow in the lunar gravity. Yukiko and I don’t want to have to hand over any unconscious passengers to Dr. Johnson because someone got boisterous and knocked themselves out jumping into the ceiling.”
I didn’t want a repeat of my capsule exit gaff so I waited until several others had got up and walked out. I took it easy going down the stairs and then took in a deep breath. The air was fresh with just a tiny hint of a spent gunpowder smell coming from the wheels of the transport. That spent gunpowder smell was a signature of lunar dust. The dust could be a problem since it was composed of sharp little particles that caused lots of wear if it got into moving parts not to mention what it could do in your lungs. The habitat made a point to keep the dust under control and I figured the transport would be getting a scrub down soon.
I walked over and gave Mom and Dad a hug and then we proceeded over to meet Dr. Johnson. We all gave Commander Davies and Yukiko a wave goodbye as they exited the room through the lock behind Dr. Johnson and then we gave her our full attention as she started to speak. “I’m Dr. Christine Johnson, the Northern Lunar Habitat’s Director of Human Services. I’d like to welcome each of you to the Habitat. We’re more of a small town and normally we don’t stand on formality so please call me Christine.” Dr. Johnson was a woman in her mid-thirties with intelligent eyes and a broad friendly smile. She had light ash brown hair that reached down to slightly below her shoulders. My first impression was she was a very competent woman that you could trust.
Christine continued, ”My job here is to help you ease into life at the Habitat and help you work out any problems that might arise. I have a busy day planned for you. First up will be a visit to the medical section where Dr. Taylor wants to check you over and make sure there’s no after effects from the sleep drug. While you’re there you can grab a shower and I h
ave a change of clothes for you. I’m sure after wearing those pressure suits constantly for the last three days you’d love to get out of them.” There was a chuckle from the crowd and I noticed that people had spread out a bit and the parking bay air didn’t smell as fresh as it had when I first stepped out of the transport.
Christine went on, “After the visit to medical we’ll stop by one of the cafeterias. I’m sure after the liquid diet, you’ll appreciate getting some solid food in you. Once the food has settled, we’ll take a brief tour of the habitat and then I’ll show you to your new homes. Later, if you’re comfortable with it there will be a meet and greet in the main cafeteria this evening. Are there any questions?”
Ananyu’s mom spoke up and said, “Christine, when will our luggage be arriving?”
Christine gave her a smile and replied, “Hello Dr. Patel. It was shipped out prior to your launch so it’s already here. I’ve had it taken to your homes. Please let me know if anything is missing.” She hesitated for a bit and then said, “If there are no other questions please follow me to the medical section.”
Christine led us through the lock and down a hallway before entering a doorway that led into the medical section of the Habitat. She turned us over to Dr. Taylor after first introducing him to Dr. Patel and then the rest of us and said she would meet back up with us when the doctor was done with us. Dr. Taylor suggests we start with a shower and a change of clothes. There were three rooms off of the main room and the doctor directed our family into the first room while the Cherneski and Dumas families were directed to the next two. Inside the room we found fresh underwear and three new habitat jumpsuits.
Mom grabbed her clothes and called “Dibs on the shower: before Dad or I had a clue to what was going on. While Mom was in the shower there was a knock on the door and a nurse came in and introduced herself. Her name was Juanita Oak and she asked us to send Mom on out after she was dressed so that Juanita could draw a little blood.
After each of us had showered and put on the jumpsuits, Nurse Juanita would grab us and pull a blood sample. While she waited for the results Dr. Taylor sat each of us down and asked how we were feeling. Both he and Nurse Juanita had a great bedside manner and I was impressed that he spent time making sure each of us were healthy instead of talking with his new colleague Dr. Patel like I’m sure he wanted to. He did save Dr. Patel for last and got a chance to spend some time with her while we waited for the lab reports to come back. When they did, the results were good and we were all ready to see Christine again. I was especially ready to see her because my stomach had started growling and it was kind of embarrassing. It wasn’t too long and Christine came back in to collect us.
We said our goodbyes to Dr. Taylor and Nurse Juanita and followed Christine out the door and back down the hallway to a cafeteria that looked like it could hold about 30 people. Christine led us in and said, “Welcome to the Northern Grill. This was the first cafeteria the Habitat had and still supports the original part of the Habitat. Normally, the cafeteria is a la carte service, but I’m afraid Dr. Taylor has already ordered for you and would really like you to consume everything he ordered to help insure your digestive system is back on track after the trip here. “
They had trays already out for us so I went over and picked one up before sitting back down with Mom and Dad. There was what looked to be a grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of tomato soup, some crackers and a small serving of Greek Yogurt for desert. For a drink, we had ice water. I looked at the tray and looked at my mom and she just smiled and said “Bryce, I’m sure the doctor has a reason for wanting us to take things slowly. If it helps, just think of it as priming the pump for the big meal I’m sure you’ll have later.”
While we were eating, Christine was making the rounds of the tables and meeting each family. We had a nice chat with her and before she left the table she turned to me and said, “Bryce, I hope you’re planning on coming to the meet and greet tonight. If you do, please look me up, I know some people that would like to meet you.”
I had no idea who would want to meet me, but before I could ask her further about it, she stepped to the front of the room and said, “Can I please have your attention. Before we go on the tour I’d like to introduce you to our Chief of Habitat Security, Sam Tanner. Sam will review the emergency procedures for you and some of the guidelines to help keep you safe during your time here. Sam, the floor is yours.”
Sam Tanner turned out to be a woman looking like she was a couple of years younger than Dr. Johnson. She had a broad face with dishwater blond hair pulled back tightly into a pony tail. She had a muscular physique that suggested she worked out a lot. She was friendly, but it was the kind of friendly that came from being very confident there were few threats she couldn’t handle. She gave us a smile and said with an upper Mid-West accent, “Hello everyone, welcome to the habitat. You should all know this from the briefing materials, but it’s one thing to be sitting on Earth reading through the material and another to actually be here living it, hey. First off, let’s talk about the doors. Any door with a green Habitat Risk indicator like this, and she held up a card with a green octagonal circle filled in with green lines is safe for you to enter. Any door with a yellow octagonal circle is an area unsafe for you to be in until you receive the proper training. Beyond that, there’s a black octagonal circle that marks areas that can be deadly to enter, but you won’t see a black door unless you’ve gone through a yellow marked door first. Either the yellow or black octagons may be filled in with a letter indicating the type of risk. For now, just turn around if you see either. Any questions on this part?”
Adam’s mom Mia spoke up and ask, “Sam is there any way to get through one of those doors accidentally?”
Sam answered, “First of all, the doors query the medical chips in your hand to get your Habitat ID so if you try entering a door that’s not keyed to your Habitat ID it won’t open for you. If you accidentally follow someone else through a door the door will pick up the signal from your health monitoring chip and your habitat code will be checked against the type of door and if it’s not safe for you to be there an alarm will be set off. I get notified of any alarms for a yellow door. For a black door a security squad will respond immediately. Does that answer your question?”
Sam went on with the rest of her talk, which didn’t take much longer. The remainder was mostly common sense stuff and I was getting kind of bored with it. It wasn’t Sam’s fault, but after so much inactivity the last three days I was ready to be up and walking around for a change. Sam finished up and Christine took over and suggested we start the tour. She led us to the right out of the Northern Grill and we ended up at a corner with a lock door similar to the one we entered from the Vehicle Bay. Christine said, “The lock you see is an entrance to #1 Life Support. To augment what Sam said notice this door has the black hazard marker along with the black strips on the floor. Myra, could you give me a hand and try opening the door?”
Myra walked over to the door but nothing happened. Suddenly, the sound of an alarm was heard coming from inside Christine’s suit. She grabbed her phone and answered with, “You can stand down Sam. I just had Myra try the lock to Life Support #1.” She hung up and said, “Thanks Myra, anybody have any other questions about the doors?”
I spoke up this time, “Christine, I thought Sam said something about not being able to even see a black door unless we went through a yellow one first?” Christine replied, “Good question Bryce and also a good segue back to the tour. We’re standing in one of the oldest parts of the Habitat. The Vehicle bay was the first section to be built. Then they started adding on sections that consist of a modified barrel vault partitioned into two smaller spaces. The rooms you see here starting with the server room we’re standing next to down to the Medical section form the first partition. Things have changed over time, but currently the rooms in this partition include the server room, Northern Grill, Administration and Security, Medical, and then along the back side are six bunk rooms h
ousing eight people a piece. To answer your question Bryce, this partition can only be reached by passing through a door marked with a yellow hazard marker.”
Christine led us back down the hall towards Medical. Just past Medical was a wall that formed the division between the two partitions. She led us through the doorway and then paused while she said, “If you look at the door from this side you’ll see it’s marked with the yellow hazard marker. The only exceptions to the yellow before black hazard signs are the entries to the other life support rooms. They will always be a black door just because we’re a little particular about who has entry to those rooms. Other than that, you now have access to most of the rest of the habitat. Any questions?”
My dad asked Christine the question I had already been wondering about, “Christine, how do we get the training required to access the restricted doors safely?”
Christine gave Dad a smile and said, “Hello Desmond, I’m aware you’ll be needing access for your job here. We’ve already scheduled several Yellow/Black training classes. Sam has emailed the schedule to the Habitat email list which you are all now part of. You’ll be able to check your accounts when we get you settled in your homes.”
She continued, “If that answers the question, let’s continue with the tour.” Christine led us on down the hallway. The rooms were on the left side of the hallway and the first was a unisex communal shower/bathroom. She pointed out that this room was shared by all of the bunk rooms in this section. The remainder of the rooms in this partition were all bunk rooms.
I was doing the math in my head, but my Mom beat me to the question, “Christine, if I’m counting right there’s seventeen bunk rooms in this section with eight people per room so am I right that there are one hundred and thirty six people using this shower/bathroom?“