1889: Journey To The Moon (The Far Journey Chronicles)
Page 23
Ekka started to say something, but knew if she did, she would fall. She waited and held on.
“Do you trust me?” Billy called up to her.
“Yes,” she said between clenched teeth.
“Then let go. I’ll always be beneath you.”
Ekka Gagarin let go, and fell into the arms of her lover.
“Good show!” Tesla called to them. He made his way down the ladder and tromped onto the lateral deck beside the main cargo hatch. “Exit, shall we?”
“Yes,” Ekka and Billy called together.
“We’ll have to go together,” Tesla said. “Come up here the best way you can. When we open this hatch, there’s no telling what could happen.”
Billy held onto Ekka’s waist and helped her climb up to the deck. When the two stood beside Tesla, Billy asked, “What do you mean? We’ll leave, that’s what will happen.”
“Don’t be too sure.” Tesla gestured to the door. “Who would like to the do the honors?”
“Me,” Billy said. “Step aside.”
Billy unlatched the cross bolt and flung it aside. He spun the wheel.
A whirlwind of air rushed inward and the breeze tousled their hair. The sun shone brightly overhead and they squinted against its welcome glare.
The ship began to roll beneath them.
“Jump!” Billy shouted as the water rose toward them.
They jumped as one and plunged beneath the cool water. They kicked toward the surface and the light.
When his head crested the surface, Billy looked back to see the Arcadia begin to disappear from view.
“Swim!” he shouted. “Swim away!”
The three swam from the ship to the fishing boat, and to the waiting arms of a new set of friends.
EPILOGUE
[ 130 ]
July 22, 1969—Tranquility Base
“Make sure we’re no longer transmitting, Neil. We have to talk about this.”
Neil turned to face Buzz. The dust at their feet slowly settled. Each man nodded to the other. As one, they tapped the buttons on their left arms, then tilted their helmets toward each other until they made contact.
“Can you hear me?” Buzz asked, his voice raised.
“I hear you fine” Neil Armstrong stated. “A little muffled, but I think we can talk out here.”
“Yeah. We have to have our stories straight before we get back to the lander. I think everything we say is being recorded.”
“I know. Whatever the hell hit that base, there’s not much left of it.”
“A war, maybe? An alien war?”
“That doesn’t explain the...artifacts.”
The two men turned their helmets to the right to stare at the rock and the silvery thing atop it. It shimmered brightly in the noonday sun.
“What do you make of it?” Aldrin asked.
“My daddy used to have one of those. Samuel Colt. Forty-five caliber. Peacemaker model.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. This one is beautiful, but what’s it doing here?”
“I think...I think—”
“What?”
“I think we’ll never know.”
“Do we report this?” Aldrin asked.
“No one would ever believe it. They would believe aliens before they would believe...this.”
The sun drifted down one point of the sky and revealed the letters carved into the rock.
“I’ll be damned,” Neil Armstrong said, but their helmets no longer touched.
Aldrin pointed and Armstrong nodded.
The words on the rock read:
THE KID WAS HERE
A Future Chronology
1889—The Arcadia returns/crashes on Earth.
1890—Nikola Tesla drops patent suit against Judah Merkam.
1891—Article in the London Times declares “End of Ripper Murders.”
1901—Death of Queen Victoria, end of the Victorian Age.
1906—Nikola Tesla begins construction of his Wardenclyffe, NY laboratory.
1908—Nikola Tesla eradicates the alien threat by bouncing a high energy lightning bolt off of the Moon near the Arcadia landing site, which reflects back to Earth and obliterates the alien base in Tunguska Siberia, effectively ending the alien threat. No evidence of a meteorite is ever found at the Tunguska blast site.
1909—Tesla dismantles his Wardenclyffe, NY, laboratory.
1961—Yuri Gagarin is the “first man in space” with the successful launch and return of the Vostok I.
1967—Following a remarkable discovery by an amateur astronomer via telescope of something in Mare Tranquilitatis that shouldn’t be there, NASA, in partnership with the NSA, sets the landing site for a future Apollo mission to the Moon.
1969—Apollo 11 touches down on the Moon. Neil Armstrong is officially the first man to walk on Earth’s natural satellite.
1974—NASA’s final Apollo mission returns to Earth.
AUTHORS’ NOTE
What is Steampunk?
To answer the question, it’s almost simpler to state what steampunk is not. When fans attempt to explain the concept of steampunk to an inquiring friend, to bridge the communication gap the fan will, in the end, invariably resort to, “Did you ever see The Wild Wild West?” It’s sort of a putdown of the genre to have to ask this question. No, there’s nothing wrong with The Wild Wild West. Just that there is a dearth of possible comparables in modern literature. Or, it’s difficult to remember one. There are actually many books, films, and even popular video games that are on the fringe of the steampunk movement—and let me assure you, steampunk is a movement. The movie version of The Wild Wild West starring Will Smith is far closer to modern steampunk than the old TV serial. But there’s something to be said for the serial. For many of us older writers, back in the day we ate it up.
But what is steampunk not? Well, steampunk is not science fiction, even though you will find steampunk in the science fiction section of your bookstore (the problem is that you are likely to find it only in the sci-fi section, but more on that in a moment). Oh yes, steampunk has some of the elements of science fiction, but it’s like saying that your local Renaissance Fair is a “fantasy theme park.” (Note: don’t tell the armorer who forges the platemail breastplates for the renaissance fair that he is engaging in “fantasy”. He—or in some instances, she—is liable to punch your lights out). If you then chunked in the Civil War and Revolutionary War re-enactors into the fantasy category, you would be even closer to what is wrong with the “steampunk is science fiction” error. So, it’s not science fiction. It’s not fantasy (see above). It’s not, strictly, revisionist history. And it’s not even horror, despite the horror element of throwing in the occasional zombie, werewolf, vampire, etc., into the steampunk mix. No. We are talking about steampunk itself. Any steampunk book may have elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, revisionist history, gothic, antediluvian technology, time travel, or any one of a hundred other genres of fiction. But it is not those genres, strictly speaking.
Knowing what steampunk is not assists us to define what it is. The answer, of course, is a simple one. Steampunk is fiction. It is its own genre of fiction, and should be treated as such, despite its current placement of bookstore shelves. I believe that book distributors (the companies that actually set policy with regard to bookstore shelves—and believe me, they pay to have the shelves aligned and divided the way they are) and bookstore managers have no faintest idea what steampunk is. So, when you have the opportunity to correct this error, please, for us and for yourself, please set them straight. What we’re suggesting is that you get the bookstore manager’s attention. Then lead them to the bookstore shelf (that’s right, the science fiction section) where Cherie Priest’s The Clockwork Century books are nestled next to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld cycle, and inform the manager that this arrangement will not do. Kindly suggest a separate section for all of the steampunk books they have in stock. If you are brave enough to carry this through, you are likely to be met wi
th a long silence. In this vast silence, you can begin by pulling Ms. Priest’s books off the self and lay them in a stack, then go down the line of shelves pulling half a hundred steampunk titles and drop them onto the same stack. But once you’re done, don’t be alarmed to discover something new. It’s a new thought, really—each of these books, in some measure, is science fiction. Also, they are horror. They are revisionist history, and they are fantasy and half a hundred other sub-genres. Oh boy. It gives one chills. But that’s not the point. They are, each one, also something...else. That something else is steampunk. Be proud. You have arrived as a member of the most subtle invasion force this planet has ever witnessed. You are a steampunker.
Steampunk is not purely Victorian Era fiction. It’s not purely tales of never-before invented steam machines. It’s not purely revisionist history. It’s not pure anything. But the people who attend steampunk conventions and dress up in 19th Century clothing (and clothing that you’ve never seen before) and who read the books and post in online forums know instinctively what is steampunk.
So, there you have it.
We hope you have enjoyed 1889: Journey to the Moon. Its sequel, in what we’re calling The Far Journey Chronicles, is 1899: Journey to Mars. That book should be here where you found this volume in the coming months—or, who knows, maybe it will have its own section by then! There will be more after that, we assure you.
In the meantime, please continue reading the many other estimable steampunk authors out there. Please continue interacting with us—all of us—in the online forums, by email, on Facebook and Twitter and however and wherever you can. And please, keep steampunking along.
Bye for now, and all the best to you and yours.
Billy Kring
Sabinal, Texas
George Wier
Austin, Texas
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Billy Kring is the author of two Hunter Kincaid mystery novels: Quick, and Outlaw Road, as well as two Ronny Baca mystery novels, Baca and L.A. Woman. He recently penned the romantic suspense novel Where Evil Cannot Enter. Besides writing on The Far Journey Chronicles, he is working on a high fantasy trilogy. He lives in a small town in South Texas, the same town where he grew up. Visit his website at billykring.com.
George Wier lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely wife, Sallie, two dogs and two cats. He is the author of the popular Bill Travis Mysteries (currently 9 books), as well as the co-author of Long Fall From Heaven (2013, Cinco Puntos Press). He has written numerous short stories for anthologies. Visit his website at georgewier.com.