Pilgrimage (The New World)

by Kurt Winans

  The three day flight up to the Moon had been a smooth one, without even the smallest “glitch” that had been the well documented norm for the earlier missions of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. The shuttle program had taken over the modern day of space flight, and this was the first of those vehicles to be used for a trip beyond a standard low Earth orbit. Several more missions were being scheduled to follow in the upcoming months and years, so the overall success of this particular mission added some weight to the two men chosen for the task at hand.

  Ross brought the shuttle in on final approach over the chosen landing site, and touched it down on the relatively smooth surface well away from any deep craters. After checking all the systems for any problems, he and Dennis prepared to exit the craft onto the surface of the Moon.

  Unlike the previous Apollo missions to have landed, the shuttle didn’t have a fixed ladder on the side of the spacecraft for a relatively easy descent. The space shuttle had always been used for orbital missions that on occasion had docked with another vehicle in space, but when they returned to earth the astronauts used a slide from a blown hatch to exit the craft. It was another aspect of the retrofit that needed to be considered because the aforementioned section of each Apollo spacecraft had always been left on the lunar surface, while this entire vehicle would be returning to Earth. The engineers at NASA had finally decided that the best approach would be to store a ladder in the cargo bay with all the other equipment, and then mount it on the side of the shuttle for descent after the cargo bay doors had been opened. It was basically a glorified version of a ladder that would be placed on the side of a boat for water-skiers or swimmers to use, and was light enough that the large robotic arm used for other aspects of their cargo would not be needed.

  The airlock connecting the crew cabin and flight deck to the cargo bay hissed open, and Ross stepped outside. With Dennis close behind, the two of them moved the ladder into the proper position for Ross to make his historic descent. Dennis leaned out over the edge of the cargo bay with a hand held camera recording every move that Ross made. He did his best to keep steady, as this clip of film was being broadcast to every part of the Earth that had the technology to receive it. When Ross reached the bottom step, he looked back up at Dennis and waved to the camera. His words would not be the same as famously spoken by Neil Armstrong, but he knew they would go into the history books.

  Ross spoke to the world when he said “Mankind has returned to the Moon as another step in our quest for knowledge through peaceful space exploration.” With that Ross turned his gaze towards the ground below him, and pushed away from the ladder. A small amount of lunar dust was displaced by his boots after the fall of little more than a foot, and he was now standing on the surface of the Moon waiting for Dennis to join him.

  CONTINUING THE EXPLORATION patterns set forth by their superiors at NASA, astronauts Martin and Strickland began the tenth day of gathering and reporting data from the lunar surface. When they landed on Monday the 11th of November 1985 they had become the first humans to set foot on the Moon since the crew of Apollo 17 nearly thirteen years prior, but they had now exceeded the duration of that, or any other previous crews, time on the lunar surface by several days. As only the thirteenth and fourteenth persons to actually land, Ross and Dennis had become heroes back on Earth before they even returned from the mission.

  After spending the entire first day taking promotional photographs for NASA and unloading the gear from the cargo bay, Ross and Dennis were then able to get busy with the more important task of exploration. Throughout the course of the first week of rover vehicle and walking patrols, there was nothing unusual or significant to report. The plan set forth by NASA was to begin a cautious exploration of the far side of the Moon from positions along the edge of the surface that always faces Earth. Because the plan was to continue this exploration for fourteen days, some of the terrain they needed to cover would be in darkness.

  A typical cycle between full moons is a fraction over twenty-seven days, so it takes almost fourteen days for the Moon to visually change from full to a tiny crescent back on Earth. The same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, so areas of light and dark upon the Moon change just as they do on Earth. When a crescent is viewed, the far side is almost entirely illuminated by the sun, but when a full moon is viewed that same surface area is in total darkness.

  Their first eight days on the surface had been in sunlight, but now the Moon had rotated far enough around the Earth that the remainder of their time would be in the darkness. According to the expectations of NASA, the sun would rise again just before their planned departure and voyage back to Earth. Exploration in sunlight was easier because the solar powered rover could move about with relative ease and cover more ground each day, but their exploration technique had changed due to the total darkness that had engulfed them. The batteries of the rover could last with minimal driving for a day, but would need to be recharged by a power source back at the shuttle at the conclusion of each day’s work.

  The rover would be driven out in a straight line to a designated spot each day, and turned around to face the tire tracks it had made in the lunar dust before Ross and Dennis would begin their exploration. All the lights and panels on the rover would then be turned off to save power except for one light at the top of the antenna assembly.

  Using two spooled tethers mounted on opposite ends of the vehicle, each astronaut would clip a tether to their spacesuits before walking in opposite directions until the two hundred meters of length upon each spool was completely unwound. At that point they would each turn ninety degrees to face the same direction, and venture on while keeping the tether as taunt as possible until coming face to face at the conclusion of their respective ninety degree sweeps. They would then walk in tandem following a fairly straight course back to the rover before recording their findings and performing the same ritual on the other side of the rover. As had been the plan, five of these circles had been completed every day, including the first day of darkness, without any problems. Ross and Dennis had always easily found their way back to the rover with the help of the light at the top of the antenna, and the headlamps on their spacesuits lit up the area immediately around them quite well.

  Satisfied with their progress during the first day of total darkness, the powers that be back at NASA had instructed the two man crew of the Discovery to proceed with the original plan for six more days of the same exploration pattern. In some regard that overjoyed Ross and Dennis, as continued exploration of the so called “new frontier” of the far, and now dark, side would undoubtedly guarantee them a place in the history books. In essence, their mission was nearly the equivalent of Apollo 11 that had brought former astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the first exploration of this desolate rock in space. The down side to six more days of the same semi-circle explorations was that both men had hoped for more excitement while on the Moon, and the search patterns and core samples of the previous eight days had yielded nothing that would fit into that category.

  At the conclusion of each day’s walk on the surface, Ross had acted as the lab assistant by moving around core samples and inputting the results of tests performed by Dennis into the computer for further analysis. While in the makeshift lab aboard the space shuttle, Dennis had recorded some data of rock structure that would be suitable for a solid foundation on which to build a future habitat and lab. Their recommendations would be taken into account, but the boys back at NASA would have the final say on the validity of their findings.

  As Ross brought the rover vehicle to a stop where he and Dennis would begin their third sweep of the day, they each commented on their desire to record finding something other than more rocks. Regardless of that sentiment, as commander of the mission Ross reminded his good friend that they needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Their speech needed to be somewhat selective, as every word spoken by them during their explorations could become part of the official record.

  A
few minutes later, in what he guessed to be about halfway through his sweep, the tether for Ross snagged on a rock. That in itself was nothing new, as a similar event had occurred during at least half of the previous sweeps. This time however, something different caught his eye. As Ross turned to shake the bright orange tether free from the surface rock, something on top of the Moon dust glistened in response to his spacesuit headlamp. He swiveled his head back to see the glimmer again, and then began to move towards it as he created slack in the tether.

  Reaching the location of the shiny object, Ross lowered himself to one knee and removed it from the thin layer of moon dust. When he opened his gloved hand to gaze upon the object, everything his grandfather Hank had ever told him about the crash site of 1897 became instantly verified. He could hardly believe his eyes, as he was staring at an identical emblem to the one that Grandpa Hank had passed down to him. At four to five inches in length it was significantly larger than the one on the necklace that he had cherished all those years, but it was most definitely the same emblem. A shout of, “Oh my God” brought forth a reaction from Dennis, who at that moment was going through the paces of another uneventful sweep. Dennis asked him what he had seen, but Ross knew he couldn’t tell him because the response would become part of the official transcripts. He decided instead to report that he was just taken aback by all the additional stars visible from their current position on the dark side.

  As Ross began to regain his wits, and wrap his brain around the significance and complexity of his discovery, things suddenly became even more intense. With artifact in hand, he stood to resume his search pattern. He thought to himself that nothing else he might find on this sweep would compare to the emblem still clutched in his hand, but that could not have been further from the truth. Ross came to an abrupt halt when his headlamp suddenly revealed something about twenty meters in front of him. It became abundantly clear that something else was searching for what he held in his hand, and that something was staring right at him.

  Like Columbus encountering the natives of the “new world”, Commander Ross Martin was involved in a first contact situation. The significance of this encounter however, was that the contact was with a life form not of Earthly origin. The alien life form took a few steps forward, and Ross’ natural reaction was to step back in an attempt to maintain the distance between them. That caused the alien life form to stop the advance, so Ross relaxed somewhat and halted his retreat. A few seconds later Ross took a deeper than usual breath before beginning his own cautious advance, and the alien life form held its ground. After about five steps Ross stopped and motioned with his hand for the alien life form to move forward. This time Ross did not retreat when the alien life form advanced, and the two of them then took turns moving closer to one another until Ross could tell the alien was only about four feet tall. He also noticed that the alien had no real spacesuit to speak of, but was using some sort of breathing apparatus that bore the same emblem Ross had held dear for so many years. The alien also wore a thin layer of some sort of clothing with a few different emblems on it, but it did not cover the head, hands, or feet of the occupant.

  In an instant of total clarity, he knew what had to be done. In perhaps the most significant act of diplomacy ever displayed by a human being, Commander Ross Martin reached out with trembling open hand and offered the shiny emblem to its rightful owner. The alien reached for the object with what resembled a hand of three very long skinny fingers and a thumb, then with a nod of acknowledgement retrieved it.

  Ross turned to head towards the rover vehicle while motioning for the alien to follow. Without ever moving its mouth, the alien began to communicate with Ross. Although he couldn’t understand at that time how he could hear the aliens thoughts, Ross could hear them just the same. He then turned off his voice recorder so he could safely verbalize to the alien creature that he wanted to show him something back at the rover.

  Several weeks before the launch, Ross had asked some of the technicians if they could do him a favor. He had a copy of the emblem on his necklace fabricated and put on a strong chain, and his plan was to have it hang on the rearview mirror of the rover while he and Dennis were driving it on the surface of the Moon for fourteen days. Knowing that the mission needed a bit of stealthy levity, and understanding that a pair of fuzzy dice was somehow inappropriate, they had complied with his request. The technicians had smuggled the trinket aboard just hours before the launch, and had informed Ross and Dennis where they could find it once they landed on the Moon.

  A few times during the walk back to the rover, Ross looked over his shoulder to make sure the alien was still following him. The alien was keeping a safe distance and would stop briefly every time Ross turned around, but he was still there. Suddenly a shout of panic from Dennis came over the intercom, and Ross had a decision to make. He could see the small light at the top of the rovers’ antenna as he was now less than fifty meters away from it, but Dennis was in some sort of trouble. Ross made the only decision that he could by turning left towards the area where Dennis would be. He located the bright orange tether that was clipped onto Dennis and followed it away from the rover. What he saw a moment later was shocking to say the least, as two bodies lay flat on the lunar surface. Ross moved past the first body, which was the second alien life form he had seen in the last fifteen minutes, and some twenty meters later arrived at the side of Dennis.

  After a quick look at his friend’s spacesuit, Ross knew there was nothing he could do. Dennis only had a few minutes of life left in him, as the tear in his spacesuit and badly cracked face shield on his helmet were both venting his oxygen into space. The suit was depressurizing, and soon the environment inside would not support human life.

  Meanwhile the alien that Ross had made contact with had arrived at the body of his friend to determine the extent of his injuries. Ross looked over at the two aliens for a few seconds when he heard the voice in his head informing him of their situation. The injuries to the second alien were minimal and not life threatening, but there was damage to his breathing apparatus that would need attention sooner than later if he was to survive. Ross then reached down to disconnect the voice recorder on his old friend’s spacesuit, and informed him that he could speak freely about his current thoughts because it would not become part of the official transcript. He then asked Dennis, “What happened?” as he placed his hand over the large tear near the tether clip in an attempt to slow down the venting process.

  Dennis said, “I was startled when I first saw the alien creature and attempted to move away, but that’s when all hell broke loose!” His bright orange tether attached to the rover was caught on a rock, and when he finally won the struggle to break it free there was a large amount of slack in the line. Dennis stumbled backwards while trying to regain his balance and the tether whipped across the legs of the alien who was approaching. That caused the creature to be knocked off his feet and land poorly on his breathing apparatus. That action threw Dennis more off balance and he spun face first into a large rock that he would tumble wildly over. His face shield cracked from the sudden impact, and there wasn’t enough slack left in the tether line for his final tumble to the ground. That’s how the large tear was created in his spacesuit, and the cause for his shout of panic.

  Ross informed Dennis that he had met the other of the two aliens, and propped his old friend up against the rock so he could see them both some twenty meters away. Dennis could hardly believe his eyes as he looked at the two alien creatures through his badly cracked face shield, but was also unable to take his eyes off of them. Ross informed Dennis that he didn’t know how he could hear their thoughts directed at him, but there had been some communication between the two species before Dennis had his own contact.

  The two old friends knew that Dennis only had a few minutes left, but at least whatever each one of them had to say would not be recorded for all of mankind to dissect. As a final act of duty and friendship, Ross made a promise to Dennis that he would get him back to
Earth aboard the Discovery and deliver any last message he might have to his parents or other family members.

  A few minutes later Dennis was dead, and the alien creature was standing in front of Ross communicating with him again. An expression of sorrow for the loss of Dennis was conveyed to Ross by the alien, and then the creature asked Ross for some help. They needed to join forces and figure out a way to fix the other aliens breathing apparatus, or he would suffer the same fate as Dennis in the not too distant future.

  By using a small piece of the human spacesuit worn by Dennis, they could repair the problem with the aliens breathing apparatus. Dennis obviously wouldn’t need it anymore, so the two new friends from different worlds worked together in a magnificent example of interstellar cooperation.

  The next daunting task for Ross would be to explain to NASA what had happened, and get Dennis back on board the space shuttle for the eventual return to Earth. Mission control would already be aware of some level of problem, as the monitors showing both astronauts’ vital signs would be reading all flat lines for Dennis. That would mean that the sensors in his spacesuit had either malfunctioned, or he was indeed dead, but they would have to wait for Ross to communicate with them to verify either scenario. Ross knew that he would have to finish his business with the alien creatures before communicating with Earth, so he resumed his original course of action by having the aliens follow him back to the rover.

  Upon their arrival, Ross showed them both the emblem floating upwards from the chain around the rearview mirror of the rover. It was a copy of the one that Ross had found a short time ago on the surface, but the aliens were surprised to see a rendition of the emblem that was on their breathing apparatus.

  The next several minutes involved Ross hearing both questions and answers in his mind, although he could never see either one of the aliens’ mouths moving. He learned that the aliens had a small observation base on what humans referred to as the far side of the Moon, and that it had either never been detected by any of the Apollo missions that had previously orbited the Moon, or the astronauts simply feared the repercussions of reporting such findings.