by Jack L Knapp
“That will not be necessary, Mister Sneyd. My name is Chang Jiang. I received my doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
Chuck blinked, and smiled. “You know who I am?”
“Yes, Mister Sneyd. Occidentals, contrary to rumors, do not all look alike.” The man didn’t crack a smile, but his eyes twinkled.
John carried much of the remaining discussion. Chuck asked to examine the domes the Chinese used for living quarters. Impressed, he returned to the original dome and joined the conversation.
“I like what I saw. You’ve done good work. Are you interested in selling domes? Or if we provide the materials, could you build them to our specifications? Americans prefer more living space, so one of your domes would house no more than two of our people.”
“We would prefer to build new ones. Selling these units would not be wise. They are the property of China, you see.”
“Are you implying I should not mention this to the Chinese government? Our current contract will expire shortly, so I’m not sure whether we will even have future dealings with China. What of you? Can China provide you with the supplies you need?”
“They believe so. If that effort fails, our government may decide to abandon this place. We have made regular reports, and as soon as our people return to China physicians examine them. The first of our people who came to the moon have been returned to Earth; those you see have been here less than a month. So you see, our scientists have learned a great deal about what reduced gravity does to the human body. In that sense, we have accomplished what we were sent to do. China may now decide that the wisest course is to wait until space science matures. One day, men will walk among the planets, but perhaps not yet. I have not been told of China’s future plans. This leaves me with questions, because I have responsibilities not only to my country but to my people. In exchange for building your modules, I would like assurances that you will assist if I need your help.”
“That’s easy enough to do. Are you sure there’s nothing else we can do for you?”
“Perhaps later, Mister Sneyd. An assurance of safety, should we need it, is valuable in its own right. It is insurance, and insurance must be paid for, not so?”
“Of course. If you’ll get John a list of what you need, I’ll see that it’s brought.
The conversation continued for a time, then the Chinese escorted them back to where they’d landed. Lina drifted gently to a stop and the hatch swung open.
“Some day, I would like to ride such a ship,” said Chang Jiang, wistfully.
“She’s much like the one that brought you here,” Chuck replied.
“I saw nothing of the ship. I was brought, with others, in a different way.”
“In a shipping container, you mean.”
“You know of that?” Chang Jiang was surprised.
“It was obvious, as soon as I realized there were more people than flew up as passengers.” Chuck laughed, and a moment later the two Chinese joined in.
“I am happy to be of assistance to you, Mister Sneyd. To have our own factory...my associates will be very pleased. We long to have businesses of our own, you know. It is possible, but not easy, to start with nothing in China and grow to become successful.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. If I find other products that you could provide...?”
“We are happy for the opportunity to work with you. Farewell, Mister Sneyd.”
John opened the conversation as soon as Lina lifted off. “I thought it was simple corruption at first, what they refer to as having their own rice bowl. I think it’s something else, though.”
“I agree. I think Chang Jiang is worried that China may abandon them. Would China do that?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. China has changed, gotten...I don’t know, different in how they deal with their citizens. There are two Chinas, maybe three. People in the interior, they’re Old China. The ones living in the big coastal cities, they’re New China. Hong Kong is China with a dash of England. As for the government, they’re similar to any other government. The people at the top are plutocrats, even if they pretend otherwise. The Chinese people are different too, more outspoken than they used to be. Maybe that’s why their government treats them different. But any nation will sacrifice people for what they consider the greater good, so I just don’t know what they’ll do.
“As for our dealings with China as a nation, they haven’t dealt fairly with us. We offered them a price for passengers, another price for cargo space, primarily because passengers need air, water, food, comfortable seating, and so forth. We can haul four cargo containers in the same amount of square footage as twenty passengers. We stack the containers, but we can’t stack people.”
“What, you’re trying to ruin the air travel industry?”
#
The three ships returned from Mars five days later. Frisbee orbited Earth under minimum staffing levels while the rest of her crew caught rides to the surface in Cigar and Stogie. They had family to see, last minute purchases to make, and some wanted a final blowout before leaving Earth. They would visit the home planet from time to time, but there were simply too few ships available for passenger flights.
Frisbee remained in orbit and the two Cigar-class ships continued to shuttle cargoes to the moon. When the new bulldiggers were ready, they would be loaded aboard the Cigars. By then, it was hoped that the first domed shelters would also be ready.
China launched two of her new long-range rockets with supplies for the moon. John messaged Chuck; perhaps Chang Jiang’s worries had been for nothing.
A week later, a rover left the Chinese base. The vehicle traveled slowly across the surface, towing a trailer containing a shelter, air tanks, food, and water. The two men on the rover reached Moonbase after an epic journey; there had been accidents and breakdowns on the way. John radioed Chuck, and a relief shipment was soon on its way. The men explained that the only radios that still worked were the ones in the suits. The replacement batteries for the two high-powered radios, delivered as part of the second shipment, had worked fine at first, then failed catastrophically, destroying both radios.
Of the two men who’d made the journey, one died almost immediately. The other lingered for two weeks before dying from radiation sickness.
Chapter Twenty-six
The telephone’s burr woke Chuck. He sat up and glanced at the lighted numbers on the bedroom clock, then carried the phone into the dining room before answering.
“They did what, John? Wait a minute, are you sure?”
“They were already sick by the time they got here, Chuck. Chang’s people are almost out of water and oxygen. They’re down to less than four days supply. I sent off an emergency shipment using two lifters with the canopies installed. The solar cells will stretch their range, they can run full speed for four hours or so. After that, the pilots will have to set down long enough to recharge the batteries, but they’ll need rest anyway. Good thing it’s daylight phase. They’ll be there in another ten hours or so.”
“I’ll replace your supplies...let me see, Monday. It will take that long to get everything together. If you’re short, I can send Frisbee as soon as I can round up her crew.”
“We’re okay for two weeks, but sending Frisbee isn’t a bad idea. Put her in lunar orbit; we may need to evacuate the Chinese. What the hell were they thinking?”
“I don’t know. I think we need to talk to Chang. By Monday, I can have two cargoes ready in Reykjavik, oxygen, water, emergency rations. I’ll need to retask one of the Cigars and that will take a day or so. The first load goes directly to Chang, the other will replace what you sent off and increase your emergency stocks in case this happens again. It’s a bit of a shuffle, but we can do it.”
“Good idea. Sorry to disturb your weekend, Chuck.”
“Sometimes you don’t have a choice, John.”
Lina rolled over when Chuck sat down on the bed and sleepily asked if anything was wrong.
“Nothi
ng to do with our people, but the Chinese on Luna have problems. Beijing may have decided to cut her losses, just abandon them.”
“Chuck, that’s horrible! What are you going to do?”
“John sent an emergency shipment and we’ll talk to Chang on Monday. Interesting guy, he went to MIT.”
“Are you coming back to bed?”
“I don’t think so. I doubt I’d be able to sleep.”
“I’ll get up too,” Lina decided.
Chuck brushed his teeth and dressed, then went to the dining room. Lina had set coffee to brewing and had put out rolls, butter, and jam, then gone back to the bedroom to make her own preparations for the day. Chuck was drinking his second cup when she rejoined him.
“Did I tell you how much being with you does for me?”
“Not often enough,” Lina dimpled. “But it’s mutual. I don’t know...maybe it’s the absences between, but weekends are wonderful.”
“You’re the only thing keeping me sane. The kids too...they’re growing so fast! I wish I could be here more often.”
“I know. Bobby misses you, maybe not so much now. What possessed you to buy the dogs?”
“I didn’t intend to buy two. I figured a small dog, maybe a dachshund, would work best. They’re shorthaired and affectionate, and it’s time the kids learned responsibility. Feeding a dog doesn’t take much time. But then I looked at the Bassett, and he had that sad, hound look...”
“You’re just a softie!”
“I admit it. Anyway, the dogs also love each other, and the kids will be going to school next year.”
“I know. Time passes so fast...” Lina looked down at the cup, then topped it off.
“It will get better. As soon as the new base is finished, I’ll transfer most of our operations here. I can get home almost every night. For that matter, we could build a second home out there. We could still visit here whenever you wanted.”
“I don’t know, Chuck. What about schools? It’s the Outback. Stations are miles apart, there’s almost nothing to do. You’ve got your work, but I can’t see raising kids like that.”
“Well, there’s time. We can think about it. A visit to the base during the week, that’s easy enough to arrange.”
“Maybe. I’m going to check on the kids, want to come?”
“Sure.”
Lina gently opened the door. Buddy stirred, then looked up sleepily before closing his eyes. Bassetts do not suffer from insomnia.
Poppy never stirred. She was in her favorite space, between the two children, sharing their bed and cover. She had simply taken it as her due and moved in, willing to share her new bed with her adored friends, but as for sleeping alone...
Lina had tried. The poor thing had cried for hours and the children had joined in. Finally, Lina relented. It was what it was.
Robbie was barely visible, only the top of her head showing above the light coverlet. Bobby was on his back, left hand extended beneath the cover toward Robbie. Robbie’s hand was there, in contact; the children had never spent a night apart since being released from the hospital. Perhaps things would change, now that they had the dogs as objects for their affection. Quietly Lina backed out, and Chuck closed the door behind them.
“What does the doctor say? Is the cane going to be enough for Bobby, or will he need a wheelchair?”
“He thinks the cane is enough for now, and maybe Bobby won’t even need that. We’ll see. It doesn’t seem to slow him down.”
“I noticed that. He keeps Frenchy hopping!”
“Grandpa’s the man, that’s for sure! But he loves every minute of it. He’s looking better too. I was worried for a while.”
“Me too. I haven’t seen much of Will.”
“He stops in every few days. He’s spending most of his time in Sydney or Canberra.”
“Politics?”
“That, and a lot of business interests. The new base is expensive.”
“We’ve got the money,” said Chuck dismissively. “It’s a necessary expense. I just wish the Russians would leave us alone! We’re not doing anything to them!”
“No,” replied Lina thoughtfully. “But maybe they don’t see it that way. The US government either. Have you heard any more from them?”
“No. The ships are gone now. I don’t know if they found Tesla, or just gave up.”
#
“That’s it? It doesn’t look like much.”
“That’s an impeller, Mister President. It’s been soaked with sea water, so there’s a considerable amount of corrosion, but that’s it. This one is almost intact, except for the exterior shroud. Two others have been partially disassembled. Would you like to see those?”
Regina Jones held a number of degrees, including two doctorates. She was also a hard-driving administrator. The president was more than happy to have her directing the reverse-engineering project. Unlike the floundering Project Los Angeles, this one showed real promise.
“This is interesting, but it’s not ground-breaking. It’s an electric motor, frequency-controlled. That means they can increase or decrease how fast it revolves based on the input frequency. NFI made a few tweaks, but it’s still only an electric motor and it’s nothing we can’t understand. Maybe we can even improve it. This other device, however, it’s not like anything I’ve seen before. It’s obviously meant to rotate, but what does it do? Over here,” she walked to a third table, “is the one we’ve disassembled completely. As you see, there are windings here which also resemble an electric motor. To be honest, none of us have the faintest idea of what it does. The frame is quite robust, meaning the designer expected considerable stress.”
She turned and faced the president. “We don’t understand it, but we’re going to build one and see what happens.”
“Thank you, Doctor Jones. Please keep me advised.” The president nodded at Regina and walked away. He waited until they’d left the building, then asked, “What’s next, Mark?”
“You’ve got a meeting tomorrow with a deputy from the European Union. He’s coming in tonight.”
“What does he want?”
“I’ve got a full briefing laid on for you this afternoon. I expect it has something to do with the Grand Alliance.”
“Not much of an alliance, so far. All right, who do I need at the meeting?”
“I’ve alerted representatives from Defense and Commerce. The deputy is in charge, but he’s bringing two aides, a French general and the director of a consortium of German industrialists. They wield considerable clout in the EU.”
“Add one more to my team, Mark. Someone with a financial background.”
“Yes, Mister President.”
#
Chuck landed long enough for John to board, then Lina lifted off for the Chinese base. Giant had already offloaded her cargo of consumables, then returned to Earth for a second shipment, this one to Moonbase. After discharging her cargo, she would return to her normal schedule.
Only a few of the Japanese fuel rods remained, and even the French stockpile was less than half its former size. Some of the rods, too depleted to be used, had been launched toward the sun; others powered Luna’s generation system, the remainder had been parked in orbit around Mars. Tagged with simple transponders, they would be ferried to the surface when the trenches and plumbing systems were ready.
Chang Jiang met them as soon as they landed. “I am very glad to see you. We owe you thanks. John, the oxygen was urgently needed. Your act saved many lives.”
“Chang Jiang, we are in this together. You help us, we will help you. Giant’s shipment should keep you going for another two weeks at least. By then, we’ll have another cargo for you. I don’t know if you’ve found it yet, but Chuck included a replacement radio in the shipment, and this one’s not encrypted. It’s powerful enough to reach our relay, and from there it goes to the satellite system. You can call China or anyone else directly.”
Chang Jiang hesitated. “I will not do that, John. Chuck, I have a printout to show y
ou. Will you come with me, please?”
A silent Chinese brought tea and small cakes as soon as they were seated in the domed ‘office’.
“This is a record of a message that was sent three weeks ago.”
“I’m sorry, neither of us reads Chinese. What does it say?”
“You are welcome to take it with you and have one of your people translate it. It orders me to attack your base. I did not know what to do, so I spoke with my people. We are in agreement. There will be no attack.”
Chuck, astonished, glanced at John, who had turned to see how Chuck would react.
“Attack Moonbase? Why?”
“The sender did not explain.”
“How were you to do this? Do you have weapons up here?”
“A few. Five automatic rifles and a pistol were sent with the first rocket shipment. They are for my use. Our people may need encouragement. Leaders are often armed.”
“So how did they intend for you to take Moonbase? And why?”
“Sabotage. On the moon, this is easy; remaining alive is much harder. I was ordered to place explosive charges against your habitats. Your people would die from decompression. We were to do this, then capture a ship. The message said this was the only way for us to return to our mother country.”
“So that’s why they sabotaged your radios. They thought you might tell us what they intended.”
“Yes, Mister Sneyd. So I surmise.”
“You know that your two men, the ones you sent?” Chang Jiang nodded. “They’re very sick. One may have died by now. The other is unlikely to recover.”
Chang Jiang nodded. “They knew they would not return. I intended to go, but my people convinced me that I was needed here. Death comes to all. It matters only when, and how a man faces the end. Even today, we hope our remains are returned to our families. Wang Chen and Sun Li accepted even that, the knowledge that their families will not know how they passed. No man can face death with a better spirit. We say, ‘their face shines forth greatness.’”
