by Colin Owen
"Anything I can do?"
Steve recognised Kay's voice and turned to face her. "It's so good to see you here Kay."
"They figured you'd need an assistant, so here I am," she smiled.
"Well, this place needs some life breathing into it, why don't you make a plan of how you want it set up."
"Fine by me," Kay said, and went off to set about it.
Steve headed back to the control centre, he was curious to know what was happening back home. "I wonder how long it will take before I call this place home?" He muttered to himself. "Hi Bill, is there any news from Earth?"
"Dunno," Bill replied, walking over to the coms panel. Steve watched as Bill tuned in to terrestrial TV, he found CNN.
"Good evening, this is the CNN evening news. There is a mystery virus devastating Europe. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are seventy-five million dead worldwide. There have been new outbreaks in Australia, Canada and London. The search for a vaccine has so far proved fruitless. There will be an emergency meeting of all the heads of state here in Washington DC on Tuesday. Anger is rising that Russia has still not released the antidote, and sabre rattling has started in some of the far Eastern countries. China has closed its borders, as have India and Pakistan. There is a very great sense of unease in these regions as tensions mount."
"That's enough Bill, it's too depressing."
❧
There were, as yet, no rules on MBA, but everyone just seemed to fall naturally into their usual work patterns. Come 6-pm, the main dome was empty except for Steve and Bill.
"I hope things find a natural order here Bill," Steve said, "I really don't want to have give orders."
"Don't worry Steve, everyone here knows exactly why they are here, they're as keen to get on with it as you are."
"'Night Bill."
"'Night Steve." They parted.
Steve made his way back to 7 Alpha, which was his new address. He opened the door and was greeted by the most wonderful smell, Clare was a whiz in the kitchen.
"Had a good day daddy?" Shelley asked.
"Just wonderful sweetheart, how about you?"
"Oh, it was OK, we went with mummy to see where all the food is stored, and there's loads!"
"Hi Hun," came Clare's voice from the kitchen.
"What's for tea Sweetie?"
"Come and see," she said, so Steve went to find out.
"Hey dad, there's another dog here," Chris said, excitedly.
"Good, that means Rufus will have a friend."
"It's a lady dog!" Chris shouted.
"All the better for Rufus," Clare giggled.
"Yap!" Agreed Rufus.
"I managed to pick up some news," Steve said softly, not wanting to involve the children. "Over seventy-five million dead so far, things don't look so good. There's to be a meeting of the heads of state tomorrow in Washington, DC, let's hope they can find a solution."
"OK, tea time," Clare called out, "everybody to the table."
"Goody, I'm starved," Chris said.
Everyone sat down and Clare dished up the meal.
"Who wants to say grace?" Steve asked, looking at the kids. This was something new for the Foresters, they didn't normally bother, but somehow, it seemed right to do it now.
"I'll do it," Clare said, closing her eyes. "Lord we thank You for all the good things we have here. Please help those whom we've left behind. Amen."
They all said, "Amen."
"Right tuck in," Steve said, "we don't want any puny moon men."
"Or moon women," Shelley added.
"Yap!" Agreed Rufus.
It must have been 3-am when there was a tapping on the Forester's door. Steve got up and opened it, it was Bill.
"Sorry to wake you Steve, but you need to come and see this for yourself."
Steve shut the door quietly and followed Bill to the control centre. When they got there, The TV was on and the news announcer's voice was trembling.
"It's just terrible, the death toll is catastrophic. Missiles are still landing both in Pakistan and India. Most of these countries main cities have been destroyed. America, China and Russia are on full alert, and the United Kingdom has recalled all her troops. We must all pray that today's world summit will come up with a way of pulling us back from the brink of destruction."
"Earlier," Bill said, "I heard that the virus had broken out in New York; it seems that there is no way to stop it. The president has declared martial law and mobilised the army. There's blind panic down there Steve, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"We can play our part Bill, by being successful up here. Thanks for waking me."
He slapped Bill on the shoulder and went back to bed. Clare sensed that something was wrong, but didn't question Steve about it, she knew he needed his rest; tomorrow would be a big day.
Somewhere around 9-am people were gathering in the main hall waiting for Steve to arrive. He didn't keep them long.
"Last night we had news from Earth that India and Pakistan had gone to war and used nuclear weapons."
There were gasps.
"Today there is to be a world summit in Washington, DC, so we are going to monitor the TV stations. We will keep you informed as and when things happen."
Steve stopped for a few seconds in thought, and then carried on,
"I know this is hard for you, we all have loved ones back there, but we must concentrate on our task here, if only for them. We owe it to them to make a success of this project. The odds of their survival are thinning, but the odds of our survival grow with each day we exist. Let's remember that, and do it for them."
He pointed out through the dome's canopy to the earth, which suddenly seemed so far away.
"Bill, can we pipe the reception through the base?"
"Erm...Yes we can, I'll get right on it."
"Right people, let's set to and get the labs up and running, they must be our top priority."
With that the meeting broke up and everyone set to work.
"Steve," it was Lisa Hammond, "we need somewhere to set up the school."
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that. Mary," he called out to her as she passed, "is there anywhere we can put the school?"
Mary thought for a moment, "How about one of the empty apartments in the other dome?"
"Works for me," Lisa said.
"OK then," Steve said, relieved, "why don't you two go and set it up. Take Shelley and Chris with you to help."
"Done," Mary responded, and the ladies left.
❧
The day's work was going well when suddenly the volume of the TV reception was turned up. It was CNN.
"Unfortunately, the world summit has broken up in disarray. Several of the world's leaders stormed out after only an hour. China was the first to leave closely followed by Russia. The atmosphere here in the capital is very tense, as the news has spread that the mystery virus is here in the United States. The president has appealed for calm, but already there are large traffic jams on the freeways leading out of most major cities, and reports are coming in of armed vigilantes in some of the mountain communities. They are threatening, to shoot on site, anyone who approaches. More news just in, there has been an uprising within Russia itself. Some army commanders have attacked the headquarters of the Polit Bureau, and the KGB. Reports state that there is fierce fighting in Moscow, at the Kremlin, and in Red Square. As yet, these reports are unconfirmed."
Everyone had stopped work to listen, including Steve. He turned to Bill and gave him a sign to kill the audio feed. Just as bill was reaching for the switch, the CNN announcer burst out with:
"Oh no, my God, Oh no. I'm sorry folks, I must report that China has just launched a nuclear strike against Japan. News is sketchy, but it seems that about fifteen minutes ago, our satellites picked up a series of missile launches in southern China-"
The announcer stopped and pressed his earpiece with his finger.
"Yes, it is confirmed, we have confirmation that China
has attacked Japan with nuclear missiles, and Tokyo has been destroyed."
The announcer, who was a veteran CNN man, was now quite distraught, and tears were visible on his face.
"I'm so sorry folks, but it seems that the world has gone mad. Dear God help us."
Bill looked to Steve who gave him the 'kill it' sign. Bill switched the sound off. There was a stunned silence in the dome as the terrible news sank in. It was only when Rufus and the other dog came racing in, skidding across the dome's tiled floor, that thoughts came off the earth and back onto the task at hand.
"Thank you Rufus," Steve said softly to himself, "I hope she's worth it boy."
Work progressed at a good pace after that, and the lab section of the dome began to take shape. Kay had organised things in her usual logical way, and there were quite a few comments approving what she had done. Some hours had passed since the TV had been turned off, when suddenly it came on again and Bill was heard shouting, "Oh no, NO!"
The broadcaster's voice rang out:
"This may be our last broadcast to you. We will stay on the air as long as we can, but I'm not sure how long that will be."
There were pictures of missile launches all across the States, and panic in the streets.
"China has attacked Russia and the United States. Missiles are on their way to America as I speak-"
The president broke into the transmission.
"My fellow Americans. It is my painful duty to tell you that we are under attack by nuclear missiles. We have launched a counter- strike both from here in America, and from our forces around the world. Those who have dared to attack us will not survive. I urge you to take what cover you can to protect yourselves and your families. We have very little time before the missiles hit. May God bless and keep us all."
The transmission was cut at that point. Everyone had stopped work and made their way into the main hall. Looking up through the dome they could see the earth, the shining blue planet. There were flashes visible, even from the moon, hundreds of them. Everywhere, where the cloud cover would permit, they could see flashes. It went on for over an hour, and then just stopped. Everyone at Moon Base Alpha was lying on their backs on the floor, looking up through the dome at the terrible spectacle taking place on Earth. There was sobbing, moaning and prayers. Bill was frantically stepping through the stations trying to find something...anything, but to no avail. All the channels were dead. Even the radio stations were off the air.
"It's just static," Bill was heard to say. "That's all there is, just static."
Everyone was too stunned to move, they just lay there watching as the Blue planet started to turn brown. It happened far quicker than anyone had imagined. The nuclear blasts were filling the atmosphere with dust, thick brown dust. Apart from a few areas of cloud, all you could see was brown. Planet Earth looked dead.
After what seemed like a very long time, and still lying on the floor, Steve began to speak slowly. "We're all that's left...It's all gone."
"Listen everyone!" Clare said, clapping her hands to break the spell. "Listen! Everyone we knew on Earth is probably dead, either from the bombs or the virus. We must realise that man's stupidity has destroyed the earth, along with all of humanity, except for us. We are the stars in humanity's crown, the only shining light in all of this madness...The one thing that speaks well of the human race. Let's stop looking there, and begin to look here. This is now our home, there's no going back," and with a little chuckle she added, "we are the men in the moon."
Steve joined in, "Let's all get some sleep, it's been a long day. Tomorrow we will see what General Hammond really meant by Lunar Ark."
Slowly, and stiffly, folk began to get up off the floor and wander back to their apartments. Steve and Clare where the last to leave, they were walking slowly, arm in arm when Steve began to sing. "Vinkle Vinkle Starlabs star how I w..." He couldn't finish it, crying would not let him.
Chapter Seven
Chapter 7.
Lark
It was late next morning when Steve opened his eyes. "What time is it?" Clare asked.
"It's almost noon." He answered.
"Funny how traumatic things really take it out of you," she said, "I haven't been up this late since I was a kid. Do you really think they're all dead?"
"I expect so," Steve replied, "the only way for anyone to have survived that, would be for the radiation to kill off the virus, and as you well know, a virus is much better at adapting to its surroundings than man. There may be pockets of life down there, but I don't give much for their chances."
"It seems such a waste; all that life, gone." Clare said.
"Then it's up to us to see to it that it's not wasted, we must preserve all that we can."
Everyone else seemed to have had a lie in too. When Steve and Clare arrived at the main hall, there were still some folks missing.
"While we are waiting for the stragglers," Steve said, "today we are going to open up Lark. I have the access codes here on this tag." He held it up to show them. "Is everybody here?" he asked, and receiving affirmative nods and grunts, so he set off to the part of the main dome that was against the cliff face. On typing in the codes the huge steel doors swung open.
"Everybody in," he cried, walking into the enormous lift. "Are we all in? Good." He pushed the only button. The huge doors closed and the lift descended far below the crater floor.
It took several minutes to reach the bottom, and when they did, the huge doors opened automatically. They were facing a steel wall with double doors that had the letters, LARK, written across them in deep blue. Steve led the way to the double doors and entered yet another code, the doors opened, and they were greeted with a rush of fresh air blowing in their faces.
Beyond the doors was a control centre, much like the one above, in the base, but this one had a panoramic window that gave visual access to an immense cavern. Bill hit the lights, and there before them was the most incredible sight: fields of grass growing under artificial lights, acres and acres as far as could be seen, and on the grass, all kinds of farm animals were grazing. Herds of them.
"I don't believe this," Clare said, "how could this be possible Steve, how?"
"Hammond said they were shipping stuff up here for years. I guess he meant it."
"There's more." Bill said. "If you look at this plan you'll see there are several different sections to Lark."
He was right, this was the farming level, there was also a botanical level. "That'll be me then," Clare said.
Bill went on, "There is a power level, and a water level. There is even a spare level to accommodate anything we might come up with in the future."
Somehow, that word future had just taken on a new meaning.
"Lark." Steve said.
"The Lunar Ark," Clare replied.
"Right, section heads, here are the plans of the layout, off you go and explore. I want a report from each of you detailing what we have here, and what we can expect from all this."
Some very excited people left the control centre in a hurry.
"Listen," Eric said, opening a window.
"It's birds, I can hear birds daddy," Shelley said.
"And cows and sheep too," Chris said.
"I don't know about you lot," Steve said, "but I'm going for a walk in those fields."
They found their way out of the control centre and down onto the grass. It had the most wonderful smell, and the air was so fresh.
"What kind of power is it Bill?"
"It's hydro electric Steve, it all runs on water, there's no pollution here at all, well, except for what the animals produce..."
"Point taken," Steve said looking at where his feet were treading. Steve allowed himself quite some time walking, it was so refreshing to find all this here, even the type of lighting used resembled daylight.
"Another Star Labs invention," Bill said, as Steve was looking. "That and the reflective coating on the cavern walls. Together they create a very reasonable facsimile of daylight, and
everything is timed to resemble day and night. We just arrived in the middle of 'their' night."
"They must take some juice Bill."
"Not as much as you might think Steve, but in any case, we have more than enough power here, and we're only running half of the generators."
"Wow, I must say I'm impressed. General Hammond was a real visionary, it's a pity he's not here to see its fulfilment."
Several hours later everyone gathered back at Lark's entrance and returned to the surface. "It's getting late," Steve said, "we'll meet tomorrow at 10-am for those reports."
The company split up and went to their respective apartments. Steve and Clare took a stroll around the lab section. Kay had done a really good job, it would all be operational within the next couple of days.
"You've been very restrained Sweetie," Steve said to Clare, as they headed to their apartment.
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't told me about your plants."
"Ah, I see, well you'll just have to come and look for yourself." She answered, a little smugly.
❧
Tea at the Foresters was its usual mix of fun and bedlam. Shelley had volunteered to say grace and boldly launched out with, "Dear big daddy, thank you for this food and all the wonderful things you've put in those big larders, amen."
Clare had to look away to hide the laughter. Fortunately, Rufus had jumped up onto the sofa, which gave her the excuse she was looking for.
"Rufus, get down!" She hollered. Rufus just looked back at her, bemused, and flopped onto one of the cushions. Steve lost it and burst out laughing, tears rolling down his cheeks.
