As he got closer, he was filled with panic just at the sight of it, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was prepared for what was about to happen.
He quickly walked towards the steel tower that stood before him, towering over forty-six miles up in the air. He was accosted by several scientists who were trying to encourage him, but they only managed to make him more nervous.
At the base of the shuttle, a group of five people were waiting for him; the four men and one woman made up the team of astronauts who would accompany him on the mission. They were wearing the typical launch and entry suits. Even though James didn’t know it, the suit was equipped with all kinds of emergency devices which would be useful in the case of a fatal ending - water, food, parachutes, floats… Even the color - bright orange - had been specially chosen so they would be more visible in the case of an accident.
Aaron quickly introduced them to him. “As you can probably guess, Mr. Oldrich, these five people will be your colleagues for the next few days. We have selected the five best qualified professionals for this mission. Allow me to introduce you to Alan Glenn and Scott Grissom, who will be the two pilots in charge of the trip and keeping the craft in orbit, Ed Carpenter and Yi Young, mission specialists, and Helen Conrad, scientific expert on the Trifariam.”
Each of them extended their hand to James in turn. Some took advantage of the situation to cheer him on and reassure him that everything would turn out as planned.
“Sir,” called out one of the scientists behind him. “I’ve just been told that the press has heard about it. They’ve just arrived on site and are digging for information.”
“Shit! Entertain them until the launch has taken place!”
The seven of them got into a kind of metal elevator which took them to the highest part of the shuttle. James couldn’t help but feel dizzy when he saw the ground disappear beneath his feet. A transparent walkway took them inside the cabin, which was where the administrator of NASA said his goodbyes, wishing them luck and a safe trip.
The inside of the shuttle was amazing. It had four different areas: the main engines, which propel the craft forwards; the cargo bay, used to carry small satellites or carry out research projects; the communal area, where the astronauts eat and sleep; and the cabin, with the spacecraft’s flight deck and all the communication equipment. In addition to that layout, there were another two auxiliary rockets and an external fuel tank which facilitate the shuttle’s takeoff, helping it reach a speed of five hundred and sixty miles per hour in under nine seconds.
James followed Yi Young’s instructions and put on his flight suit. They then made their way to the cabin where he found the rest of the crew carrying out the relevant checks prior to departure.
Entry was via a trapdoor located in the ceiling of the lower compartment, and at first glance there appeared to be two different floors.
“Take a seat here and fasten your safety belts,” ordered Alan.
The flight deck was a cabin of around sixty-five square feet with a mass of cables, buttons and screens which were much more complex than those on any passenger plane. There were two rows of seats - the first two were designated for the pilots, and the other four to the rear were for the rest of the crew. Due to the vertical position of the shuttle, it was a task in itself to take their seats and buckle their safety harnesses.
Meanwhile, the results of the system check were coming back as positive. Everything was working perfectly.
“Houston,” said Scott. “This is Space Shuttle Endeavour. The craft is functioning at one hundred percent, all systems initialized correctly. We are prepared for takeoff.”
James wasn’t. He started to breathe more heavily than normal and it was impossible for him to act on the anti-panic techniques he had been taught. “Just a minute!” he yelled. “I want to speak to my daughter!”
There was a long silence.
“This is Houston, your daughter is in hospital. Mr. Matheson has just left the communications room to meet with the medical team. You will be able to talk to him when you are in space.” There was a silence, which the control center took to be an affirmative response. “Ignition commencing in ten seconds. Ten, nine…”
Time seemed to have stopped in the head of the professor. Every second seemed to last for an eternity, and the last ten years flashed before his eyes as if those were to be his moments.
“Five, four…”
He watched as some of the astronauts made the sign of the cross, and he didn’t want to be left out. He blessed himself ten times in less than three seconds.
“One, zero. Ignition!”
Eight hundred and seventy miles away, the door of Room 54 in the John F. Kennedy Space Center hospital slowly opened. It was as if that uninvited guest hadn’t wanted to wake the girl, plied with medication, sleeping soundly in the bed.
She crept closer, took out a syringe from her coat and removed the safety cap. She looked at the observation sheet and without further delay injected her with all the solution, using the intravenous line to which she was hooked up.
The girl opened her eyes and turned her head, but she could only see the outline of a woman who was leaving the room without even signing the observation sheet. Then she lost consciousness.
Chapter 93
The first ten seconds were incredible. The main engines on the space shuttle were the first to power up, burning the liquid oxygen and hydrogen stored in the external orange tank. A few seconds later, the solid rocket boosters, located on either side of the external fuel tank, sprang to life and the space shuttle began its ascent in a thick cloud of smoke which was enough to even cover the whole octagonal launch platform 39A. The sound was deafening, being heard clearly for dozens of miles around.
Communication with the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston had been stable throughout take off. Six minutes later and at an altitude of sixty-two miles, James watched as one of the pilots pressed a button and the three main motors stopped instantly. After ten seconds, they ejected the external fuel tank which would reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and eventually plunge into the ocean.
A tinny voice could be heard through the earpieces in their headsets. “Endeavour, this is Houston. Take off has been a complete success. The Administrator of NASA would like to talk to you, but he is still in the John F. Kennedy Space Center. I will redirect the signal. Activate safe transmission mode type 2 so that the communication cannot be intercepted.”
The copilot immediately pressed one of the switches located on the right control panel and communication cut off, only to return two seconds later. It took James no time at all to recognize the voice speaking to them.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the Administrator in a sad voice, “I would firstly like to thank you for being part of this mission in record time. I know that many of you have had to leave aside hugely important personal matters or sick family members.” James noticed that Yi Young was nodding his head. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one after all. “On behalf of the United States of America, I would like to thank you for your participation and you will be rewarded on your return. However, you are already aware of the scale of the danger which lies ahead of us. Our survival is at stake, so I hope you give your all to ensure that everything turns out as planned. Now, activate your engines and set course for our satellite - they are expecting you.”
“The Moon?!” cried James, but Aaron had already severed communication.
Nobody said a word.
“Who is expecting for us?”
“Mr. Oldrich,” said one of the pilots. “For some years now, the Moon has played a vital role in our exploration into the corners of the universe. NASA has succeeded in establishing a scientific base near the Moon’s south pole, where the temperatures are warmer. The facilities are home to over five thousand people.”
“What?! Are you joking?!” The look on the professor’s face was one of pure skepticism. James had heard about NASA’s intentions of building a permanent base on our satellit
e, but he never would have imagined that the project would already have successfully gotten underway. “I thought the project was planned for 2024. And how come not one astronomer has discovered it yet?”
Two of the astronauts smiled.
“All will become clear when you see it, don’t worry.”
Hundreds of questions were running through James’ mind. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge were so great that he couldn’t keep some of them to himself. “Where do get the oxygen and water to keep such a large group of people alive?”
“You should know - the news featured on the cover of most U.S. newspapers and on science magazines all over the world. NASA discovered over forty craters on the dark side of the moon, the size of which were between one and ten miles in size and full of water frozen at an approximate temperature of -418oF. Its total volume is thought to be around 6 billion metric tonnes of water. Our scientists can easily obtain all the oxygen they need through those reservoirs of frozen water.”
The space shuttle was traveling at 17,500 miles per hour but thanks to a special feature fitted to the engines of new models, it was able to reach a constant speed of 21,700 miles per hour. It would take little over ten hours for it to travel the 240,000 miles between the Earth and the Moon.
Surrounded by the vastness of space, the astronauts took the opportunity to remove their safety belts and play with the weightlessness which would accompany them for the whole flight. Although James was reluctant at first, when he saw how his colleagues were floating in the air as if by magic, he was really keen to share in the experience. The feeling was exhilerating, even more so when he got close to one of the many observation points installed throughout the spacecraft. He saw the most beautiful image he had ever seen - planet Earth.
From space, he could clearly make out the contour of every continent together with representative colors, which ranged from dark green to light yellow and glacial white depending on the presence of vegetation. The dark blue of the sea threatened to swallow up the masses of land and sweep everything away in its wake. The mountain ranges looked like small groups of small peaks erupting from the Earth, trying to pierce the clouds which powerfully swept across the surface.
James had been able to witness one of the most stunning times of day - dusk. A veil of black light unfolded from Asia to America, darkening every continent along the way. The image was astounding. In Italy, Germany and part of France, night had plunged their cities into the deepest of darkness. They were only illuminated by the lights which were beginning to be turned on and which from space looked like thousands of fireflies swarming around treetops, while it was still light in London and Madrid.
Moving around inside the shuttle wasn’t as easy as he had imagined. The lack of gravity turned his legs into motionless flesh which dangled from his torso and were of no use at all. Movements were made with their arms, thanks to the hundreds of handgrips which were strategically fitted to the walls and floor of the spacecraft.
On one occasion, James put a little too much force behind him and ended up flying towards one of the booths where the astronaut Ed Carpenter was supervising all the performance gauges. He flailed about in an effort to stop himself but the collision with his colleague was inevitable.
“Sorry Ed,” said James after the impact.
“Don’t worry. But Even though the journey to the Moon isn’t as long as it used to be, any slight setback could put the mission in danger. Careful with what you touch.”
“The first voyage to the Moon must have been extremely long and exhausting for the human body. It must be frustrating for an astronaut to risk their life to complete such a heroic feat and then have people doubt whether it actually happened.” James pointed out.
The astronaut smiled, he could tell where James wanted to take the conversation. “Mr. Oldrich, I can assure you that it was not a cover up. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon, there is no question of that.”
James grinned. Carpenter was ready to talk about it. “But there is lots of evidence to suggest the opposite. Many investigators claim that those images filmed are actually of fake scenery set up by NASA.”
Carpenter closed the cupboard and turned to look at the professor’s face. “And you? What do you think?”
James was taken aback, he hadn’t seen that question coming. “Well…, the photographs are dubious. I mean, how were they able to take them so perfectly, and change the rolls of film and filters without cosmic radiation causing them damage? Then there is the American flag that is waving in a place where there is no wind.”
“The Hasselblad cameras used on Apollo missions were not the same as those sold in stores. They had been adapted to overcome all those obstacles,” replied the astronaut. “Your second observation is the one which attracts the most attention from those who subscribe to the ides that the moon landing was a hoax. If you look at the upper part of the flag, you will see that it has a mast to keep it outstretched. The supposed waving motion is actually due to the creases in the flag from it having been folded up when transported.”
Just then Yi Young came into the compartment using his hands to move himself forwards. He had heard part of Ed’s answer and it was enough to know what they were talking about. “We haven’t got a skeptic onboard, have we?!”
Carpenter grinned.
James turned red. “I’m not saying that the moon landing didn’t take place, just that there is more than enough evidence to cast doubt over the authenticity of the events.”
“What other evidence is there?” asked Young, trying to get involved in the debate.
James remained thoughtful for a few seconds. It was two against one, he would have to be a little smarter. “The stars,” he said eventually. “On the photographs taken by NASA, there is not one star in the sky. Did they want to prevent astronomers in the future from calculating their positions and realizing it was all a hoax?”
Young smiled. “Have you got a digital camera?”
“No.”
“Well in that case, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Twelve years ago, on my first mission aboard the space shuttle, I brought a camera and took hundreds of photographs during the voyage. When I developed them I didn’t see a single star. I was later told that I would need a period of exposure greater than twenty seconds in order for them to show up in a photograph. The exposure of the images taken during the Apollo mission was a fraction of a second.”
James nodded. He was running out of arguments. “And in the videos, why do the astronauts move in a similar way to how they would on Earth, when the gravity on the Moon is a sixth of that on our planet? Their leaps should be gigantic!”
This time it was Carpenter who replied. “Mr. Oldrich, when you step out into space, you’ll realize how dangerous it is. The astronauts were proud to be the first ones to set foot on the satellite, but I am sure they felt a sense of panic and wanted everything to turn out as planned. They had to avoid doing silly tricks because their suits were very sensitive and could suffer tears, so they had to move with caution.”
“The most reasonable doubts,” chipped in Young, “are those which refer to the crater left on the surface of the Moon by the landing module. Conspiracy theorists believe it is insufficient, but that is because they are unaware of one important fact. The module on the surface of the Moon weighed 3500 pounds, so an extraordinary force wasn’t necessary to stop the spacecraft.”
“That is another one of my concerns. How come flames were coming out of the engine nozzle if they were running low on fuel and there was no oxygen to allow combustion? And, did the lunar module have enough fuel to escape the gravity of our satellite?”
Carpenter replied while Young left the compartment, he had things to do. “The lunar module used a kind of hyperbolic fuel called hydracine, which does not produce flames when it burns. The lunar module had the necessary fuel to escape lunar gravity, taking into account that it is a sixth of that on Earth and that it didn’t have to fight the resistance of t
he atmosphere, because there practically isn’t any. It just needed to enter orbit and reattach to the control module which was waiting for them and would help them to escape lunar gravity.”
James had more doubts, but he was aware of the fact that his colleagues would answer all his questions coherently and he would be unable to judge them positively or negatively, due to his lack of knowledge on the subject. The young professor let Carpenter finish preparing the equipment they would need to land on the surface of the Moon and stood still for a few minutes, staring at the expanse of space which surrounded them outside. The sight of Earth from space was beautiful.
Meanwhile, back in the space center in Houston, Richard was running along the fifth-floor corridors of the hospital on his way to Room 54, where Lily was being looked after. She had been calmed down after her previous encounter with the nurse who had fed her medication through the intravenous drip. He thought he could see an improvement in the girl’s health; the shaking was starting to subside and although she had yet to speak, she had moments of lucidness in which she seemed to be aware of everything going on around her. The nurse had told him that after she had left the room, she came across a member of the psychiatric team who was going to be treating her. The woman was tall and had brown hair; she had come specifically from Los Angeles and at that time must have been carrying out a private study into the girl’s behavior. Richard wanted to speak personally to the psychiatrist before leaving the hospital, he wanted to hear her impressions for himself.
It took him seconds to run along the last corridor and stood in front of the door to the room. He looked through the glass and was shocked to see the figure of a woman who was familiar to him. She was wearing typical hospital attire and had a stethoscope hanging from her neck. She was crouching at one side of the bed with her eyes fixed on the monitor which controlled the girl’s cardiac activity. Richard was astonished to see her remove the power cord with no prior warning. She then took out a gun complete with silencer from inside her pants as the paleographer looked on in pure disbelief.
Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) Page 52
