by Stuart Clark
“Uh-uh. Everything you see is purely a visual stimulus. None of this is real. The system is in each room purely for visitors’ entertainment. We have all the usual multimedia facilities you’d expect, but sometimes people like to get away from it all and create a place like this. Let’s face it, there are few places left on Earth like this now. Any real objects you want in this environment you have to bring in with you, a chair or drink for example.” He handed her one of the glasses. “The system does have its limitations, but it’s quite easy to lose yourself in here.”
“I bet.”
“Computer, end simulation.”
The image faded and Kate found herself in the plain, bland room again. It seemed duller than before, the evaporation of the brilliant colors playing tricks on her eyes.
Alan pointed to her glass, “Come on, drink that up and I’ll take you to see the base director.”
* * * * *
The base director was an extremely busy man and although polite to her, had very little time for Kate. She’d expected as much, so she was not too offended by his abruptness. He at least knew who she was and the reasons for her arrival and he wished her luck with her trip. He told her that it would be an experience she would not forget.
With so many ships coming into and out of the moon base he was uncertain as to which craft to assign her to, so he decided to leave that decision up to Alan. Alan, after all, had more contact with the crews, and he could put her on a ship with personnel who would look after her. It was in all a very polite but very patronizing conversation.
They left the director’s office and proceeded to the landing bays. Alan accessed the mainframe from his office and called up the expedition craft schedule for the next week. There were four expedition craft listed. One arrival and three departures.
“Mmmmm.”
“What. What is it?” asked Kate
“Well, we’ve only got three outgoing craft over the space of the next five days. Give me a moment. I’ll check out these ship numbers for you and find out exactly what they are.” Alan typed in another clearance code. As he touched each ships number on the screen, a new set of details appeared. “The news isn’t good, I’m afraid.”
“What now?”
“There are only two CSETI craft going out and both of those have complete crew lists. It looks like you’ll be staying here with us for at least seven days, young lady.”
“What about the third?”
Alan sighed, “I’m afraid I can’t let you go on that expedition. I’m sorry”
“Why? What is it?”
“It’s a U.L.F. expedition.”
Kate frowned, not understanding.
“That’s animal acquisition to you.”
“But that’s exactly what I want! I’m a trained biologist! Come on, Alan, you’ve got to let me go.”
“I’m sorry Kate, but I just can’t authorize that. There are dangers involved. These guys are dealing with unknown and potentially harmful animals. It’s just too risky.”
“How do you know how risky it will be? Where exactly are they going, then?”
Alan didn’t know. He was about to tell her to stop pursuing this line of inquiry when she flashed him her smile again.
“Please,” she begged him.
“Okay, okay, I’ll check it out for you,” he said, putting up his hands in mock surrender. Returning his attention to the computer he accessed more details of the U.L.F. flight. “Interesting. You could be in luck. The expedition is going to Ionen Prime which, if I recall, is just within the Sirius sector and that’s been quite extensively explored. It must be a routine deployment for the acquisition of regular exhibits. I know the zoos still have trouble maintaining some species, so, when they run out, they just send out for more. I guess that’s where you come in.” He looked at Kate. “You find out what the little critters do to stay alive and then the people in the zoos will be able to keep them for longer. Right?”
“Sometimes,” Kate shrugged. “I guess.”
Alan returned his attention to the screen, accessing more details with deft finger strokes. He studied the new information, his brow furrowing. “That’s even more interesting. The expedition leader is Wyatt Dorren.”
“Who’s that?”
“A good friend of mine. He also happens to be in charge of the whole U.L.F. acquirement department at the IZP. Why is he going on this expedition? And why are there only six others in his crew?” He looked at Kate as if she might somehow know the answer to his questions. She could only shrug again in response.
“Maybe he’s just got a yearning to go out again,” she offered.
“Mmmmm,” Alan sounded doubtful. “Well, knowing what I know now, I don’t really see any problem with you joining this team. Wyatt will look after you, and it looks like a routine assignment.”
Kate leaned over and gave Alan a peck on the cheek. “Thanks,” she said, beaming.
Alan blushed despite his age. “Hey, you’re not on it yet. I’ll have to clear it through the proper channels.” Kate’s face fell. “I don’t foresee any problems, though,” he added. “Now go and get yourself unpacked and settled in. I’ll let you know tomorrow. If you want to go socializing, there’s a good bar and casino on minus fifty.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Can you remember where you’re going now?”
“Yeah. I’m sure I’ll find it.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kate looked at Alan pleadingly as she left.
“I’ll do what I can,” he chuckled. “Now go away before you talk me into doing something else for you!”
* * * * *
Kate awoke late the next day. The trip had tired her more than she had realized. She was eating breakfast when Alan called upon her. The computer informed her that he was waiting outside her door.
“Come in, Alan,” she said, the door sliding open in response to her call.
Alan stepped into her apartment. “Good morning, I trust you slept well.”
“Yes, thanks. I was so tired I was asleep almost as soon as I got into bed. Anyway, what’s the verdict?”
“You’re in! A trip to Ionen Prime poses no threat to your safety, provided you’re sensible, so I put you on the crew list this morning. You leave on Friday, the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes!” she cried. “Yes! Yes! Oh thank you, Alan,” she said, leaping out of her chair and hugging him, “I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, somewhat surprised at the extent of her reaction. “I’ve also arranged for you to take a look around the control domes, but that’s not until tomorrow.”
“Really?” she said in disbelief, her eyes wide. “Dad certainly picks his friends well. I’ll tell him how you looked after me while I was here.”
“Well, it’s nothing, really,” Alan said, trying to play down the whole thing. There was a brief silence before he changed the subject, “Come on, young lady, finish your breakfast and get yourself dressed, we’ve got to get you outfitted with gear for your trip. Oh, and how do you feel about cryosleep?”
“About what?”
“Cryosleep. Stasis.” He chuckled. “You don’t think we keep whole crews awake for the entirety of their trip, do you? It would cost us a fortune in in-flight catering.” He looked at her and could see she was rather shocked at the realization of what he was suggesting. “Never done it before, have you?”
“No.”
“It’s nothing to worry about, really,” he said, placing a hand on her arm, “Just a bit cold.” He winked at her and smiled and she laughed a nervous laugh.
CHAPTER
4
Wyatt walked across the pad towards the shuttle. The wind gusted and cut through him in icy blasts. At the top of the shuttle stairway a young girl in uniform desperately clung to her hat. It seemed ridiculously small for her head and fought against the band of elastic which ran under her chin but even with this annoyance there was no threat that her smile would be blown away
as easily as her hat might be.
Given the conditions there was little to smile about, but she turned it on him and he returned it and gave her a curt nod as he passed her and stepped into the relative shelter of the shuttle.
He dumped his bag, the only belongings he had with him, into the rack above his seat. He ran through everything he’d done before leaving his apartment. It was all taken care of. He lowered himself into his seat and took a deep breath. It was time to focus on the task ahead.
The shuttle’s door closed with a thud, shutting out the wind that howled outside. A flight attendant’s voice came through the speakers that lay on either side of his headrest.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is the twenty-three fifteen shuttle flight to the moon-base. Take off will be in approximately five minutes and we request that all passengers be seated at this time. We will be breaking Earth’s gravitational field one hour after liftoff over the mid-Atlantic and then proceeding directly to the moon. Total flight time is estimated to be eleven hours with an arrival time of approximately 10:15 AM standard earth time. We thank you for traveling with Orbit shuttle services and hope you enjoy the flight.”
A few minutes later there was a hum as the engines roared to life. The pads at Wyatt’s sides pressed against him, matching the contours of his body, holding him with a firm but not uncomfortable grip. The shuttle’s turbines fired and the craft lifted off the pad, lurching violently in the strong winds. Wyatt was grateful that he had not eaten anything since lunchtime.
Shortly into the flight the hostess who had welcomed him aboard approached him, “Can I get you a drink? Tea? Coffee? A soft drink, or something alcoholic perhaps?”
“Do you have any beer?”
“Certainly, sir, any particular brand?”
“Oh, whatever, I’ll leave the choice to you.”
“We have the latest beer on the market, launched only two months ago, brewed with genetically engineered yeast for a sharper taste.”
“That’ll do just fine,” he said giving her a long, hard look.
The shuttle bucked slightly and he let out a groan.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I just don’t fly well.”
“But Mister Dorren, it says on your boarding chip that you are going on an expedition from the moon-base. Surely that will involve far more flying.”
“Yeah, but the only bumps and turbulence you get in space are if you hit an asteroid or get sucked into a black hole, and that tends to only happen once.”
“Oh, I see,” she said. She continued to smile but had completely missed his sarcasm. There was not the faintest twinkle of amusement in her eyes. To her, he was another paying customer and this was another conversation, another day at work. He looked at her and she back at him, and there they were, two people, face-to-face, same species, different worlds.
The beer was indeed good, a sharp taste as she’d said. On his empty stomach it had gone straight to his head. He was already tired and the alcohol was making him dozy. It was time for some shut-eye. He made himself comfortable and within minutes he was asleep.
* * * * *
Kate looked at the bag on her sofa. It would be all she would take with her on the expedition. It was a huge plain black canvas bag and all it contained was clothes. T-shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, and boots. All standard issue for a U.L.F. team member. Next to the bag was a black satin jacket with PROJECT U.L.F. printed across the back in silver. This was not a standard-issue garment, but Alan had “acquired” it for her as a memento of this trip. That would go into storage along with her rucksack to wait for her return.
She checked her watch. It was time to start moving; she was supposed to be meeting him outside the control dome in a quarter of an hour.
* * * * *
Wyatt was brought around by a gentle shaking of his arm. The hostess’ face slowly came into focus in front of him.
“Breakfast, Mister Dorren.”
“Wha…? Really? What time is it?”
“Nine o’clock standard earth time. We’ve made good time and should be arriving at the moon-base twenty minutes earlier than originally expected.”
“Oh…good,” Wyatt said. It was the only response that seemed appropriate.
* * * * *
Alan was already waiting for Kate when she arrived.
“Am I late?” she asked.
“No, I’m early,” he smirked. “Bad habit of mine. Are you ready to go in?”
“Yeah, sure”
“I have to ask that you touch nothing and disturb no one. The jobs these people do here require a lot of concentration. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t distract them from their work.
“That’s fine, I understand.”
Alan turned and punched in an access code on the keypad on the wall. The door slid away.
The first thing Kate saw was the stars. The cosmic panorama was breathtaking. Complete and uninterrupted. There was no cloud, just inky blackness in which the stars shone brilliantly, winking gleefully. She caught her breath in her throat.
Alan stepped through the door and beckoned her to follow him. As she stepped through into the control dome she could see all the personnel that were hidden from her previous vantage point. There were hundreds of them, some rushing around frantically, others sitting in front of monitors watching arms swing lazily around scopes. All of them occupying a place in one of dozens of rows arranged in tiers. Each totally focused on their individual task. The whole room was covered by a hemisphere of some transparent material through which the stars and the lunar landscape could be viewed.
Alan began to descend the nearest flight of stairs, which cut down along the left side of room. Kate followed. About a third of the way down, a man located in the center of the nearest row motioned for them to join him. They made their way across to the stranger, behind numerous computer screens, some displaying lines and lines of computer code, others intermittently flashing data, none of which Kate could comprehend.
“Hello, Alan,” said the other man, “You’ve timed this just right, we have a shuttle coming in early.” He turned to Kate, “You must be Miss Frere,” he said, offering his hand.
“That’s right,”
“Hi, I’m David Winsford and this is my office,” he opened his arms wide to indicate the whole room and smiled at his own humor. “We deal mainly with the smaller craft in this control room, that’s why this dome looks out over the surface of the moon. It means we can watch their approach as well as monitor them on computer.”
“It doesn’t look that busy to warrant all these people,” Kate said.
David snorted in amusement of her ignorance. “We monitor all incoming and outgoing craft to a range of two hundred and fifty thousand kilometers.” He looked down at his display, a kaleidoscope of colored flashing lights. “We’re currently tracking one hundred and sixty-four craft. Some are just passing within our range but many of them will land or have taken off from here.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize…”
“No…well. Anyway, we have a shuttle coming in right now. Keep an eye out and you might spot it, it’s coming in from over there,” he said, indicating the general direction.
All three of them stood in silence for a few minutes, looking for the shuttle.
“Ah, there it is,” David pointed it out to the others. It appeared tiny, a small gray form speeding across the black backdrop and then it turned and dropped below the lunar horizon, disappearing from view as it blended in with the gray of the moon’s surface. Kate squinted, trying to pinpoint the craft and then she thought she saw something move. It was a dark, undefined shape leaping across the uneven surface skittishly—the shuttle’s shadow. She rapidly relocated the shuttle with her eyes as it glided smoothly towards them, a lot closer than she’d expected. As it approached even closer it banked again and the sun caught on its fuselage, a dazzling burst of light. It was as if the ship had winked at them, an old friend who had been here countless times befo
re and knew that it would be back again sometime. It disappeared out of view to their left and headed off towards the landing bays.
* * * * *
As Wyatt left the shuttle he stopped briefly at the top of the gangplank and looked around the bay. “It’s been a while,” he said to no one in particular. Walking down the ramp, he casually slung his bag over his shoulder. Just as he reached the bottom a voice from behind him said, “Well if it isn’t our own modern-day Columbus.”
Wyatt recognized the voice. He turned and was face-to-face with Robert Eller, Mannheim’s man on the moon-base. He smiled at Robert’s attempt at a joke, if that’s what it was.
“Hello, Bob,” he said and instantly saw a fire flare in Robert’s eyes. He chuckled. The bastardization of Robert’s name never failed to get a reaction. He looked Robert up and down and smoothed one of the other man’s lapels with the back of his hand, “Nice suit,” he said and turned to walk out of the bay.
* * * * *
Wyatt stifled a yawn as Robert went through yet more details of the expedition. He’d been in this room practically all day since stepping off the shuttle, listening to Robert drone on and on about the mission. About the procedures they would have to go through on their return. About the celebrations that would be going on at the IZP and about the timing of their arrival.
He’d had a brief respite when he’d been allowed to go and get something to eat, but even then Robert had accompanied him to the restaurant and he’d been forced to make small talk to pass the time.
“…And that’s about it,” Robert said from the front of the room. The lights in the room slowly came up, the information projected on the wall fading from view. Wyatt lifted his head off his hand and checked his watch. Five-thirty.
