by Eric Klein
It is replaced by the “Blue Danube.” Adjusting our relative body positions to be slightly further apart, I continue the discussion. “OK, so a last-minute replacement who should have no real motive. Sherlock Holmes would suggest we move on to other options. Who else would benefit?”
“Competitors? Dad is very involved in the design of the new navigation system and interiors of the ship. He laid out the various social locations and named them from classic space fiction.”
“Well, that qualifies as a potential benefit and could be the money. We will have to check that out a little deeper. Any other ideas?”
“No, but after all this dancing, I think I need a drink.”
“The song is almost over. Drink here, or back at Callahan’s?”
“As much as I’m enjoying the dance, Callahan’s is quieter for a discussion.”
“A grand finish, then.” Another, more flamboyant dip just as the music ends. But it does not start back up. Easing her back upright I notice that we have attracted everyone’s attention. They are all standing aside watching us rise, with one person walking towards us.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for Fay Englehorn and...” he puts his wrist near my face.
“BJ Armstrong.”
“Well, Mr. Armstrong, I’m Ivan Thomas, your DJ tonight. And everyone here is very impressed with that tango and last waltz. How long have the two of you been dancing together?”
I catch Fay’s eye before replying. “Actually, just those few dances. We only met this evening after dinner. Call it three hours ago.” Taking Fay’s hand, I lead her into a bow and then towards the door.
“Stellar, how do you like that, ladies and gentlemen? They only met tonight. How about another round of applause as they make their exit?”
As we step back into the lobby, we can still hear the applause. Another few minutes and we are back inside Callahan’s, being greeted with two glasses of Bushmills by Justin. How he knew we were coming in, or what we wanted, is almost magical. He waves us on to what seems to be destined to be ‘our’ booth.
“You know, that DJ was right. Where did you learn ballroom dance like that?” I ask. “It was as if we had danced together for years. It was never that smooth when I competed with my aunt Ginger.”
“I was wondering where you learned to lead like that. Every move was smooth and telegraphed as if you had written it with a hologram in the sky. As you might have realized, my father is into all of the old science fiction books and videos. Well, my mother was into the old musicals and shows. So to keep in shape, we would practice dancing. She would usually lead unless she could get my father to dance, and then he would lead whichever of us he was partnered with. You know, I once read in one of his old novels someone said that ‘After a tango like that, the couple ought to get married.’”
“Well, after a tango like that, in some cultures we are practically already married. But I will take that as a rhetorical comment.”
“Why rhetorical? Did I sprout a second head that I failed to notice?”
“Fay, I know that story and, having met your father, I know he is not a mad scientist. At most he is vexed or perplexed. I was serious when I told the DJ that we only knew each other for a few hours. Therefore, I presumed you could not be seriously proposing we get married.” Her face seems to relax. “But, I’m game. You have all the requisite prerequisites. Smart. Fun to be with. Follow a dance lead as if we were connected. You seem to have many of the same interests - those book quotes show me that. You are beautiful.” She brightens like a sunrise. “And you and I seem to mesh like a well-oiled machine. It is almost as if we have always known each other and just needed to meet.” A sunburst of a big grin. “But why me? And why now?”
“You summed a lot of it up. It is like we have known each other for a long time, even if we just met. But there is more to this. Here you are, a stranger that has saved my father’s life twice in one day, and you are ready to jump in to help solve the attempts and get caught up in his side of things – no questions asked - even after two of those attempts almost got you, too. So you know it is dangerous.”
“It is the right thing to do. He deserves better than someone is trying to give him, and I can’t let that stand unchallenged.”
“But, you see, that is what I mean. You are not standing by, you are not letting your moral outrage be passive. Even before you knew about me, or how I’m feeling towards you, you were more than ready to jump in to help. Heck, you have spent the last hour doing nothing more with no hope of gain beyond a dance.”
“Hey, that dance was worth a lot. It seemed people would have paid for us to do more of it.”
The rest of the evening was spent discussing motives to no avail, and then the option of going groundside together on the Moon.
Chapter 8
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
President John F. Kennedy, Address at Rice University, 12 September 1962
“He sighed and looked about him. ‘This is no world for men,’ he said. `And yet in a way it appeals.’”
H.G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon
Slowly waking, I realize that I am doubly constrained. First by the head on my shoulder, a rather pleasant restraint. And secondly, it felt like something was strangling me. After the attempts on the captain, I start to panic. Opening my eyes, I see that there is no one standing over me, and after shifting a little I notice my free arm is still encased in black cloth. Apparently, I had fallen asleep still wearing formal wear and it was only the tie that was trying to strangle me.
I try to move without waking her, but Fay opens her eyes and says, “And just where do you think you are going?”
“To the refresher and to remove this tie.”
She reaches up and tries to untie it one-handedly, but it is not feeling cooperative. She sits up and tries using both hands, still with no luck. Throwing up her hands in exasperation, “How did you get this thing on? With epoxy?”
Now that I’m no longer restrained, I stand up and head towards the ‘fresher. “Actually, I had professional help from Jackie Silver, the valet. She seemed to know the magic of tying it. She showed me how to take it off and how to put one back on, but I need a mirror.” Standing up I notice that I am still wearing my shoes.
Fay follows me in, “This I have to see.”
I stop her at the door with my arm. “Let’s get a few things in this relationship straight. First, although we have slept together, we have not even kissed yet. So…” I bend down and kiss her lips, waiting to see if she is interested in a reciprocal response. She flows into my arms as an answer. An instant or eternity later she pulls back and snuggles to my chest. I realize that I tower over her by at least 20 cm.
“Was there a second?”
“Um, oh right. Second, we are going to eventually need to leave this room. Is it yours or mine?” I step into the ‘fresher and up to the mirror to remove that darn tie.
She follows me in to watch. “If we are getting married does it really matter? Wouldn’t they both be ours? But to put your mind at rest, this is the cabin that was assigned to you. Mine is much smaller and has more of my personal things.”
I wiggle the knot to loosen it. “In that case, if this one is bigger we should probably move some of your things in here. Google knows I didn’t bring much with me.”
“I remember my grandmother using that phrase. What does Google mean?”
“Google was an old version of Query. It collected data and made it easy for the people doing the searching to find.” With a few careful pulls, the tie comes undone. I put it around her neck and kiss her nose. “What do you say to us getting dressed and finding breakfast?”
Fay goes to order us clothes for the day while I depilate my face.
The Captain is j
ust leaving the table as we are sitting down. “Hi, dear, BJ.” He leans over and kisses Fay’s cheek. “Both of you meet me by the pool half an hour before we land.” He rises and walks towards the exit.
Fay looks over at me with a raised eyebrow, and I shrug. We order breakfast and start to discuss plans for Luna City.
“Ever since I was little, I have been dreaming of going to the Apollo Twelve site. Once I realized that we had a stop on the Moon, I knew that this was my chance. But I haven’t had time to review any other places where to visit when we stop. Have you ever been to Luna before? This is my first time out of Earth’s orbit.”
“No, I have mostly lived on Ceres. Only recently I came to Earth while Dad was overseeing the final details of the ship’s preparation. Before that, I was working Venus on my final project. I would really love to try out the Bats’ Cave.”
“What is the Bats’ Cave? I presume it isn’t full of bats or the home of some fictional vigilantes.”
“Of course not, silly. It is where you can strap on wings and flap them to fly like a bird or bat. Mom and Dad went there on their honeymoon when they just opened up.”
“That sounds like fun. This sounds more like flying than the hang gliding or BASE jumping I have done. Let’s go book an excursion before the line gets too long. Or do we need to get married first like your parents?”
“I think we can do it even if we are not formally married. But don’t you know that all of the excursions bought on the cruise are more expensive than the same ones you can book in port?”
“Don’t we need the return-before-departure guarantee? That way even if we are a little late getting back they won’t take off without us?”
“Do you think my dad will take off without me?”
“Good point; I hadn’t considered that aspect of this relationship. I think I’m going to like having you always around.” That gets me a smile that reaches her eyes.
As we leave the dining room we see that there is a new display in front of the excursions office and that some of the passengers are already lining up to get inside.
Figure 2 Luna Poster Modified from NASA
We stand there and do some people-watching until the public-address system comes to life. “This is Captain Englehorn. As a reminder to all of our passengers, we will be landing at Luna City in approximately three hours. At that time, all passengers need to be in their cabins. The pool and casino will close forty-five minutes before landing, in order to properly shut down and to allow everyone time to get to their rooms or stations. Thank you for your attention.”
Leaving the queue, we spend two hours collecting Fay’s things. While Fay is arranging them in my cabin I ask Vena to give Fay authorization to enter without me. When Fay is done, my room looks less empty than when I first saw it, yet somehow more comfortable.
As expected, there is an announcement that the pool and casino are now closing, so we finish straightening up and go down to the pool to meet the Captain. When we get there, it is quite noisy with the sound of the water being pumped into its storage tanks. The Captain is sitting nearby watching the water level go down. Seeing us, he rises to his feet and gives Fay a quick hug and kiss.
“Dad, shouldn’t you be on the bridge overseeing the landing?”
“No, Laidlaw and Reggie have it under control for now. I need to be there fifteen minutes before we land. Something came up that I need to discuss with someone, and the two of you seem to be the only ones I can trust.”
“Something new on the attempts on your life, Captain?”
“No, but I’m sure this is related. Just before breakfast, I received a coded, ‘eyes only’ message from a detective in New York. It seems that they found a body in the river not far from where the ship was docked. When they checked its identity, they found it was the dockworker who was clocked in as having been up on the crane when the line and buckle almost hit us. But what the detective wanted to point out was that they estimated he had been dead for at least four hours before launch, meaning that he could not have been up on the crane. They did not link it to the ship, but thought to mention it while we were chatting.”
“If that wasn’t why they called, then what was so important?”
“It was to inform me that Mike Lally had passed away. I was listed as next of kin so they wanted me to know. It seems that there was a malfunction of the printer, and while building his new leg somehow the arteries were full of air. Less than a minute after they started his circulation through the leg up, the air formed a bubble that circulated to his brain and caused an air embolism leading to a massive stroke. By the time it was noticed so much damage had been done to the brain that they could not revive him.”
“Had they gotten a chance to talk to him about the accident?”
“No, it seems he has been unconscious the whole time. They never got to ask him what happened. I explained what happened on the gantry to the detective, and in light of Mike Lally’s death they are now investigating them both as homicides rather than as accidents.”
“It does sound very suspicious that the one person who was tied to the buckle incident was dead when it happened, and an accident causes you to get a new first officer at the last minute. And now your original first mate died of a rather strange printing accident. Why would a medical printer even have the program for air-filled blood vessels?”
Agreeing that it was suspicious, the Captain returns to the bridge and we go back to my (our!) cabin with much to think about.
As we get there, the address system comes on to announce we have just under fifteen minutes until we land.
“This is First Mate Ethan Laidlaw, on behalf of Captain Englehorn. Shortly, we will be landing at Luna City’s Trinity Base. Please ensure that you are reclined in your bed with your hands and feet on the bed. Make sure that all your belongings are stowed, as you wouldn’t want them to go flying should gravity be interrupted. Please observe the STAY ON BUNK and other lighted signs until they have been turned off by the Captain.”
After about ten minutes, some slightly grainy audio recording starts to play through the speakers, voices that I knew from history class:
Buzz Aldrin: Okay. Seventy-five feet. There’s looking good. Down a half, six forward.
Charlie Duke: Sixty seconds.
Buzz Aldrin: Lights on. …
Down two and a half. Forward. Forward. Good.
Forty feet, down two and a half. Kicking up some dust.
Thirty feet, two and a half down. Faint shadow.
Four forward. Four forward. Drifting to the right a little.
Okay. Down a half.
Charlie Duke: Thirty seconds.
Neil Armstrong: Forward drift?
Buzz Aldrin: Yes.
Okay.
Okay. ENGINE STOP.
ACA—out of DETENT.
Neil Armstrong: Out of DETENT.
Buzz Aldrin: MODE CONTROL—both AUTO. DESCENT
ENGINE COMMAND OVERRIDE—OFF. ENGINE
ARM—OFF.
Four thirteen is in.
Charlie Duke: We copy you down, Eagle.
Neil Armstrong: Houston, Tranquility Base here.
The Eagle has landed.
Laidlaw’s voice comes over the PA system again. “The Captain has turned off the STAY IN BUNK light. Feel free to move around your cabin. In about twenty minutes we will have completed the docking and pressurization procedures, and you will be able to debark to the Luna Immigration and Customs area. We will announce on each deck when it is your turn to debark. If you require any assistance, please contact me or the ship’s AI so we can arrange the appropriate assistance. Welcome to Earth’s only Moon, Luna.”
Chapter 9
“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, stepping off the Eagle Luna Lander and taking the firs
t step on the Moon, transcript of Apollo 11 moon landing, 20 July 1969
With only sixty hours on Luna, we decide to get started as quickly as possible. We leave the ship to clear immigration and customs as soon as we are able. Unlike in New York, here the TSA’s bomb-proof, Rapiscan Security Chamber is not run by a security AI. Instead, there are actual armed security personnel looking on, while their colleagues are checking that my embedded ident chip, wristpad, and the ship all agree that I’m who I claim to be – all without me saying a word. Then comes the short quiz about what agricultural products, software, hardware, etc. I’m bringing, and how long I intend to stay. While this is happening I’m medically scanned, and my medical and vaccination history are verified from my wristpad and confirmed with the certified version on the ship. Once they finish poking, sniffing, and scanning me, I’m welcomed to Luna and allowed to officially be on the Moon – the irony being that for the past twenty minutes I was physically, but not officially, on the Moon seems to have escaped the TSA agents running the process.
Fay is released from her security chamber. We look around and realize that most things are closed, including the tour and tourist offices. We get directions from one of the guards to the Hilton Earth View Room. At the View Room, we enjoy overpriced, watered-down drinks, and a little dancing by Earth’s light. (The music on the ship is much better.). At midnight we head back to the ship to rest for a serious day of touristing.
After another fun-filled inquisition by customs and immigration, we head for a quick stop at the tourist information booth to get directions to the Tranquility Base museum and the Bats’ Cave. The young girl staffing the information booth suggests that we change the order of our excursions.
“It would be better if you were to go straight to the Bats’ Cave now before the rest of the passengers get there. The ship’s organized tour will spend most of today in and around Luna City, with a brief walk on the surface, and only tomorrow would they get over to the Bats’ Cave. Also, today being a work and school day, there will not be many residents this morning either. But you should be aware that you will need to leave before fourteen hundred as the beauty pageant is scheduled to broadcast from the Cave tonight around eighteen hundred. They need the time to clean up and install the holo recorders. I’m real excited about this, as it should be a great boost for our tourism. Not only is this the first time that there will be a broadcast showing off the Bats’ Cave, but it will be the pageant contestants who will be flying in the broadcast. The interest in being there was so high that for the first time they had to limit entry tickets for the viewing area by selling them. They sold out within an hour of the announcement and now there is a thriving black market on the resale – but even those are getting hard to find at any price.”
