Chapter 47

Eventually, with enough mathematics and a super computer, it would be proved that a large celestial body once struck the earth. The iron core of the intruder, being heavy, sank into our core and the granite mantle had been flung off. Being hot, they formed back into spheres again and the granite section stayed within our gravity well.

We traded places and jobs and each of us had a chance to ride the rover. We had pictures of Sally planting the Stars and Stripes in the shallow soil. Hindsight was great and I had brought a device to attach the flags to the solid rock with a special 22 cartridge. This procedure was dangerous, for a small fragment of rock could puncture our suits easily. The construction of the device was as well thought out as possible. The astronaut stood on a plate and the small explosion caused him or her to be bounced upward.

The other members did their own countries' flags the same way and then we continued with the other countries that had contributed funds, or other assistance to our projects.

A laser reflector was planted away from our landing site and where other experiments were conducted. Instead of staying just four hours, we planned on being here about a day. We drilled deep into the rock for samples and to find the temperature gradient. If you got down four or five yards, then the temperature would be the same as home. This would protect any future inhabitants from much of the radiation, too.

Some of us took a sleeping pill and hooked ourselves up to the oxygen supply from the lander for a nap. Like well-trained mice, we were awoken later and put back to work. The machinery would all stay on the moon and as much of it as possible had been automated. This all had to be taken away from our landing area, because when we left, the exhaust would set up a terrific wind storm that would destroy anything close.

Jeremy Myers walked down a shallow crater and after taking some samples Marcel Grateau had to help him out with a rope. This was planned in advance to test some of our theories.

Major Lischinsky and Sally went the furthest in the rover to place sensors. We all heard the two making jokes about being taken for a moonlight ride. Sergei played right along and said that Sally was the most beautiful woman on the planet. Sally readily agreed with his observation.

When it was time to go, the rover drove away controlled from earth. We took a few more photos and just saved some film for the launch. We were all tired and I, for one, would have loved to enter a dome set up for humanity and just go to sleep at the first human outpost. Sadly, there would be no permanent structures.

The lander was as light as we could make it and we had more than enough fuel to make it to orbit from this airless orb.

Launch was brutal to save fuel. Seven minutes later we were able to cut back, then wait till it was time to fire the engines again to put us in the orbit we wanted. I don't know if I got the photo of the flags blowing in the exhaust or not but I was sure that this would be the only time they would ever extend again.

Sally had to do some manual work to line up with the Command Module. We bumped once and had to try again and finally made it. Sergei slapped her on the shoulder and said, "Good work."

Sally actually said, "Thanks," in a meek voice. She must have been very nervous at this manoeuvre.

When we were back in the Command Module and had recovered all our horde of rocks, the lander was jettisoned. Sally used the last of its fuel to place it in a higher and more stable orbit. I felt bad about letting it just fall back to the moon. Perhaps this could be looked on as our way station for future visits and possibly used again if we brought more fuel.

The trip back to earth was anticlimactic but we did not have that much time to think of it for we had lots of duties to perform. The helmets were hung up but we stayed in the suits till our home warmed up a bit.

From a small alcove I extracted five small plastic bags of vodka. I put my finger to my mouth to keep everyone from saying anything then handed out the clear liquid.

"May friends always work together as well as we have!"

I got replies in different languages and the contents were squeezed into thirsty mouths. The drink was strong and Sally choked a bit, then just reached out her mouth to catch a small globule that she had let escape.

The main engines of the Service Module cut in on time and we were again thrown back into our seats. We circled the moon gaining speed. This did not last long and soon we were back at work.

Four tiring days later we came back to Earth orbit. I had done many tests to see if moon bugs had attacked us but I could not prove that there was no life on the moon yet. We would have to go into quarantine with our rocks till the time was passed. The same thing was required when the other time people had come back from the moon.

Before entering atmosphere we said hello to those still on the space station. Things had been progressing well and they had even received another shipment from earth. They congratulated us first on our arrival.

The Service Module was now jettisoned and again Sally steered it into an orbit for later use. Our suits and anything else not necessary, went with it. If recovered, it could be of use later. The stripped-down Command Module entered earth's atmosphere and started to heat up. The trip back had been cool but now we were sweating.

Communications stopped as the ionized gases around us made any transfer of data impossible. We watched the airspeed and the altimeter very closely. The drogue chute came out and we felt a shock through our module. Our craft slowed further, till we were well into the green. Another drogue came out to pull the three main chutes out and we dangled after the large shock that ran through all of us.

We splashed down in the Pacific at 11 am local time. The small flotation ring was deployed and we bobbed up and down in the ocean. Sally was embarrassed because of her understandable motion sickness.

Our transponder worked through the GPS and transmitted our position. The closest ship happened to be Russian and we soon found one of their copters dropping frogmen around us.

Soon the hatch was opened. We were welcomed home in Russian and five isolation suits were thrown in. We didn't even get to see the man. Sergei was given the honour of replying to the unseen frogman. After putting on the suits we were hoisted out, one at a time and into the giant Hind Mi-8 HIP. I was last and I saw the large container of Moon rocks hoisted into the helicopter ahead of me. When my turn came, I looked down to see the hatch being closed to keep water out and moon bugs in.

The crew helping us all wore masks, even though we were in sealed suits. When we were safely in place, they retreated to a sectioned-off area, leaving us effectively sealed.

We landed on an aircraft carrier and I was very happy to see soldiers from many different countries standing shoulder-to-shoulder and waving. It was a good welcome and it made all the work I had done seem worthwhile. The helicopter had landed on the elevator and it slowly lowered to an area of the large hangar below.

Before us was one of my large motor homes. It was tied down with strong chains to keep it from moving and it was almost too large for the elevator. Four places around our future home carried the name 'Kramer Motor Homes'. The section at the back had a very large window covering the entire area. Inside, we could see comfortable chairs.

With the message that all was safe, we helped each other pull out the large container of moon rocks and drag it onto a wheeled platform. We pushed the platform over to a large enclosure and sealed it inside with the trolley. It was then that we had to form a five-person animal and make it to our shiny habitat. It was difficult to get used to the gravity, because our muscles had lost some of their tone. We had no time for the exercises necessary to allow us to function on earth.

Other countries had their own ships waiting for us but it was the luck of the draw as to which ship and country we would be picked up by. Many of them had similar motor homes in them. We each took a berth and Sally had one that had a bit more privacy. After the last few weeks we were not too shy around each other. I, for one, talked more on the phone to world leaders, then begged off and simply had a shower and went to sleep. The rest seemed to be similarly inclined.

I awoke to the smell of hot military food. It was bland but that was in the original planning. After another shower I got dressed in new, Russian military fatigues. I looked in the mirror and thought the clothing fitted quite well. We had a slight negative pressure in the motor home and all the air went through a very special filter designed to keep any contagion from infecting the rest of humanity.

The food had come through a small airlock like our clothing. Our old company uniforms were sealed in a bag and incinerated. There was nothing to fear but there were too many frightened people who would be more reassured if we took a three-week vacation.

A knock at the door woke me and I reached over to turn on the large LCD screen. I saw that one was Russian and the other British by their uniforms. The inquisition began and I had to work on my four guests and myself. I had to explain every ache and pain. I was questioned from a long list, then encouraged to do some exercises, which they monitored and wrote their findings down on a clipboard. This was all known ahead of time and I just grinned and bore the abuse.

I drew my own blood, put the specimens in a rack and placed them in the refrigerator. Soon I had the others lined up and was putting their samples in the same rack. Now we didn't have to worry about a bedpan, for all of the toilet wastes went directly into a tank that was checked for miniature aliens. We were an experiment by ourselves and all of us were subject to a long list of tests.

I was tired by the time the next bland meal was served. In exchange, the samples of blood, sputum and smears were given. Things did improve after the meal, when we began to get more video calls from our family. From our position I knew we were at least forty hours away from Hawaii.

The R&R did not last for long and I had to run more tests. I hated them as much as the rest of the crew but there was nothing I could do about it. We did have some free time but it was used up talking to some of the millions who wanted to talk to us. This I had foreseen, too and had mounted a large LCD screen in front of an exercise machine.

A day and a half later we looked at the screens showing the outside world. We were now in Pearl Harbor and just six miles from Honolulu. All around the ship were lines of pleasure craft, all full of people waving their arms or flags and, one woman, her blouse. She did have a one-piece swimsuit on but the men all looked anyway.

I could see the Russians and the other nationalities on the ship waving back. This is what I was hoping to do but I didn't know how long it would last, for humans could turn anything to shit.

An hour and a half later we had docked and a team of men undid the chains holding our home stationary. One man looked at our position and told us to start the engine. I did it this time and drove where I was directed. When I got the signal, I turned off the engine and locked the brakes. The team rode the elevator beside us to the upper deck. We found the crew waving to us. Sergei and I were in the front seats and the others were in the rear by the very large window.

Before we left, I picked up a microphone and thanked every man onboard for assisting us in this endeavour. The speech had been prepared long ago but I looked through the window at individuals and gave what, I hoped, would be a show of real appreciation. On our heads we wore Russian caps with a small logo of the ship that we now rode.

The captain, then the representatives of four more countries, in turn, gave a speech. We must have had a tight schedule for the speeches were short and sweet.

Sergei thanked his own countrymen, then the representatives. Marcel, Jeremy and Sally gave words to show their own appreciation.

We drove onto a large platform and again our conveyance was chained tightly down. In a moment a very large crane picked up the platform and us on it. We were guided down to the dock and again we had to give a short speech.

We drove through town with much more than just a police escort. The streets were lined very deep with people waving the American flags and some had the United Nations flag. Sally was in the back and she used the microphone to thank her countrymen for the reception as we drove at a very slow pace.

We pulled onto an airfield and just followed the vehicles in front of us. Now we had soldiers and what looked like their dependants waving at us. A man took over and used hand signals to get us into a particular position. When I shut off the motor, thousands of people rushed to the sides to see in. The back of the motor home was facing a large platform and people were just starting to get onto it. The background had a large flag, not of the United States but the United Nations. To the sides we saw flagpoles with flags of almost every country known.

We stood at the back of the bus at attention as the American national anthem played, followed by the special music signifying that the President was going to make an appearance. President Sparkman walked onto the platform and greeted everybody and us in particular.

The speech went on for twenty minutes. Nikita Khrushchev came next and spoke at length about cooperation while wiping his head of perspiration. We were heard through our own PA system but it was purposely kept low. It seemed that there were quite a few dignitaries, although we could not quite see onto the stage because of the angle and our low elevation.

President Charles De Gaulle came forward with all his medals on his chest and talked about the French contribution. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer represented West Germany and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, Britain. All of them had similar speeches but, oddly, everybody enthusiastically clapped when they were done.

When this presentation was over, the dignitaries walked down the steps and came to stand before us. A platform had been placed so that people could talk to us face to face.

This was a much more informal situation and I caught sight of some of my family further back.

This was just like chitchat but we were a lot more comfortable with the air condition running. We answered many questions, mainly about small details that may not have been understood by the majority of the world seeing the live action.

Soon the family was given a chance to come forward. They were not all mine but the relatives of the people standing beside me. I had seen all the faces before and it was like old home week in a way. After half an hour I found reporters working closer to the front and figured that we would only be able to talk later.

Three hours later we were parked in an open-sided building designed to keep the sun off us and our visitors. Chairs were set around the front, back and sides because of the large expanse of glass I'd had installed. I talked out one side of the rear glass, sharing the area with Sergei. My family was many times larger but didn't seem to swamp the Lischinsky family. My dad and grandpa were talking to the others in Russian sprinkled with many Polish words.

The families stayed on for the three weeks and one day I saw Sally's little girl carrying an armful of dolls. On closer examination I found that they were all five of us. Sally replica was there twice: in our astronaut suit and in a chic dress.

I looked immediately at my wives and found each of them smiling at me like Cheshire Cats. Aron opened a very large box and pulled out the Command Module done in miniature but probably well able to hold the five dolls comfortably.

As official physician, I took more blood samples and other body fluids and I also performed regular examinations. We were a bit stir crazy from being coped up but it was not that bad, because usually our families were there every day.

I was quite busy running my empire from one of the computers or the videophone that was always nearby. We had found a major oil field in the Middle East. The contracts were still in effect for our military wares but I doubted if too much more would be sold.

Computers and peripherals were continuing their meteoric raise. This was reflected in the sales from Japan and from IBM. Everything related to the transistor, especially ones with our logo on them, did wonderfully.

The movie had finally come out a week earlier. '2001: A Space Odyssey' was breaking the box office in receipts and was doing so in every country. It even promised to surpass 'Ben Hur' that a competitor had done just a year ago in English-speaking countries.

The book had been changed quite a bit to include scenes from the moon but those had been done six months before our trip. A small scene showed the flags bolted to the rock around our landing site and only really differed in the placement and size of the craters. The preamble, before the discovery of the monolith, showed the population to be of many races working together for the common good. Their uniforms were our company uniforms and those, again, were copies of what were seen on the second Star Trek series.

The movie portrayed private ownership in some things. Those were listed, as were some social things that were once done by families. The moon was not a good place to have land owned privately, because of the need to protect it all and the inability of a private individual to just set up a dome. It was not socialism but it was not capitalism, either. I just hoped that I did not offend everybody with the way I presented a possible future society.

Hal the computer now had to have a different name. The next letters of the alphabet after each of the letters in the name 'Hal' are i, b and m. Since I now owned a large portion of the company, I could not afford this nomenclature.

This film had to be shot many times so that viewers could hear it in their own languages. Some of the main characters were changed to reflect the different nationalities.

On the set, the gravity caused by centrifugal force was done the same way as in the original movie. I had a large wheel made with the cables coming through the hollow axis. With the camera bolted to the floor and the actor running at just the right speed it looked like he was running up the wall.

It helped that the construction in space now was going to build something very similar. It had occurred to me that I might get the engineers in space to do some acting to help pay for the enormous costs of putting and keeping them there.

The conflict at the end of the story was with hard-line minority elements in the East and the West seizing power and launching missiles at each other. I explained how the countries had been getting along peacefully for years before this happened.

It was one of these rogue elements that reprogrammed Hal to make it act the way it did, something like 'Lost in Space'. I wouldn't want the viewers to think that my computers would go nuts by themselves.

The wives, I found, had taken most of their money and built more toy manufacturing plants to make everything they wanted. Everything that could be copied, had been and the results sold at an exorbitant profit. When I dug further, I found that they, too, were country specific and the pricing was just enough to bankrupt a family no matter how much money they had, if they allowed their children to have even a fair selection of the toys available.

For the twenty-second day, there was a large reception planned for our emerging from our protective cocoon. I tried hard to put it off for a few hours. The wives and I drove off to the hotel they had been staying at, with Grandma doing some babysitting.