Her first glimpse of the Moon, slightly distorted by the walkways clear, curving walls, was of a gently rolling surface. Every edge was softened by the ubiquitous dust, the result of eons of meteoritic churning. It looked almost like a snowfield, she thought. The shadows were not the deep black she had imagined, but softened by the reflected glow of the ground. She shouldnt have been surprised: dark as it was, the light reflected from this lifeless soil was, after all, the Moonlight that had shone over Earth since the great impact that had shaped the twin worlds in the first place. So Siobhan was walking in Moonlight herself. But this bit of the Moon was littered by surface vehicles, fuel tanks, escape bunkers, and equipment dumps; it was a human landscape.
The walkway terminated at a small blocky structure. Siobhan and Mario rode the elevator down to an underground tunnel. Here an open cart mounted on a monorail awaited them. The cart was big enough for ten, she realized, the shuttles full complement of eight passengers plus two crew, and their baggage.
The cart slid into silent motion.
An induction drive, Mario said. Same principle as the Sling. Endless sunlight and low gravity: the physics behind this little electrical cart might have been invented for the conditions of the Moon.
The tunnel was narrow, lit by fluorescent tubes, and the fused-rock walls were so close to the cart she could have reached out and touched themand in perfect safety, for the carts speed was little more than walking pace. She was learning that away from Earth, caution ruled: everything was done slowly and deliberately.
At the end of the tunnel was an airlock, and what Mario called a dustlock, a small room equipped with brushes, vacuum hoses, and other devices to clean spacesuits and people of electrostatically clinging Moon dust. As Mario and Siobhan hadnt been exposed to the surface, they were able to cycle through this quickly.
The airlocks inner door was marked with a large plaque:
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WELCOME TO CLAVIUS BASE
U.S. ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERING CORPS
She read on down a list of contributing organizations, from NASA and the U.S. Air and Space Force to Boeing and various other private contractors. There was also a rather grudging acknowledgment, she thought, of the Eurasian, Japanese, Pan-Arabian, Pan-African, and other space organizations that had put up more than half the money for this American-led project.
She touched a little roundel that was the logo of the British National Space Agency. In recent years the British had discovered a genius for robotics and miniaturization, and the machine-dominated period of renewed lunar and Martian exploration earlier in the century had been the glory days of the BNSA and its engineers. But that period had been brief, and was already over.
Mario caught her eye and grinned. Thats the Americans for you. Never give anybody else credit.
But they were here first, she pointed out.
Oh, yes, there is that.
The inner door slid open to reveal a short, stocky man waiting for her. Professor McGorran? Welcome to the Moon. She recognized him immediately. This was Colonel Burton Tooke, USASF, commander of Clavius Base. Aged about fifty, with a severe military crew cut, he was a good head shorter than she was, and he flashed a disarming gap-toothed grin. Call me Bud, he said.
Siobhan said goodbye to Mario, who was returning to his shuttle, where the beds are softer than anything in Clavius, he claimed.
Bud Tooke led Siobhan up a flight of stairs, easily negotiated in one-sixth gravity, to the interior of a dome. They walked along a narrow roofless corridor. She could see the domes smooth plastic some meters above her head, but the space beneath was cluttered with walkways and partitions. Everything was quiet, the lights subdued; nobody was moving, save Bud and Siobhan.
She said softly, It seems rather appropriate to arrive somewhere as mysterious as the Moon in silence and twilight.
He nodded. Sure. Youll soon be over the Moon-lag, I hope. Its actually two here. The middle of our night.
Moon time?
Houston time.
She learned this was a tradition dating back to the days of the earliest astronauts, who had timed their epic journeys by the clocks of their homes in Texas; it was a pleasing tribute to those pioneers.
They reached a row of closed doors. Above, a small neon sign glowed pink: it read . Bud opened a door at random to reveal a small room, and Siobhan looked inside. There was a bed that could be folded out to become double, a table, chair, and basic comms equipment, and even a small unit containing a shower and lavatory.
Not quite a hotel. And theres no room service to speak of. Bud said this cautiously. Perhaps some VIP visitors threw tantrums at this point, demanding the five-star luxury they were used to.
Siobhan said firmly, Ill be fine. Ummcontact light?
The first words spoken on the Moon, by Buzz Aldrin, at the moment when Apollo 11s lunar module first touched the surface. Seems appropriate for our visitor quarters. He shoved her luggage into the room, where her smart suitcase, sensing it had completed its own journey, opened itself up. Bud said, Siobhan, Ive set up the briefing you asked for at ten local. The participants have all been brought herenotably Mangles and Martynov from the South Pole.
Thank you.
Until then your time is your own. Take a break if you like. But its about time I took an inspection tour of this dump. Id welcome your company. He grinned. Im a military man; Im used to sleepless nights. Anyhow, I need an excuse to have a good look at everything while nobodys about to distract me.
I should really work. She glanced guiltily at her self-unpacking luggage, her crushable clothes, and rolled-up softscreens. But her head was already too full of facts about the sun and its storms.
She studied Bud Tooke. His square shoulders filling his practical, unmarked coverall, he stood with his hands behind his back, his face friendly but expressionless. He looked like a classic career soldier, she thought, exactly as shed preconceived the commander of a Moon base to be. But if she was to get through this assignment, she was going to have to rely on his support.
She decided to take him into her confidence. I dont know anything about the people here. How they live, the way they think. A tour might help me find my feet.
He nodded, apparently approving. A little recon before the battle never hurts.
Well, I wouldnt have put it quite like that She begged fifteen minutes to unpack and freshen up.
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They walked briskly around the perimeter of the dome.
The air was laden with an odd smell, like gunpowder, or burning leaves. That was Moon dust, Bud said, making the most of its first chance in a billion years to burn in oxygen. The architecture was simple and functional, in places decorated by amateur artwork, much of it dominated by contrasts between lunar gray and the pink or green of Earth life.
Claviuss three domes were called Artemis, Selene, and Hecate.
Greek names?
To the Greeks the Moon was a trinity: Artemis for the waxing Moon, Selene for full, and Hecate for waning. This dome, which contains most of our living areas, is Hecate. Since it spends half its time in twilight that seemed an appropriate choice.
As well as accommodation for two hundred people, Hecate contained life support and recycling systems, a small hospital, training and exercise rooms, and even a theater, an open arena sculpted from what Bud assured her was a natural lunar crater. Just amateur dramatics. But very popular, as you can imagine. Ballet goes down well.
She stared at his shaven head. Ballet?
I know, I know. Not what youd expect from the Air Force. But you really need to see an entrechat performed in lunar gravity. He eyed her. Siobhan, you might think were just living in a hole in the ground. But this is a different world, down to the very pull of it on your bones. People are changed by it. Especially the kids. Youll see, if you have time.