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Out of Body Experiences
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.
S U N S T O R M " 5 7
Not quite a hotel. And there s 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, I ll be fine. Umm contact light?
The first words spoken on the Moon, by Buzz Aldrin, at the
moment when Apollo 11 s 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, I ve set up the
briefing you asked for at ten a.m. local. The participants have all
been brought here notably Mangles and Martynov from the South
Pole.
Thank you.
Until then your time is your own. Take a break if you like. But
it s about time I took an inspection tour of this dump. I d welcome
your company. He grinned. I m a military man; I m used to
sleepless nights. Anyhow, I need an excuse to have a good look at
everything while nobody s 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 practi-
cal, 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 she d 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 don t 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 wouldn t have put it quite like that . . . She begged fif-
teen minutes to unpack and freshen up.
5 8 " C L A R K E & B A X T E R
They walked briskly around the perimeter of the dome.
The air was laden with an odd smell, like gunpowder, or burn-
ing 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.
Clavius s 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, train-
ing and exercise rooms, and even a theater, an open arena sculpted
from what Bud assured her was a natural lunar crater. Just ama-
teur 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 you d expect from the Air Force.
But you really need to see an entrechat performed in lunar gravity.
He eyed her. Siobhan, you might think we re 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.
You ll see, if you have time.
I hope I will.
They passed through a low, opaque-walled tunnel to the dome
called Selene. This dome was much more open than Hecate, and
most of its roof was transparent, so that sunlight streamed in. And
here, in long beds, green things grew: Siobhan recognized cress, cab-
bages, carrots, peas, even potatoes. But these plants were growing in
liquid. The beds were interconnected by tubing, and there was a
steady hum of fans and pumps, a hiss of humidifiers. It was like
a huge, low greenhouse, Siobhan thought, the illusion spoiled only
by the blackness of the sky above, and the sheen of liquid where soil
should have been. But many of the beds were empty, cleaned out.
S U N S T O R M " 5 9
So you re hydroponic farmers, she said.
Yeah. And we re all vegetarians up here. It will be a long time
before you ll find a pig or cow or chicken on the Moon. Umm, I
wouldn t dip my finger into the beds. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
