New Hope: Book 1
17

3 months later…

Ellie had just left yet another laboratory, where she now spent many hours each day. She watched the scientists work, consulting with them her thoughts and ideas. Sometimes she also had the opportunity to hold one of the artifacts found on the Moon. However, so far she hadn’t been able to do more than cause a few of them to give off a little light. No flying, no sounds, no meaningful function. Nothing.

“It’s hopeless. And frustrating!” said Ellie to Julius, who was on his way to the flight simulator, where he spent his days practicing and perfecting his piloting skills on state-of-the-art moon vehicles. They were both heading in the same direction, so Ellie continued her lamentations. “After three months on the Moon, not only is my understanding of what people do here at pretty much the same level, so close to nothing, then since we’ve come here, but also all the artifacts I’ve dealt with can do is serve as a small night lamp. And that is at the most,” she said, disheartened.

“Don’t worry, Ellie, these things can take more time. Sometimes they do, you know that. Who knows how these devices work and what the logic is behind them,” he responded. “We don’t even know what they are and what they’re for. Besides, maybe your presence is not enough? Maybe you need to press something, or say something? I don’t know.” said the captain, thinking out loud.

“I don’t know... But I do know I’m starting to think more and more that Dr. Yeager might have strongly overestimated my importance for this project. She’s probably already regretting taking us in,” said Ellie.

“Don’t give up, Ellie. I believe there’s some logical reason for which the orb reacted to you, and then other artifacts started responding when we came here. It’s just a matter of perseverance, and you’ve never had any shortage of that,” he added, trying to comfort her.

“Easy for you to say. You’re training and doing what you’ve always been excellent at,” she said. “I don’t even get the chance to. I go to the lab every day, look at some shining rocks for several hours, then it’s food and sleep. Same story the next day, and the next... “I feel like a fifth wheel,” she sighed. “To think that three months ago we were meant to be the first people on the Moon in decades. Instead, it ended in disaster and public death,” Ellie trailed off. “By the way, how’s your arm?” she asked.

“Perfect, good as new,” smiled Julius. “After my surgery, it returned to its former glory at a crazy pace. Apparently, the medical techniques used here far exceed those that are used on Earth! It’s not hard to believe seeing the effects,” he said in satisfaction, flexing the muscles of his formerly-injured-now-completely-restored arm. “I was back full strength after a little rehabilitation and muscle restoration.”

“I’m so glad, really,” said Ellie. The astronauts continued to converse as they turned into a side corridor. “And how’s your training going? A few of the scientists I’ve dealt with couldn’t stop talking about how advanced the new exploration vehicles are, especially in comparison with our “old” New Hope,” she said making a sour face. “By the way, I wonder if anyone on Earth will someday send an expedition to the crash site to study the wreck? Boy, would they be surprised if they didn’t find any bodies,” she laughed.

“They’ll probably assume there was nothing left. There was an explosion, right. It could have scattered them over a huge area. The force could have even been enough for some smaller objects to enter orbit,” said Julius. “But back to my training, I must admit, the scientists you spoke with were right,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “We thought New Hope was the peak of technology, but these vehicles here beat it a million times,” he added in fascination. “The conditions on board simulate gravity thanks to these magnetic boots, there are no problems with orientation in space, and their performance is jaw-dropping!” said Julius, clearly excited. “You see, it took New Hope 60 hours to fly to the Moon, while the vehicles I’m training on, make the same distance in only two,” he said. “A whacking difference.” Julius continued his rhapsody on the supremacy of the moon vehicles’ technology over practically everything Earth had when the astronauts saw Dr. Cassandra Yeager coming toward them.

“Good afternoon, I was looking for you both,” she said in a serious tone.

“Has something happened?” asked Julius concerned.

“Yes, three months ago...” she said, while Dr. Johnson went pale. Could this be about our presence on the base and the lack of effects of my work? thought Ellie.

Dr. Yeager continued, “When we transported you to our installation, like I mentioned a few weeks ago, all the damaged artifacts seemed to react to your presence, Dr. Johnson. We thought your proximity was responsible for this activation. However, it seems we were wrong,” she said heavily. “Or at least not entirely correct. Although the genetic component seems to have some importance for controlling the alien artifacts, today we know something else was responsible for activating all the devices,” she paused. “Today, one of our satellites discovered the source of electromagnetic radiation on the dark side of the Moon,” she said.

“What source of radiation? What can be responsible for that?” asked Ellie in dismay. “And how do you know this source connects to the artifacts?” said Ellie.

“We checked our scans of this region on the Moon’s surface, which we have been doing regularly over the last few years. Until recently, nothing indicated there would be anything of interest there,” said the director.

“However, it seems that when you touched the orb three months ago, an anomaly appeared far off in an area on the dark side of the Moon, which we successfully discovered just now. It turns out that when the radio interferences several weeks ago obstructed our contact with the observation devices in orbit over New Hope, the satellite responsible for this region of the dark side also had communication problems,” said Dr. Cassandra. “Hence the delay. The anomaly occurred three months ago and it’s still there.”

“Are you saying I’m responsible for the appearance of this anomaly?” asked Ellie, thinking anything is possible in these circumstances.

“That’s the theory we’re working on, yes,” replied Dr. Cassandra. “We think that your interaction with the orb caused the release of a large amount of energy, which then activated something on the other side of the Moon,” she said.

“Do we know what we’re talking about?” asked Julius. “Is it another artifact?”

“I’m afraid this time we’re dealing with something much, much bigger,” she replied, mildly excited. “Our satellite recently took a photo of the area of the Moon of interest to us...”

“And? What did the photos show?” asked Ellie.

“A lit-up area of several square kilometers, Ms. Johnson.”

Both astronauts held their breath in astonishment. An active alien installation! thought Julius. “How is this possible?” You couldn’t see anything over so many years of exploring the Moon?” asked Julius, amazed. “How could something of that size never have been caught from the orbit? The satellites have been moving and photographing the dark side of the Moon for years,” said the Captain. Ellie, who was speechless at first, chose to speak now:

“How do you know this installation doesn’t belong to humans? Maybe someone, like us, has their own private base on the Moon?” she asked.

“First thing’s first,” said Yeager. “The observations of this area until now, which were done routinely by our satellites, as well as those belonging to NASA, ESA, or JAXA, showed there are many shaded impact craters. None of the satellites were able to see what was at the bottom of the craters, without physically illuminating the entire area,” said the director. “Let me add that the area of some of the impact craters on the dark side of the Moon can be dozens, if not hundreds, of square miles in size. Nobody until now thought it made sense to comb through these enormous areas in search of... Well, of what?” she asked. “This whole thing is just as a surprise to us, as to you both. Whereas, in response to the question if this could be a human installation...” she paused. “Well, it’s safe to say that if humans built it, the conditions there are, mildly put, unfavorable for living people to stay there long-term.

“What do you mean exactly?” asked Ellie.

“The electromagnetic radiation in the form of light isn’t the only form of radiation shown by our readings. Or, whoever built this object, is a fan of ionizing radiation more than the average Joe, and they don’t mind sleeping in an anti-radiation suit, or there was a reactor failure and a meltdown there. Our estimates say that radiation in this complex is between 22 and 24 kilorads per hour,” said the director. Seeing Julius’ confusion, she explained. “It’s about as much as the radiation in the most exposed part of block 4 of the reactor in Chernobyl following the disaster that occurred last century. Only a few minutes in such conditions means receiving a deadly dose of radiation. After that comes strong radiation sickness, the DNA disintegrates, and the person dies a slow death. In suffering,” she paused, then adding, “Which is why I’ll only send volunteers there equipped in proper protective suits.”

“You want to send people there?!” roared Julius in dismay.

“How else do you suggest we check what’s actually there, Mr. Cousteau?” retorted the director in an authoritative tone. “And if it’s really a human installation and there are people there who need our help?” she said firmly. “It’s our duty, as explorers and scientists, to learn the unknown. We don’t know what’s in that crater, but we do know what the conditions there are. We can prepare for them as much as possible because we have the technologies allowing us to prolong a somewhat safe presence in conditions of ionizing radiation. We have improved suits, regolith filtration systems, precise dosimeters, and chemical agents that are much more efficient than Lugol’s iodine,” she added. “Whoever goes on this mission, of course, takes quite a risk, but it won’t be a suicide mission and without a means of return to safety,” she said.

After some silence, Ellie looked up. “I’ll go,” she replied, much to Julius’ surprise. “I’d like to volunteer for this flight, Director. It can’t be an accident that all this happened after my interaction with this specific artifact. I have to see what is in that crater.”

She paused to think and then added: “Besides, I deeply feel that this is my destiny.” Though she winced somewhat at the pompous tone of her own words. To be honest, Ellie had never felt anything like it. This feeling that pushed her toward some kind of danger wasn’t something the astronaut was used to in her life. Although it was true that she had chosen a relatively risky profession considering she could have become an ordinary engineer and stay on Earth. Instead, soon after her doctoral studies, she decided to become a pilot and then applied to NASA’s space program. She was always pushed by something to do more; more meaningful things. A scientist’s work also meant pushing the boundaries, but crunching it for years on end in laboratories, as life had shown her recently, was not her cup of tea. Despite this, Ellie wasn’t a nut with a hunger for adventure and adrenaline. She just wanted to do what she loved while fulfilling her civic duty of taking bold steps where no one else had.

In this case, Ellie felt a strong imperative to take a risk far beyond what she was inclined to do. She wasn’t afraid. Something told her that there was no other way than to volunteer for this flight. She had to do everything she could to be there.

Director Cassandra Yeager responded to her request with a broad smile. “I must say, I sensed I might hear that from you. I won’t hide the fact that I even hoped for it,” she added. “Not that this facility lacks the courageous people who’d be ready to volunteer for this dangerous mission. But I hoped you would offer your help in this complicated matter. As I’ve said, we know that the genetic component has some role in the technology we’re studying here,” she said. “I am aware that you are concerned that none of the artifacts you’ve dealt with activated in any spectacular way. But also remember they all did absolutely nothing for the last several decades. Just the soft light they emit when in contact with you is a spectacular success. Even if you don’t see it that way,” she said warmly. “Please, believe me when I say that some of those scientists, whom you have been working with for the past several months, will be drooling over the results of those tests that did produce anything, even those as minor as emitting a single photon.”

“Sure, if you say that’s a success...” said Ellie, intimidated and somewhat embarrassed. “I did expect we’d make some breakthrough discovery on the first day. I forgot. Science and research are above all long, tedious and crafty work, not just ingenious discoveries. So can I assume you will let me fly?” asked Ellie with a hopeful voice.

“Yes, Ms. Johnson,” she replied. “You are the only person who can interact with the alien technology. You also have priceless experience of working on the surface of our moon so you will not be a hazard to the team accompanying you. If there is any chance of there being an installation of the artifacts’ builders in the crater, you have the greatest chance of being successful. You’re a natural choice. However, you’ll be flying in one of our vehicles with which you do not have any experience, so you’ll need a pilot.”

An awkward silence followed, which Julius finally broke.

“Well blow me down!” he replied. “When you met us here in the corridor, it wasn’t by chance, was it?” he asked.

“I’ll give you a diplomatic answer - not many things on this installation happen without my knowledge,” she said.

“You wanted me to go from the start,” he said.

“That’s what you said. But since we’re here, considering you’ve both worked together before and you do this so well, would you like to help Ms. Ellie in this supremely difficult undertaking?” asked Director Yeager.

“You know the answer...” said Julius quietly with a sour face. “And I thought my days of taking excessive and uncalculated risks were over,” he let out a sigh.

“I’m so pleased to hear your informed decision. I’ve got to say, I can’t imagine a better team to perform this venture,” she said. “Considering the potential danger which might await you in the crater, you will be accompanied by two soldiers. Of course, they’re also volunteers, fully aware of what they might face there.”

“Who? Do you know?” asked Ellie.

“One of the soldiers will be Sergeant Neil Holmes. He’s a young soldier, fresh from the marines, but according to his superior, he’s the best man for risky tasks in firefighting - not that we expect any armed conflict,” she hastily said, reading the expressions of the other two. “I just won’t send you without trained people who, in the event of an unlikely life-threatening situation for other reasons than radiation, will be able to make sensible and life-saving decisions under the pressure of time and stress. It’s the absolute minimum safety measures we must undertake. Besides,” she looked apologetically at Captain Julius and then turned to Ellie, “right now, you are the most important person in this installation. Perhaps even in all of human history. We must ensure your maximum security under these circumstances,” she added diplomatically.

The astronauts nodded as a sign of understanding and acceptance, though Julius wasn’t entirely satisfied.

“Who’s the other soldier?” asked Julius. “You mentioned a two-person security force.”

“Lieutenant Lassiter, the commander of our military contingent and chief of security. He volunteered to go with you. I understand you know the lieutenant quite well, right Ms. Johnson?”

“Yes, we’ve had a few occasions to talk and get to know each other over the past few months,” replied Ellie. “He’s a very hard-headed and trustworthy person. Or so it seems, from my somewhat limited experiences with him.” She felt her face warm up and wondered if her cheeks were visibly red.

“Alright, it’s settled then,” said Yeager. “First thing tomorrow morning, please report to hangar number 2 in the top section of our installation.”

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