It was late October, 2050, and I had just walked into my rooming quarters to relax when I was called by the Chief of Flight NASA officer “Zayas, we need you in the conference room ASAP for briefing on your next excursion”. This would be my third and hopefully last research expedition to the Moon. On the past two we had found nothing but craters of rocks and some long frozen water, and still rumors of life circulated. Recent reports had been developed and publicized by astronomers who, with the newly developed Browning Telescope, claim to have witnessed organisms inhabiting, and walking around on the moon. Normally such reports would be dismissed, but with more confirmations coming in, their case strengthens. My team and I had already covered two sections of our desolate moon, and there had been nothing but rocks and ice to be found.
On the day of the final excursion, I climbed out of bed with purpose. I was determined to prove all the fools that the moon was no place for life, I knew from experience. I boarded the ship to see the rest of my team already there, prepping the ship for takeoff. As the team ran off the list of systems checks, I looked around the room at the confident group of astronauts assembled around me. Everyone seemed to be pleased to see me, yet there was to much going on for me to show it. My expedition partner DiScola came up to me to see how I was, there was little conversation between us two, just a silent nod and an affirmation that we had a job to do.
As DiScola and I strapped in before takeoff, he said to me “People think its dangerous for us to go up there.” “People think we are going to get abducted or something.”. I told him not to be foolish, that there is no way a life form of substantial size would even be able to survive in conditions on the moon; but even I did not know for sure what to expect. As DiScola and I sat uncomfortably going through pre-launch protocol, the time for liftoff came, and we descended into a drug induced sleep. Five days later we awoke, staring at the great grey surface of the moon, daring us to explore it. We were going to oblige.
The beginning scan for life forms went relatively easily, as me and DiScola quickly surveyed most of the sector we were assigned to scan. All of a sudden DiScola told me to stop scanning and come look at the readings he was taking. “I’m picking up something weird here Z” he said. The readings were indeed odd, an entire section of a crater was showing up very blurry on the scan, as if something were affecting the readings. Naturally, my partner and I dove into the crater to find a rock cavern that seemed to have been made by a crashing meteorite. DiScola informs me “The scanner is still buggin’ Z, I can’t tell what is going on with it, but we best check out this cave”. I reluctantly agreed. Just as I mustered the courage to take a step towards the cavern, something blue took a step towards me.
The creature stepped forward towards me again, and I was able to see it fully. It was a blue shell of a man, lacking nostrils and proper eyelids. His moon-rock beige eyes pierced into mine, and I froze in place. DiScola was the first to react.. “FireFox this is Recon 3, we have made contact, repeat, we have made contact”. The airwaves exploded as transmissions from other recon teams and transmissions from command were trying to gather vital intel, mainly our position, and the moon man remained motionless all the while. I took a step closer to him, but he did not move. I tried signaling to him, but no response, the man lay motionless until final he made a move. The moonman made the equivalent of falling on Earth, he started floating awa. Baffled, I jumped for him and brought him back down to the surface, but he was gone.
That was the first live moonman we ever discovered on the moon, the other 6 died in the crater due to overexposure to uranium radiation. The scanners that our recon teams had been using to try and find these men, was the thing that ended up killing them. On Earth people were disappointed, furious, heartbroken, and in our cases guilty. Nothing was found out about these men other than once they were dissected, scientist’s concluded that they were hyper sensitive to uranium radiation, and that they could breathe hydrogen. I was the first and only man to make physical contact with a live moonman, and I will always remember those piercing beige eyes and that blank, helpless stare I was given as we unknowingly killed our first Alien contacts.
No comments:
Post a Comment