Rocket to the Moon

The black cat gingerly stepped over the dead body lying between its current location and the mouse. It sniffed cautiously and turned up its nose at the stench of the decaying human corpse. The tiny mouse ran as fast as it could to get away from the predatory cat, squeezing through a tiny gap in the wall until the mouse found itself in a large concrete area. This area lay below the rocket boosters of the space rocket that was scheduled to take off in a few minutes. The mouse had no idea it had wondered into a more dangerous area.

At the time, walking through the tunnel towards the rocket was Jess, an astronaut candidate, who felt sheer terror at the prospect of being sent to the moon on a one-way trip. Every year, people were being sent to the moon to build the human colony there. This year, though Jess had hidden in terror, they had found her, and it was her turn to enter the rocket. She had no choice in the matter as her name had been drawn from a lottery, to make it as fair as possible.

“Why me?” she silently questioned herself as she put one foot nervously in front of the other.

“Move along!” A gruff voice sounded behind her and made her jump. It must have been the elderly captain.

The perspiration trickled down her back and she felt breathless with fear. Although Jess had been trained as an astronaut, this was her first trip on a rocket outside of the simulator. She had heard and read the stories of everything that could go wrong on a trip to the moon. Her mind automatically feared the worst.

Finally, she was strapped in and looked up to see a handsome, young astronaut sitting opposite her. He gave her a tight smile and then looked away. Jess tried to smile back but she was too terrified to speak. She felt like closing her eyes and trying to imagine she was on a tropical island somewhere else, any place other than on this infernal rocket.

“Are you alright?” came a questioning voice through the comms in her helmet.

“Y…Yes, I guess so,” she stammered back.

“You don’t look well. I am Neil, by the way. This is my 5^th trip to the moon, and I can assure you that it is all going to be fine.” He spoke in a steadying voice and kept eye contact with her. For some reason, his presence seemed to reassure her, even though he was a stranger to her.

“Thanks, Neil. This is my first trip, so I guess you could call me a virgin astronaut.”

He chuckled at that and she smiled a little.

Suddenly, she felt the rocket vibrate as the countdown started from 10. Jess silently counted down with the voice on the comms. Then she felt the incredible thrust and was pushed back into her seat by the gravity defying upward movement of the rocket.

Again, she closed her eyes and imagined being somewhere else.

Beneath her, the tiny mouse was incinerated in an instant. When the cat came looking for it later, there was not even a barbequed mouse left, only a small heap of ashes, where it had stood when the flames burst into life beneath the silver rocket. The space agency had cut costs and no longer checked beneath the rocket prior to take-off, for wildlife or any small animals.

Back on the rocket, Jess opened her eyes as the rocket finally reached space and they were able to unbuckle and float around the space craft. She loved the feeling of weightlessness. It made her feel so free. She moved over to the round window and looked back at the earth … a blue and green geoid of life. The geoid shape is the one that the ocean surface takes under the influence of the gravity and rotation of the earth alone if other influences such as winds and tides are absent. This surface was extended throughout the seven continents. A fleeting sense of longing for the home of her family and friends crossed her mind until she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Unbelievable view up here, isn’t it?” Neil asked her.

“Yes, it is. I am going to miss my home planet, but I had better get used to calling the moon my home now.”

“Are you going to live there permanently?” he asked, curiosity laced his tone.

“Of course, I was selected and couldn’t exactly refuse.”

Neil nodded his head in understanding.

“I’m only visiting some friends on the moon and taking up supplies, but I will be returning after that,” he explained.

“Can you come and visit me when you return to the moon? It will give me something to look forward to,” she added quickly.

“Of course, I will. Where are you staying? In the North, South, West or East dome?”

“I’m in the North dome, in apartment 15 in Luna Avenue. I heard that I will be allocated my own moon buggy for exploring the surface. However, I will probably avoid the dark side of the moon.”

“Not a Pink Floyd fan, are you?”

For a second, Jess looked confused and then burst out laughing at his musical reference.

“I really enjoy their music. Which is your favourite song of theirs?”

“The Great Gig in the Sky!”

Jess laughed at his choice. It naturally seemed to fit his personality and where they were travelling. Suddenly, she hoped that they had Spotify or some source of music on the moon.

“Do they have digital music available on the surface of the moon?” she asked innocently.

“Of course, they do. They have the earth’s golden oldies, as well as some newer material. There is a band in the South dome who are writing some music that sounds like Loud Luxury and their song Body.”

“I love dancing to Body,” she replied.

“Well then, you must go to the only Club on the moon. It’s called The Crescent. You will love the vibe there. The bartenders serve a drink named Mooch.”

‘What is in Mooch if I may ask?” she asked with a tinge of curiosity.

“I’ll keep that as a surprise for you. Let us go for a drink after we land on the surface of the moon.”

Jess readily agreed with Neil. He was the first off the rocket and looked back at her and she thought of the other Neil, the Armstrong one, and decided that she preferred this younger version of Neil.

Soon after, they sat at the bar sipping on their Mooches. It tasted a little of chocolate milk with hazelnut and mint, but an adult’s alcoholic version rather than a kid’s version of it. Jess found that she was enjoying herself so much that she didn’t want Neil to leave.

The next day, Neil boarded the rocket flight back to the earth and Jess never saw him again.