THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

[headlesshorseman]

Hawk wants a day or two off. This one will be short and totally without redeeming characteristics. maybe it will be at least a bit of fun.






FIRST MAN ON THE MOON





“One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong stood on the brightly lit Lunar surface and slowly turned his head taking in the awesome view. Earth hung in the sky above him. “Buzz this is an awesome view out here. The horizon is so close it looks like I could reach out and touch it.”

“I am jealous Neil. Any strange mineral deposits?”

“They are all strange. Nothing has any weathering. If you mean gold deposits or is the ground littered with diamonds. No it appears to be powdered pumice. We will have to wait on chemical analysis to tell that. Radiation is some higher than normal but less than was calculated just from the lack of an atmosphere.”

“Probably an indication of a lower incidence of radioactive minerals in the local crust.” Responded Buzz from the Lunar landing craft.

“I guess I need to quit rubbernecking and get stated collecting some samples. Alert me when the time gets close.”

“Wilco Neil. I will be fixing lunch. Today we get two green tubes, one red tube and one brown tube each.”

“Good to have a real cook along Buzz.”




“Here are the samples from the first trip. After a rest we will both go out.” Neil placed the labeled samples in individual containers.”

“I see what you mean by lack of weathering. No rounded surfaces at all. If there is any iron on the surface it should still be in the metallic state. There is something!” Buzz pulled his eyes from the small microscope. “See them. The tiny balls. Definitely metallic. Probably melted by the heat of impact.”

“Yes, a white metal also. Statistically a nickle iron alloy but it could be anything. Mike will be above the horizon in twenty minutes. We need to be suiting up.”

[headlesshorseman]

“Neil come over here. I want you to see this.”



Buzz motioned for Neil to turn off his radio and touched his helmet to Neil's. “What is it Buzz?”

“An artifact behind that big outcropping. And oh boy is it an artifact.”

The pair walked around the outcropping and Neil saw what Buzz meant. “It looks like something from the old Vanguard series. Did one of them get out of control? At least it doesn't have a hammer and sickle on it.”

“I don't know of one. It is definitely one of ours. Do you think we can get the hatch open?”

“I tried. Maybe both of us can get it to release. Could it still be pressurized?”

“I don't think so. The outer hull took on a small split on impact.”

“It is turning. There. Oh My God.!” Neil gasped.

“It is a body Buzz. An Army uniform. That gives us a before and after date.”

[headlesshorseman]

“He was Major, T. Watson according to the name tag. I guess there is no way to take him back. The mummy will weigh close to fifty pounds. Finish with the pictures and we will bury him.”

“Buzz there is a tape recorder. The rest of the capsule is bare. He came here with no provisions and no way to return.”



“We will take the tape back there is a chance that ten years of the radiation hasn't erased everything.”


*********************


“Houston,The Eagle is prepared for liftoff.”

“Houston we are lifting off.”



“Hold your breath Mike we are docking.”


“Houston we have broken Lunar orbit. We are on our way home.”

“We all wish you an uneventful trip Eagle.”

“Thanks Houston. We hope so too.”


*******************


“Be seated Gentleman. I am General Williams. I have been told that you encountered a surprise during your trip. I must say that I was surprised to hear it too. Did you recover anything besides the pictures and the tape?”

“Just some memories sir.”


“I hope that I am wasting my breath by by stating this but nothing discussed in this room will be discussed anywhere else. Doctor Johnson I am glad to see you could make it.” A gray haired man slowly walked to the empty chair and took a seat.

[headlesshorseman]

“In 1958 the United States was desperate. We were losing the space race and knew that if Russia got to the moon first it would be all over for us. The problem was our lack of a guidance system. With the controls and the rockets that we had at that time we had less than a 50% chance of even hitting the moon. Doctor Johnson, I will turn this over to you for a while.”


“I first met Tom Watson when he was a first lieutenant. He came in for a routine flight clearance physical. It was then that I discovered that he had Leukemia. Further testing showed that he had less than a year to live. I could not clear him to fly. He had a wife who had just found out that she was pregnant. She was soon to be a widow and he was losing his flight pay.”


“Tom came back to me a week later and wanted a letter from me that stated his prospects. And told me why.”

“General Williams you were the one that was there for the next part.”


“It took Tom the best part of a month to get to my office since he was reluctant to state his purpose. His proposal was somewhat strange. He offered to guide a capsule in for a landing on the moon. But his offer was not free. He wanted a two grade bump in rank, his family would get double the insurance as if he had died in combat. Also his family would get his full retirement his child would get a scholarship to West Point if the testing was good.

[headlesshorseman]

“Doctor Johnson's letter convinced me he was on the level. Also Doctor Johnson assured me that he could handle the physical stresses at least for a few months. We hurried with the construction of a capsule that could hold a man and enough air to let him reach the moon.” General Williams stopped talking as an orderly entered the room with a sheet of paper. Handed it to the General and left.

“I see that the technicians have that reel of tape as ready as it will get. Let's break for a cup of coffee while they bring in a player.

“Mister Aldrin you saw him first. Did he survive the landing?”

“Yes sir in my opinion he did, but only a short time. The capsule cracked on impact. It would have held pressure for only a few minutes.”

“Then we did get a man on the moon. That is one reason that the Russians lost heart with the space race. They may have maintained some radio reception after he got over Russia. Here is the tape player.”


The tape was threaded and the tape was started they played it through. Nothing but static.

“I thought I heard something about five minutes into it. Slow it down and we will try again.

Everyone listened carefully for several minutes and a scratchy voice broke through the static.


“Ground control to Major Tom.” ….1

1..... Space Oddity.....David Bowie