Angry Moon

Chapter 23b

     “So what will the a Chinese do?” asked Len. “Can they fix it?”

     “The bloke on the telly said they were sending it different commands to try to wake it up,” said Richard, “but he didn't sound optimistic. This is brand new technology, he said. Cutting edge stuff. It’s only to be expected that there are problems with it. Give it twenty years to work the bugs out and it'll be fine, but until then...”

     “The moon forced them to try a new invention before it was really ready,” said Len. “They probably knew it wouldn’t work but thought it worth a try nonetheless. Gotta respect them for that, I suppose.”

     “I wonder if Dad will be involved? He's up there right now, and they've got a shuttle. Maybe they’ll be asked to fly over to the Long March and try to fix it.”

     “Do they know enough about it to diagnose a fault and fix it?”

     “The Chinamen might. Maybe they just need someone to pilot the shuttle.”

     “Can your dad pilot a shuttle? I thought Benny was the pilot.”

     “Then maybe he'll pilot them over there.” He looked up at the ceiling. “The moon must be pretty much at its closest by now.”

     Richard went over to the big double doors that led out into the small garden and struggled with the bolts until he got one of them open. A breath of cold air came wafting in. The garden was overgrown and unkempt but Richard didn’t care about the plants. He was looking upwards and the others heard him gasp with amazement at what he saw. Len went out to join him, and the two elderly gentlemen followed. “Bloody hell!” one of them said. “Now that's a sight and a half!”

     “It sure is,” said Richard. “Come take a look at this, Cath!”

     “I've seen it,” she replied. “I don't want to see it again.”

     “It's awesome! It's like... Like...”

     “I know what it's like. I went out on the balcony and saw it.”

     “What about you, Mum?”

     Margaret also declined the offer, and Cathy saw that there was fear on her face, as there must have been on her own. This wasn't like the northern lights or a meteor shower, she realised. This object hanging in the sky above them was going to kill a lot of people. Probably had already. Also, it was too cold to be leaving an external door open. Richard evidently felt the same way as he and Len came back in again, leaving the two elderly men to continue staring up at the moon, muttering awed comments to each other.

     “Anywhere close to a fault line must be having earthquakes by now,” said Richard. “California, Japan, South America...” He fished his phone out of his pocket and brought up a news app.

     “No, please don't!” said Cathy. “Isn't it bad enough that these things are happening without us seeing it as mere entertainment?”

     “Of course it's not entertainment,” her husband replied. “I just want to keep in touch. If I'm going to protect you and Timmy I need to know what's going on.”

     A voice came from the phone. A man's agitated, alarmed voice reading a list of places. Cathy stared at him, though, her eyes pleading, and Richard stared back. Then, reluctantly, he turned the phone off and put it back in his pocket. Cathy beamed gratefully at him.

     From outside came the sound of aircraft engines warming up. Something big. Aircraft had been taking off and landing almost continually since their arrival. Richard had speculated that they were transporting relief supplies to the refugee camps, while Len had wondered whether they were carrying goods across the channel until sea travel became possible once more. Most things could wait a few days until the moon had passed on and the seas settled down, but there were some things, medicines for example, that had a very limited shelf life and had to be gotten from the factories that made them to the people who needed them very quickly.