Lunar Colony (11 page)

“And how do you know all this?” he dared to ask.

Salerno was already walking back to the first engraving. Pointing at it, she said, “Look at this picture, Glen. This figure represents us, human beings. It’s standing on the outside of this circle.” She continued to the second engraving, Glen following close behind. “Then, we see the figure
inside
of the circle. Somewhere around here must be some vehicle or other means of transport, because look,” she said, now showing Glen the third image, “the figure has exited the circle, where he’s greeted by these others. They must be the aliens.”

“And what about the obelisk in the picture?” Glen asked. “What do you think that means?”

“Well,” she said, “we saw the ones they left here on the moon. I’ll bet their world is filled with them.”

“So, what do we do now?” Glen asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.

“We have to find out how to reach their planet. And I think I know where to look next. See?” Salerno said, pointing.

Glen saw what Salerno was seeing. The glowing orbs had floated on to a spot on the wall, where they formed the outline of a door.

“They’re leading us,” Salerno said. “Come on!”

Glen and Salerno walked to the orbs, one overjoyed with excitement, the other filled with doubt. Reaching the spot outlined by the balls of light, Salerno reached out her hand and was astounded to find that her hand went right through the wall, as though it wasn’t there at all.

Turning to Glen, she said, “Are you coming with me?”

Scared, but curious to find out what was on the other side, Glen said, “I’m right behind you.”

Passing through the portal, Glen and Salerno found themselves in an enormous domed chamber. Suspended along the walls were hundreds of glowing orbs, just like the ones they’d seen in the tunnel. And hovering above the floor in the middle of the room was another orb, this one different from the others. It was smaller, only about the size of a marble, but it glowed with an intensity that made Glen and Salerno squint. As they approached it, they both experienced a strange sensation. It seemed to be drawing them nearer, like a magnet.

“This doesn’t seem safe,” Glen said, backing away. He could see strands of Salerno’s hair floating toward the tiny orb. “Commander Salerno, I don’t feel good about this.”

“Glen,” she replied, “I don’t think there’s anything to fear. And besides, aren’t you curious to know what this is?”

Glen was curious, but he couldn’t bring himself to go any nearer. Noticing something odd on the far side of the room, Glen found a good reason to get away from the small ball of light.

“Hey,” he said, “I found something. I’m going to check it out.”

While Salerno stayed with the orb, transfixed, Glen crossed the room. There, against the wall, he found a button.

“Do you have any idea what this might be?” he asked, calling to Salerno.

“I think I do, Glen. You’d better push it.”

“But how can you be sure it’s safe?” he asked, nervous about what it might do.

“We can’t really be sure about anything, Glen, unless we’re sometimes willing to take a leap of faith. Please, just trust me.”

Reluctantly, Glen pushed the button.

Immediately, the orbs along the walls cast beams of light in the direction of the glowing ball in the middle of the room. The tiny orb expanded, growing so quickly that in a second it was a hundred times its original size.

“What’s going on?” Glen shouted, shielding his eyes from the bright lights. The orb was becoming enormous, filling the middle of the room and swallowing up Salerno like a speck of dust in a huge bubble.

“It’s okay, Glen,” she shouted from within the blinding sphere.

“No!” Glen called to her. “You’ve got to get out of there!” He was panicking, unsure of what he’d just done. He shielded his eyes from the intensity of the light, but he could hear Salerno reply.

“I can’t do that, Glen,” she called. “I’ve got to find out what’s on the other side! And besides, they’ve been expecting me for a long time now.”

And as she said this, the orb collapsed in on itself and was gone, taking Salerno with it. Unable to believe his own eyes, Glen stood alone in the now-quiet empty chamber.

“Mission Control requesting status update,” Slayton said. “I repeat, Mission Control requesting status update! Are you there, son?”

“Yes,” Glen said, in a daze, “I’m here, Mr. Slayton.”

“And Salerno? What’s her status?” the flight director asked.

“I’ve lost her,” Glen said. “She’s gone.”

Slayton was quiet for a moment, but at last, he sighed and said, “Son, you did a good job up there. I’m sorry to hear about Salerno, but I think it’s time for you to come home.”

Glen’s trip back to Earth was very somber. For so long he’d wanted nothing other than to go home, but now, he could only think about Salerno, wishing he could have done something to save her. As he began his reentry into the atmosphere, he imagined how much happier he’d be if his friend were returning to Earth with him.

After touching down on the landing pad, Glen opened the hatch of his capsule and stepped out onto the gangplank leading to the elevator. As he rode down, he was surprised by what he saw below. Thousands of people had assembled, and they were all cheering for him.

Where did all these people come from?
Glen wondered as he reached the ground. Passing through the crowd, Glen felt many pats on the back and saw signs saying things like
WAY TO GO, GLEN
and
WELCOME BACK, HERO
.

Inside Mission Control, Rollins and Swanson stood and applauded as Slayton greeted Glen.

Shaking hands, the flight director said, “Welcome home, son. We’re awfully proud of you.”

“Great job,” said Rollins.

“Good to have you back,” added Swanson.

It was nice to be welcomed back by the people in Mission Control, but Glen really just wanted to see his dad, who was standing behind the others.

He walked up to Glen and, knowing that his teenage son might otherwise be embarrassed, extended his hand. But Glen, who was finally realizing all that he’d been through, threw his arms around his dad, and for a long moment Slayton, Rollins, and Swanson looked on as father and son shared a tearful embrace. They were so moved by the scene that no one noticed the printer attached to the radio receiver spitting out a sheet of paper.

“I’m so sorry, Dad,” Glen said. “I never should have left you.”

“It’s okay, Glen. I’m just happy to have you back.”

“Dad, you were right,” Glen said, still clutching his father. “The universe is so big. There’s so much out there to explore.”

Mr. Johns smiled, his eyes still wet. “I’m glad you got to see some of it before it was too late.”

Glen let go of his father and spoke to everyone in the room. “I just wish I could have brought Commander Salerno back with me. You wouldn’t believe what we discovered.”

“She was a brilliant astronaut,” Slayton said, “and will be missed.” Everyone nodded in agreement, sorry that she was gone.

But then Rollins noticed something
—
the paper that had just come out of the printer. “Hey, everyone, what do you think this means?” he said.

“It’s Morse code,” Swanson said, looking at the paper. “I think I can make it out.”

They all gathered around as Swanson decoded the message.

Sorry for all the trouble, guys, but I made it. Glen, it’s more beautiful here than I’d ever imagined. Maybe you can visit me here someday—RS

Everyone in the room stared at each other in astonishment. A grin crept across Glen’s face, and he thought,
She made it. She actually made it!

“But what does this mean?” Rollins asked. “Did Salerno—?”

“I’ll tell you what this means,” a voice said. They all looked up and saw Roger McNabb enter the room. Slayton braced himself, realizing that he could be in real trouble for failing to bring Salerno home. But before he could offer an explanation, McNabb said, “This means that the space program is saved. Salerno’s discovery and this young man’s bravery have rejuvenated people’s interest in space. Have you seen the crowd out there? Well, the president has, and he’s decided to restore all the funding we need to keep the program going.”

They all let out a cheer as McNabb added,
“Young man, why don’t you go out there and let the people see what a real hero looks like?”

“This is pretty cool, isn’t it, Glen?” Mr. Johns asked his son as they walked toward the exit.

“It is, Dad,” Glen said. “But next weekend maybe we can just go fishing instead.”