The Tranquillity Alternative (15 page)

“Jesus, that beard looks terrible.” Old Joe scowled at his former Luna Two crewmate as he stood back to inspect him. “You could do something about the gut, too. What’s Judy doing, feeding you barbecue all the time?”

“Barbecue, pork rinds, and a six-pack of beer every day. Breakfast of champions.”

“For the love of …” Laughlin’s voice trailed off in disgust. He caught sight of Ryer and edged around Parnell to graciously extend his hand to her. “Hey, I’m sorry, Cristine. I almost missed seeing you back there. Welcome back, Captain.”

“Thanks, Commodore … Joe.” Laughlin’s hand grasped her palm for a moment longer than necessary, his humorous eyes searching hers for some reaction; she gave him a polite smile before gently pulling her hand free. Old Joe was notorious for coming on to female astronauts; although he had never done anything that could be misinterpreted as sexual harassment, it was clear that he was not a believer in political correctness either.

Parnell coughed politely and nodded toward the three men standing behind Laughlin. “I take it these are our people,” he said.

“Hmm?” Old Joe managed to tear his attention away from Cris. “Oh, yeah … sorry for my lack of manners. Permit me to introduce you to—”

“Leamore,” the first man said, stepping past Laughlin to extend his hand. “James Patrick Leamore, Commander Parnell. Executive vice-president of lunar operations, Koenig Selenen. Delighted to meet you.”

As Parnell grasped his hand, Leamore gestured to one of his companions, then the other. “And this is Uwe Aachener and Markus Talsbach. They’re astronaut-candidates, currently completing their training period.”

Another round of handshakes as
Conestoga
’s flight team introduced themselves to the mission’s remaining passengers. With the exception of Paul Dooley, it was the first time the NASA astronauts had met the contingent from Koenig Selenen GmbH. The German company had insisted upon training its crew members independently, as an acid test of how well European methods of selecting and educating its astronauts stacked up against NASA’s. The agency had balked at this, of course, until Koenig Selenen made it clear that although its astronauts would have already passed muster in basic space-survival techniques, they were not expecting to pilot
Conestoga
and would act instead as passive observers. NASA finally caved in. After all, once this mission was completed, Koenig Selenen would be the sole owners of Tranquillity Base; how well or how poorly they prepared their space crews was up to them.

The agency in turn had insisted on training Dooley at the Von Braun Space Center; since the hacker would be expected to help reactivate Tranquillity Base and assist with the disposal of the Teal Falcon missiles, he needed to know a little more about the lunar base than the German astronauts.

Leamore was much what Ryer had expected from reading his dossier during earlier briefings. Although in his mid-forties, he looked considerably younger, his build slender and athletic, his brown hair only slightly speckled with gray. A former RAF fighter pilot who had moved to Berlin after earning a post-graduate degree in international business from Oxford, he had worked his way up through the European aerospace community until he joined Koenig in the early eighties, just as it was beginning to seriously invest in commercial space enterprise. When the company formed its Selenen division, Leamore was the person they’d chosen to head up the lunar operations program; in fact, he had been the company’s chief negotiator when it opened discussions with the Dole administration over acquiring Tranquillity Base from NASA.

“Captain Ryer, delighted.”

“Likewise, Mr. Leamore.”

“James, please …”

“You can call me Cris.”

Not bad for a British expatriate working in Germany. If Koenig Selenen GmbH came out a winner with its lunar program, Leamore stood to earn quite a few deutsche marks for his efforts. Euro-yuppie or not, Ryer thought, she was probably shaking hands with the first millionaire to make his fortune from the Moon. If only the American business community had been so foresighted. Had that been so, of course, then most American computers wouldn’t have Japanese microchips, most American cars wouldn’t be constructed of materials made in Europe and Asia, most American airliners wouldn’t be built in France, and most Americans wouldn’t have their paychecks drawn on banks owned by God knows who, but it sure as hell wasn’t other Americans.

Leamore had a nice, firm handshake.

He helped her remember the computer diskette in her pocket.

Aachener and Talsbach were stiff and overly formal; they stumbled over their English as, one at a time, they shook hands with Ryer. In their mid-twenties, both were almost young enough to be her children; however, if she’d ever been inclined to become pregnant during the time when she pretended to be heterosexual, she would have been appalled to produce sons as colorless as these two. Aachener had light brown hair and Talsbach’s hair was jet black, and Talsbach was slightly shorter than Aachener: beyond that, there was little to distinguish one from the other. Finely chiseled features, good looks, Teutonic demeanor: the last time she’d seen guys this perfect, it was in a New York gay bar, and at least the Village queens had more life to them than these two Aryans….

“Glad to meet you,” she said to Talsbach, hoping that neither of them could guess what she’d been thinking. “So … uh, you’re astronaut-candidates, right? How far along in training are you?”

“Ah … yes, we’re astronaut-candidates,” Talsbach replied haltingly. “We have almost completed our … ah, training program. The final phase, this is.”

He looked nervously at his colleague. “Yes, Captain, this is the final phase of our training program,” Aachener said. His English was a little better. “We have been in orbit before, in our shuttles, but this is the first time we will be going to the Moon.”

“To the Moon, yes, the first time,” Talsbach said.

“And we are looking forward to the voyage … the trip, how you say?” Aachener’s gaze was unwavering; although his mouth was stretched in a smile, the corners of his eyes didn’t crinkle. A cold, false grin. “And how many times to the Moon have you been there?”

“This is my eighth trip … uh, voyage.” Cris hesitated. “But I haven’t been back in four years, so it’s been a long time.”

“A long time, yes.” Aachener nodded his head.

“Yes, a long time.” Talsbach also nodded his head.

Oh, my God, she thought, it’s Hans and Franz….

Cris stepped back from them, trying to find a way out of the conversation. She spotted Jay Lewitt standing alone on the catwalk behind her; catching his eye, she smiled at him, then turned back to the two astronauts. “Well, it’s nice to meet you guys,” she said. “We’ll have to get together again sometime before the flight, okay?”

American colloquialisms seemed to confuse Talsbach. Again he cast an uncertain glance at Aachener, who once more responded with that humorless smile. “Yes, Captain,” he replied. “We’ll get together again soon. Pleasant to meet you.”

Ryer kept a straight face until her back was turned to the Germans, then allowed herself a wry grin as she walked over to Lewitt. The flight engineer stood next to the wall plaque Parnell had been inspecting before Laughlin and the Koenig Selenen team had arrived.

“How did you like the Germans?” he asked.

“They’re great,” she whispered. “They’re here to …
pomp
… you
op
!”

“Jesus, Cris …” Lewitt hid a smile behind his hand as he caught the old
Saturday Night Live
gag. “Better not let Gene hear you say that.”

“Who gives a shit?” She sagged against him for a moment, quivering with barely suppressed laughter. “I mean, these are the guys who are taking over Tranquillity?”

“Cris …”

“‘I’m a Choiyman astronaut in training, yah … to the Moon the first time, I am. Want some schnitzel, yah?’”

“C’mon, Cris … it’s not that funny.”

No, it wasn’t funny, but it was the first good laugh she’d had all day. If Laurell were here, she would understand. But Laurell was probably at work by now, dealing with a dozen lawsuits before she went home to curl up on the couch, devour the rest of the Ben & Jerry’s in the fridge, and watch
Seinfeld
on TV, while she was stuck up here with guys so straight they couldn’t …

Her eyes rose to the plaque on the wall, and the laughter died in her throat. She had seen it many times before, during previous visits to the Wheel, so it was nothing new. Nonetheless, she felt shame wash over her as she saw the long list of names carved into the slab of lunar aluminum.

Twenty-three men and women, their lives lost during the construction of Space Station One and the establishment of Tranquillity Base. Victims of random EVA accidents, for the most part, although a few had been killed while rescuing other astronauts. One had died during the installation of the Wheel’s nuclear reactor, and three on the list had been incinerated during an uncontrolled Atlas-A reentry through Earth’s atmosphere back in 1961.

She had never met any one of them, but it didn’t matter. Their names were inscribed here, and this was a sacred place; laughing at stupid Kraut jokes was as appropriate as goofing off in Arlington National Cemetery. But for the grace of God, her own name could be on this list….

And it was never too late, because whoever had engraved the names on this plaque had been careful to leave several blank spaces at the bottom.

“Let’s go find something to eat,” she said softly, turning away from the plaque. “I think I need some ice cream.”

It was hard to say why, because she felt very cold just now.

The ATS Evening News;
broadcast August 19, 1976

Don Garrett, anchor:
Among the items included in the McGovern Administration’s proposed “Big Freeze” federal budget is the gradual reduction of spending for the nation’s space program. Science correspondent Clyde Fuller reports from NASA’s Von Braun Manned Space Center.

(File footage: Neil Armstrong and Alexei Leonov stepping off the ladder of Ares One to plant U.S. and Soviet flags on the surface of Mars; the exterior of the Wernher von Braun Manned Space Center in Texas.)

Fuller
(VO)
:
Barely a month after the successful landing of the international mission to Mars, White House sources have told ATS News that President McGovern will soon propose cutting NASA’s budget by ten to twenty percent over the next four fiscal years. Although the President hasn’t yet officially made this announcement, it has been supported by key members of Congress.

(On-screen: Senator Walter F. Mondale, D., MN)

Mondale:
The fact of the matter is that taxpayers are sick and tired of throwing away their money in space. If NASA had their way, they’d be building permanent bases on Mars. What about building permanent houses for poor people in America? We’ve got too many problems right here at home that need to be taken care of first….

(Shot of Senator William Proxmire, D., WI, addressing the Senate. Vice-President Jimmy Carter watches from his seat behind the podium.)

Proxmire:
We’ve got runaway inflation in this country, government spending is out of control … and NASA wants us to shell out five billion dollars next year to send a space probe to Jupiter! I’ve got a better idea … let’s send a rocket to NASA with a note inside: “Forget it, pal! Show’s over!”

(File footage: Space Station One, Tranquillity Base, the launch of Ares One from low orbit above Earth.)

Fuller
(VO)
:
Critics of the space program point to the fact that total costs of the American space effort have exceeded two hundred billion dollars over the last twenty years. This includes the maintenance of the Wheel, the Tranquillity Base lunar outpost, and the American half of the Ares program. They also cite recent Gallup polls showing that fifty-five percent of the American public believes NASA receives too much money. However, NASA supporters disagree with this assessment….

(On-screen: Sidney Brown, president of the National Space Institute.)

Brown:
For each tax dollar spent on space over the last two decades, every American has earned two dollars a year from technological spinoffs. Microelectronics, weather and communications satellites, advanced medical technology, even digital watches and household appliances … all are possible because of scientific developments made while we were sending people into space. We can’t just shut off the tap now and pretend that the country will continue to be a world leader in high technology …

(File footage: President McGovern stepping off Air Force One; the Ares astronauts working on the surface of Mars; Republican presidential candidate Gerald R. Ford shaking hands during a campaign stop.)

Fuller
(VO)
:
Several sources at NASA, who declined to be interviewed for this story, charge that the President is trying to win reelection next November by roping NASA into his Big Freeze program. They also claim that the White House leak was timed to correspond with the last few days of the Ares expedition, which so far has failed to find any evidence of life on Mars. This itself is a major embarrassment to the space agency, since it had all but promised discovering extraterrestrial life on the red planet in return for funding the mission. Likewise, the Ford campaign’s support for the space program has been lukewarm at best …

(Shot of Republican candidate Gerald R. Ford, speaking to a reporter’s mike in the middle of a small crowd of supporters.)

Ford:
Well, uh … I like space. I think space is good … and, uh, I think the astronauts are doing a swell job, and … uh, I look forward to seeing them come home … excuse me …

(Shot of Clyde Fuller standing in front of the entrance of the Von Braun Space Center.)

Fuller:
Although the administration’s proposal is hardly seen as a major issue in this campaign, it is one more sign that neither Democrats nor Republicans are willing to embrace space exploration as much as they did in years past. This can only be seen as an omen for NASA in years to come. Clyde Fuller, ATS science correspondent, reporting from NASA’s Von Braun Space Center in Houston.