Space Fiction: The Moon

 

The Lander Beethoven impacted violently on the crater making it tilted at least thirty degrees to the left.

To communicate with the Earth's antenna, it had to be aligned with that of the Lander. Nothing to worry about, the commander told the three astronauts, an American, a Frenchman and a Chinese man.

The data were wrong and the decisions were based on direct experiences,  thanks to a deep study of astrophysics and philosophy, the elderly astronaut told with determination that the analysis of the computer was wrong.

According to his paper maps were to be found in the Eastern Seaboard on the permanently shadowed side of the moon.

From the porthole they could not see the earth, only the sun and the black sky as their mood, aware that they would die there.

The main antenna was partially damaged; the only chance  to communicate with the external world was waiting for the space station alignment.

The long waiting left them a sense of perpetual anxiety and anguish They sensed something might go wrong.

From a beep, they understood that the message had been received by the space station.

Now they only had to wait a few hours to get a response from planet Earth to confirm the start of the rescue mission which was located near the crater dedicated to Plato.

They felt like they were in the middle of Plato's cave, behind them the sun who lit up the black space with some feeble dots, Venus was gone.

In less than an hour the astronauts received, a terse message clearly written by artificial intelligence.

"Due to the government shutdown on the lunar station, there is no staff, their return is expected in six months. We take care of all of you."

How can they survive inside a Lander small and uncomfortable three astronauts with little food and water supplies??

This unexpected event changed the lifestyle inside the Lander.

Captain Aaron changed his behaviour completely, from peaceful and respectful into a Nazi intolerant of any kind of criticism and complaint.

His justification was that democracy can be suspended for a good reason: to save life.

The other two astronauts became silent, remissive and frustrated.

The first order was to rationalise the energy to produce oxygen and the water everyone agreed, but inside their mind an imperceptible seed was sprouting. What do we do when supplies are not enough before help arrives, we will become cannibals?

The wise captain didn't say the usual phrases of circumstance but he provoked them properly, everyone had to give an answer otherwise no water and food and in case of violent rebellion, the death penalty.

Inside the Lander was a cold darkness never seen before they were waiting for the sunrise of the sun.

 

The discussion continued with the precise aim of not stopping to ask questions, if they dozed off they risked serious consequences. For what reason? Is it not better to use the energy to warm up the Lander and to produce food and water?

It was no more a Lander but an igloo, the tiny window was covered by a thick icy patina with wind-drawn filaments, the only way to survive was to wear the spacesuit self - heating.

For the Chinese astronaut, the daily duty was to check the water's machine, he checked that it was purified and ready to drink, Then he took the plastic cup and poured the amount requested for the captain.

In the exchange, the glass fell to the ground, for the others, he did a mortal sin.

He felt the sensation of being close to death, none of them spoke, but looking at their eyes he saw a deep hate. He thought that making excuses was perfectly useless since he had sentenced the entire crew to death.

What to do now? He remembered that the water can be purified by hand, it is simple but it requires at least two hours, he told his idea to the others, their hate was still alive.

The three were seated both looking at the window believing to see the rescuers, a mere illusion. The black sky was populated by stars and planets such as Jupiter and Saturn and some unknown stars.

At 4am they drank the last drops of water, the food was ended, even their life.

The Captain introduced their imminent death in a funny way, he spoke about the play "Waiting for Godot" written by Samuel Beckett.

The three laughed bitterly, the Chinese stand up looked at the two and said "We have to find a reason for our imminent death" The captain and the vice nodded, surprisingly started a philosophical debate concerning unknown stars and the afterlife.

None of them believed in God, not the resurrection of their bodies.

On the teachings of Plato they were agreed believing that their souls are immortal and their final thoughts a source of stimuli on the meaning of life, do not accept the death and then the reincarnation somewhere in the space.