Blue Moon, White Sun
Dreams of a white sun radiating over the ellipse of the blue moon in the pink stripes of dawn aligned on the misty horizon had become a frequent vision for the pilot who had never actually encountered the landscape before stepping on the white sands of the deserted planet.
When his heavy boots hit the white dust he scrutinized the view around him.
“You can take of your helmet, there is enough oxygen” he heard the voice from the control tower that had been guiding his landing.
He unlocked the safety pin under his chin and took of the silver helmet.
Inhaling the sharp oxygen made him dizzy for a second. He staggered, squinting his eyes to the white glaring sun above. Beyond it, there was still the boomerang-shaped blue moon, silent and cold.
“What the hell are we doing here?” he mumbled to himself, turning around in doubt, to look at the metal staircase of the shuttle behind him.
“You know very well what you – we – are doing here. You were chosen for carrying the torch further in the universe: bringing life to a safe haven.”
The voice from the supervising tower was steady and objectively impersonal, but something in the tone reminded him of a careful baby-sitter. He blinked and scratched his head.
“I forgot you're listening to everything I say.”
The voice was relentlessly patient and unwavering in its motivation.
“It's very important to not forget the purpose of your presence on this border planet. You are the first to facilitate the beginning of the Alpha State. Others will follow. Life will advance to a higher consciousness, once we enter that cluster of light.”
“I know how important it is. I'm constantly aware of it.”
“Then what's the matter? Do you have doubts? Are you afraid something could go wrong? I'll assist you every step of the way.”
He glanced at the blue moon again, above the pink horizon.
“I don't have doubts and I'm not afraid. It's just... I've dreamed of this place long before coming here. It's almost as if I envisioned it – anticipated – predicted this moment.”
“It could be a deja vu. Your brain is high on the oxygen and change of pressure.”
“No, it's more than that. I'm sure I had dreams of this landscape before”.
The voice went silent in the chip behind his ear. He knew she was still there, yet she chose not to comment. Sometimes he wondered if the voice came from a computer program, a robot or a real person. He was inclined to believe it was a person, but the tone seemed very well instructed not to appear too personal. It was more like an army officer combined with a psychologist and a diplomatic spy. More like a watchdog, relentless and purposeful, ready to assist in any way needed to get the best results that were expected from a higher rank.
“Hey Rony! Are you done contemplating? We have work to do!”
The pilot hadn't come alone to the border planet. There was an entire crew with him, trained to install equipment for a functional greenhouse and wireless communication with distant solar systems. He had brought four people on the ship.
The pilot went to help the other two men: one was a bio-engineer and the other was a computer expert. The computer expert was a silent reserved and yet optimistic guy, just out of training and eager to discover real life beyond theoretical studies. The bio-engineer had a practical attitude and seemed to enjoy comfort, not being bothered by any possible dangerous situation. The nurse was a vivacious volunteer while the psychologist was observant, diplomatic and refined in manners.
What they had in common was enthusiasm for the prospect of new life, exploring the unknown vastness of the universe and contributing to the benefits of starting something positive with infinite possibilities. It was the main purpose that brought them together and kept them out of conflicts: having the same goal of achieving something improbable, innovative and daring – deflying odds, making a new beginning that would develop into something amazing.
After they took out the metal bars and the plastic foil they set up the skeleton of the greenhouse and covered it with transparent square meters of isolating shield.
Under the white glowing sun its neon light was not as much burning as it was exhausting in intensity. The air was humid despite the dusty surface. After a while the three men felt their shirts get wet and stuck to the skin, so they took of the fabric and continued to work in overalls and heavy boots. It was risky to expose too much skin to an environment not entirely known. The two females in the crew, the medical assistant and the psychologist decided to remain in the shade of the newly built tents, sorting out the electronic files of the camp and the rations.
In a few hours everything was set according to plan.
The men sat down on a group of rocks, passing around small bottles of water that the nurse had brought them.
The tower of control was still silent.
“Why is the air so humid?” the pilot wondered, staring at the distant pink horizon.
“It's because of the vapors from the ocean. The beach is not far from here,”
the bio-engineer answered.
“Much like Earth?”
“Not really. Earth is too distant a memory to remember now and I've never known it to be able to compare – but the atmosphere was different there, before we destroyed the eco-system. Hopefully, we're going to build a sustainable life-supporting system here.”
The bio-engineer was a gray haired man who had seen many solar systems where he had attempted to set up colonies, before arriving on the border planet of the white sun and the blue moon.
“The conditions are right to make it happen here”, Rony said with confidence.
“It's possible. Why are you so sure though?”
“I don't know. Maybe it's because the control tower told me. And I believe it.”
He didn't want to reveal having had dreams about the place long before arrival.
He thought it would make him appear weak and unstable to the crew and they would not trust his clear mind as a pilot.
“Is the tower giving you information about the future?” the bio-engineer asked a bit amused.
“Yes, maybe so. Why?”
“That must be Vera. I bet she's the one on the microphone with you, talking you through everything.”
“Who's Vera?”
“The tower agent who monitors our missions. I had a chip with her voice instructing me when I used to fly shuttles across the solar systems, looking for a place to set up new stuff. Boy, she gave me a hard time back then. Do this, do that, don't do this, why didn't you do that, you must do better...”
“Really?”
The pilot had a different impression of the assisting voice.
“Is it a person then?”
“Yes, it's a person. Did you think it was a robot?”
“It often sounds like a programmed robot.”
“It's a person and a very well instructed one. She's got highest authority over these missions.”
“She can't be a person. She's too smart, too well informed... too impersonal.”
“Too demanding?”
The bio-engineer grinned. Rony looked at him in disbelief. He kind of liked the voice in the chip that gave him instructions. It didn't feel demanding, but precise. He admired the accuracy of information and the relentless motivation of the transmission. It never failed to answer, it always proved to be one step ahead of him in any situation, to the minimal details. Somehow, the expertise was intimidating, but it provided confidence too and Rony relied on it for advice. If it was indeed a person... it must have been a top agent. The attention he had received implied a lot of work in the control tower. Rony imagined the training must have been drastic to make her perform like that. It was impressive. However, it seemed the other man had a different experience and opinion. Evgheni, the talkative bio-engineer didn't add anything else, noticing the pilot didn't agree with him.
He concluded disinterested:
“I'm better of working as a biologist. I've got more time to do other things.”
“So now you don't hear from the tower anymore?” Rony asked casually.
“No, I quit being a pilot. It was too much strain and pressure, too much responsibility. I'm getting tired of long hours of staring into space. I'd rather assemble greenhouses and watch plants grow.”
Rony looked up at the blue moon. Its ellipse sparkled as it descended towards the horizon, in undetected, delayed motion.
“Where are they? The people from the control station.”
Evgheni glanced up, squinting his eyes to see the ellipse past the glaring neon light.
“On that moon, probably.”
“Do you think they can hear us now?”
Evgheni stretched his arms, relaxed and unaffected.
“No, I think they have better things to do. As you know, the connection with Vera appears when they've got something important to communicate to you, and they instruct her to reach out. Also when she's checking progress or when you call for her assistance by beeping that chip.”
“But what if she's listening and not revealing her presence? Can she do that?”
Evgheni laughed.
“Are you afraid she might?”
Rony shrugged.
“I don't have anything to hide from her. Or from the tower, for that matter.”
“Yeah, they know everything that's going on down here. I'm sure Vera has access to any recorded conversation she wants – and I'm sure she checks on you very often, even when... or especially when you're not aware of her doing it. They've got those x-ray telescopes watching us around the clock. They can probably count the bones from our toes in a blink of a second. They see the plants growing before they come out of the soil.”
The bio-engineer was so amused, it made Rony smile too.
“You're probably right.”
It didn't bother him that the voice assistant was monitoring him; he knew the control tower was doing it anyway. It was their purpose. At least Vera provided some feedback for his actions. He had imagined her like an electronic eagle – and yet she was a real person. He could still feel the sharp authority hovering invisibly from the blue moon.
He got up, deciding to take a walk and find the ocean. The heavy boots and overalls were getting scratchy against the skin. Dust and sweat made everything uncomfortable.
“I'm going to the beach” he announced to the others.
“Don't forget to come back to make the tent for the guests before sunset”, Sheena the psychologist told him. “They're coming tomorrow, I've just received a message from the satellite. Five recruits between fifteen and eighteen years old, from rehabilitation camps.”
“Why are they sending us disturbed children?”
“They want us to help them to a fresh start. The teenagers are from restricted rehabilitating facilities. They had no chance back there on the space station – but here, they might learn to adapt.”
“So now, aside from growing plants we must also babysit some crazy teenagers who didn't ft in the space stations?”
The psychologist smiled kindly.
“I'm sure we'll manage, Rony. Don't worry: they're only five children. We're five adults. We can handle them.”
“I can handle a bunch of kids, but I'm not sure they will learn to behave in this new environment.”
“We'll make sure they do eventually.”
“How many other camps like ours did they send on this planet?”
Sheena thought for a while.
“I don't know exactly, but there are certainly hundreds of camps like this one.
They're spread out separately to implement the establishment by adding power through independent development.”
“It sounds like isolated gangs.”
“The kids are just a group of disoriented youth, Rony. We'll be fine. They'll get better.”
“It's easy for you to say, you're a psychologist. You're trained to deal with such kids. Me, I'm a pilot, not a counselor. “
Sheena smiled, understanding his worries.
“You'll learn to be both. You'll be great for them. They need someone who can offer them adventures, solutions and courage. Each of us needs to learn to be more and surpass our boundaries with new skills if we want to ascend with this planet to the light cluster Alpha State.”
“If you say so...”
The pilot turned to leave.
“I'm going for a swim, if there's any ocean on this planet.”
“When you find it, show us the way to that beach, so we can go too”, the nurse shouted after him.
He smiled. Of course everyone wanted to go to the beach, after so many days of living confined to the shuttle. They were finally out in the open, under a clear blue sky with a boomerang moon and a pink horizon throwing colored hues on the white dusty surface glowing of neon sunlight.