MOON

MINER

Remembered Earth Universe

Volume 11

Lunar Series

Book 3

D.W. PATTERSON

First A Printing – September, 2024

Future Chron Publishing

Cover Image – Photo 206983251 © Archangel80889 | Dreamstime.com

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School

Human Generated Content

Website: https://dwpatterson.com

Email: d.w.patterson.writer@gmail.com

To Sarah

“I went down to Cape Canaveral for the first time three years ago.

- - -

I walk into the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is 400 feet high, and I go up in the elevator and look down – and the tears burst from my eyes!

- - -

The size of this cathedral where the rockets take off to go to the Moon is so amazing, I don't know how to describe it.”

- Ray Bradbury

TO THE READER

In this story (and most of my stories), if I use a date, I know I am using the antiquated dating system, A.D. I blame this on the book Daybreak – 2250 A.D. by Andre Norton, which I read some time in elementary school (and of which I recently bought an old paperback copy). So, I was imprinted early with that dating system and think it sounds cooler than C.E. No social, political or any other kind of statement is meant.

Science and technology are important to me and I enjoy developing them as I develop a series. However, a problem arises if I have to reintroduce the science and technology in each story as the series progresses. For a reader that has been reading all along the reintroduction must be tedious and somewhat boring. For a reader entering later in the series (and I do like for the stories to stand alone) the lack of explanation could be off putting. So, as a compromise I have included the previous science and technology explanations in a Glossary at the end of this story, it also contains other facts about the series. Probably not a perfect solution, but the only one I could come up with at this time.

Chapter 1

2040 A.D.

Bunker.

So thought Harry Wells about the abode he lived in. Harry had come to the Moon to work for one of the mining companies. Really, it was surface mining and the area was just a few miles from the small settlement of Tima. The Frigoris Mining camp consisted of just three buildings. One of the buildings was for the employees quarters and work area. The employees consisted of six people. Another building, which was for maintenance of the equipment, had a “porch” in front where some light maintenance could be done during the lunar day in a reduced radiation environment. And the third one was a storage building.

When needed, water and food was trucked the five miles from Tima aboard the hauler. An open cab vehicle, the hauler required the operator, actually mostly a passenger as the AI followed the electronically marked path, to wear a full spacesuit.

The mining equipment was mostly teleoperated. The vehicles operated in a combine with each one adapted to a particular task. First came the scooper and crusher, its job was to scoop and breakup the surface regolith if needed. Next, came the separator, the now sand-like regolith was separated into storage bins for solids like basalt, and tanks for gas molecules.

The combine essentially scavenged the Moon's surface for carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and the rare earth elements such as rubidium and lanthanum. Thorium could also be found in the regolith and was handled separately from the other elements. It was expected that as the string of settlements grew across the northern bounds of Mare Frigoris, a thorium power plant would eventually be constructed, to provide power to all the current and future settlements in the area.

Finally the basalt of the area was rich in iron oxide, aluminum oxide, and magnesium oxide, three more elements needed for building. Basalt that evaded the separation processes in the rest of the machine was also kept as a building material which could later be made into blocks, beams and the wet slurry that fed the 3D building printers.

Harry was just under five feet ten inches and had light brown hair, cut short and even, which seemed to be the predominant style on the Moon, he also had an even temperament. He had always dreamed of heading “north” to the Moon, but it turned out that his grades weren't good enough to get in on the early rounds of lunar employment. But as more and more people were recruited for longer and longer stays, Harry persisted until Frigoris Mining gave him a chance. It turned out that his duties for the company were more like playing a video game than some science gig, and that was something that Harry was good at.

His job was to remotely operate the mining combine from the operations room incorporated into the same building as his small apartment. Except apartment was a grandiose term to use for his ten by twelve foot single room living quarters. In it Harry slept and groomed and entertained himself until it was time to take the walk down the length of the forty foot long building to operations or the kitchen. And each time he took that walk the building reminded him not of an apartment building or office or industrial building but of a bunker, with its low peaked roof of nine feet.

The modified arch that spanned the building had an internal footprint of twenty-five feet. The length of the building was forty-five feet. On top of the arched roof was six feet of regolith which provided almost complete protection from radiation and most micrometeorites. Both ends had airlocks, with the front one used for normal access, and the back for emergencies.

Harry's shift was just about over. The mining area was only a couple of miles west of him. Sitting in what some classified as east-central Frigoris which was a semi-rectangular area about two-hundred miles long and fifty miles wide with a very irregular border. The entire Mare Frigoris was some eight to nine-hundred miles long and fifty to sixty miles wide and it bent in the middle like a boomerang only not as acutely.

Harry was watching the remote view from the camera mounted on the combine's front chassis. In area being worked the maria was unusually flat, like the Iowa cornfields of his youth. Another similarity was that the combine worked the area like a tractor in a cornfield, up and back tracks shifted only by the width of the “scoop,” which was about forty feet wide.

Then it happened. The combine stopped, an alarm flashed on the control screen. Harry froze at first but then responded, first shutting off the alarm.

Then Janet showed up behind his chair.

“What's up Harry?” she asked.

“Combine has an emergency shutdown. I've started a diagnostics, should know in another minute,” he said.

Harry watched as the AI in the machine ran diagnostic, after diagnostic, and when it finished, no problem was found.

“Well, that's strange,” he said.

“What did it find?” asked Janet, she could not see the screen well.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Nothing?” she repeated.

“Yeah,” he said.

“So why's it stopped?” she asked.

“I don't know,” said Harry.

“Okay, figure it out, and let me know, I'll be in the office,” she said.

Harry sat there wondering what he should do next. He had been taught to run the diagnostics and respond to the results, but there weren't any results. If he reached a point where he could not keep the combine running he was to turn to the equipment tech, that would be Billy Vech.

But if the diagnostics shows nothing, what's Billy going to do?

Harry decided to give it another try. He entered the code for the AI to do an all systems restart. And it worked. Harry was pleased, he would finish this track and stop, and allow the next shift to take over, which was Mark, now standing behind his chair.

“How's it going Harry?” said Mark.

Mark was about Harry's size, with short blonde hair.

“I had a problem but I seem to have cleared it up, it's running fine now.”

“Excellent,” said Mark. “Well, let me at it.”

Harry liked Mark, he always had a great attitude.

“This way your excellency,” said Harry as he got out of the chair allowing Mark to sit down.

Harry headed for the kitchen.

Harry hadn't finished his meal when Mark and Janet walked into the kitchen area.

“Harry,” said Mark, “what did you do to the damn thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it moves about a yard and restarts, moves a yard and restarts, it's heading for the frontier and I can't get control of it,” said Mark.

“Harry,” said Janet, somewhat calmer, “we just need to know what steps you took to get it back online. Last thing you told me, it was dead.”

“Well, since the diagnostics showed no problems, I just had the AI do a restart. That's according to the book, by the way,” said Harry.

“I know it's by the book, I just needed to know what to tell Billy,” she said before turning and leaving.

“Boy, what a mess,” said Mark, sitting down.

“I just did what I was trained to do,” said Harry.

“Oh, yeah, I know Harry, I'm sorry I was loud with you, but Janet was on my case,” said Mark.

“Okay,” said Harry.

“We're on a shoestring budget Harry. This is going to hurt the company if we can't get the thing going again.”

“I know, it's a startup,” said Harry.

“Yeah, but the company was counting on some cash from the sale of those minerals to the Tima settlements and the others, Fontenelle,” said Mark.

“Well, we've been surface mining for almost a month now. We've got a good store of many of the elements and the basalt,” said Harry.

“Yeah that cleaned basalt should sale pretty good. Those settlements are 3D printing buildings like crazy,” said Mark.

Just then, in walked Janet and Billy.

Billy was surprisingly hefty for a Moon recruit, not fat, but when weight is money most employees were the size of Harry and Mark and Janet. Harry didn't think Billy was in the best of shape either. He often wondered how he got the job.

Billy said, “Harry when you restarted the machine what was the battery level?”

“I don't know Billy, I had just run all the diagnostics and everything was okay so I would assume the battery level was good,” said Harry.

“Yeah, but you should have checked the battery level Harry,” said Billy.

“You see,” said Janet. “Billy suspects the battery is low and probably defective, so the AI has turned the solar array and machine towards the sun to try and charge the battery.”

“But the low battery causes an alert and the AI, instead of shutting down, follows Harry's order to do a diagnostics and restart. The diagnostics drains the battery again and the scenario repeats,” said Billy.

“Why is the AI still following that order? Why doesn't it take over? Sounds like a bug to me,” said Mark.

“The AI will follow whatever human command it last received,” said Billy, “it's a safety precaution not a bug Mark.”

“We need to get it online, it's urgent,” said Janet. “I'm going to have to report this to the company and I'm sure they will be highly disturbed. So I want all of you, on duty, to work on this problem to the exclusion of anything else.”

Though Janet's office/quarters was well soundproofed, the three could hear the discussion, at least one side of it. Harold Mason was shouting although they couldn't quite make it out. Then it got quieter, Janet had turned down the volume.

Mark looked at Harry.

“I've got a feeling it's worse than we two thought,” he said.

“Sounds like Harold is at the breaking point,” said Harry. “Well, I hate to leave you all in this mess but I was suppose to be over in Tima.”

“See you later, if we are still here,” said Mark, nodding toward Janet's office.

Harry had previously requisitioned one of the small haulers. It wasn't just a pleasure trip but a scheduled pickup and delivery. The hauler had been filled with several tons of basalt that would be delivered and it would pick-up food and water. Some of the food was fresh grown by the settlement. The water came from the crater Timaeus.

The completion of the underground pipeline from the crater was a momentous occasion for Tima, it meant the settlement could expand, indeed it meant it could continue. It also made possible the hydroponic greenhouses, the increased production of Moon cement, which was used in the 3D printing of buildings, and the water cycle of human hydration and elimination. All water was recycled and important, ongoing research was trying make recycling even more efficient, but having the large supply in the shadow of the crater's south wall was reassuring.

Harry put on his main spacesuit because the driver's cabin was open to the out-vac. This was a more bulky suit with extended life support and greater protection from radiation than the pressure suit. It was more uncomfortable than the lighter suit but since it was only a thirty minute ride Harry didn't mind. He called the Tima settlement to let them know when he expected to arrive. They would monitor his progress with the hauler's transponder.

Out on the surface, alone with nothing to do, Harry was able to once again take in the Moonscape. Though he had expected the gray of the surface, he was always surprised at the variation. From an almost pure white through to the darkest gray, it was like a multi-hued rainbow. Sometimes the blackest shadows when juxtaposed against the whitest gray resulted in an almost three-dimensional effect.

As he approached one area of rock outcroppings he looked for a different colored rainbow. This one was made up of light-brownish red and light-blue streaks and indicated the presence of iron-oxide and titanium-oxide. And there it was, such areas were especially important for mining, as they could considerably boost the resultant processed iron and titanium.

Reaching Tima, the hauler drove a short distance down the main street before arriving at its destination. Unlike the mining camp, the buildings here were 3D printed using the Moon cement, sometimes called Mooncrete. While still having thick rounded walls for protection, many of the buildings in Tima had top layers that showed sculpted patterns and some color, especially in the newer parts of the settlement. Eventually they would all be linked and accessed from underground as a boring machine was expected to arrive soon from Earth.

The hauler continued until it parked under the porch of a building. Harry got down and entered the building's airlock. After logging in, he turned over the hauler to procurement, they would unload and reload it. Since he had about an hour to wait, he went looking for his friend in the cantina.

“Harlan,” said Harry to a man sitting at one of the tables with a woman beside him.

Harlan Reynolds was slightly under six feet with brown, short hair. He was the head foreman of the 3D building crew in Tima.

“Harry, how are you, it's been over a month, hasn't it?”

“Just about Harlan,” said Harry.

“Well, sit down,” said Harlan. “This is Marie, she's a building foreman also.”

“Pleased to meet you Marie,” said Harry.

Marie had dark short hair and clear, brown eyes. She looked smart.

“Hello Harry,” she said.

“So tell me Harry, how long you staying?” asked Harlan.

“Just an hour, I've got to get back with food and water.”

“Too bad, Marie and I have a poker game lined up for later, we could have used your money,” said Harlan.

Harry grinned, he'd lost to Harlan before.

“Anyway, what's happening?” said Harlan.

“Well, I don't know if I should tell you,” said Harry.

“Would you like me to leave?” said Marie.

“No, I'm sure you will hear about it shortly, we all know there's no secrets on the Moon,” said Harry. “Anyway, I left the guys working on a serious problem that if we can't solve could ruin the company.”

“Well, that's not good for you, Frigoris Mining, or Tima, for that matter. We need that basalt and other materials,” said Harlan.

“Yeah, we're all pretty interconnected,” said Harry. “So, here's the problem. The combine is stalled, it's in some kind of crazy loop where it moves forward about a yard, stops and reboots, and continues that over and over. We can't break into the loop. Lucky for me, it started on my shift.”

“That sounds familiar, don't it Marie?” said Harlan.

“Yeah, that old 3D printer that almost killed our project,” she said.

“I forget, what happened?” said Harry.

“We had setup the 3D printer to build the first permanent building in Tima, it's and old storage shed now over on Ralph Johns Street,” said Harlan. “We got it setup and it was working fine. While building the roof, it suddenly would swing one-hundred-eighty degrees and start building something completely different.”

“One of the times it injured Larry, remember?” said Marie.

“Yeah, that was Larry Linville, he rotated to Earth and never came back,” said Harlan.

“What was it that caused the malfunction?” asked Harry.

“Memory shortage was the official cause but it was really something else,” said Harlan, lowering his voice. “The AI was evolving and it had decided to give itself a name, so it was writing it on the ground.”

“Really?” said Harry.

“Yeah, Huey, that's the printer tech, believed it was a result of these new AIs, the Ems. They are modeled on the human brain and Huey thought the designers may have succeeded too well,” said Harlan.

“Well, that's interesting and scary,” said Harry, “we know that humans are capable of some pretty crazy things. And you reported this to the company?”

“Yeah, but like I said, they ascribed it to insufficient memory,” said Harlan.

“They covered it up?” said Harry.

“Exactly,” said Harlan.

The three were quiet a moment.

“Eventually, enough strange malfunctions are going to occur that they can't cover it up,” said Marie.

“Why doesn't Lunar Limited force the printer maker to fix the problem?” asked Harry.

“I'm sure there is a lot of pressure being put on the printer manufacturer but if the problem should get out to the public then there might be a reaction, such as a moratorium on building until the problem is solved, and the company would get slaughtered by the investors,” said Harlan.

“I understand they just doubled the memory on the new printers to prevent the problem and of course we have strictly implemented the no go zones,” said Marie.

“I'll have to tell Billy when I get back,” said Harry. “Maybe we are seeing something similar.”

Chapter 2

Harry had told Billy Vech what he had heard in Tima. Billy hadn't thought it possible and so dismissed the information.

Instead, he said, “We need to interrupt the boot sequence and we can't do that remotely. I would need to have the debugger paired and step through the boot code or maybe just load some new code.”

“Either way, we have to go onsite, huh?” said Harry.

“Of course,” said Billy, turning away, “let's talk to Janet.”

“Okay, if you go out there to do this, how are you going to get access with the machine moving every time it reboots?” asked Janet.

“Well, the access platform is big enough for me,” said Billy. “So Harry will have to drive and pull up beside the combine while I mount it when it is stopped. Once on board I can open the access door and pair the debugger.”

“You can't pair it from the hauler?” she asked.

“No, the door provides an EMI filter. No radio energy can get through,” said Billy.

“Can't we just wait until the it dies?” asked Janet.

“Well, while it's a hybrid system, and the fuel cell running the electrics will eventually fail, it will take more than a lunar day,” said Billy.

“But we're half way through a lunar day, how can it last so long?” asked Janet.

“Because it is moving toward the setting sun and that will extend its life by keeping it's solar panels working even as we here pass into lunar night,” said Billy.

“You mean it's moving fast enough to out race the approaching darkness?” asked Janet.

“More or less,” said Billy.

“You think your idea of boarding the combine will be safe?” asked Janet.

“Yeah, once I get aboard, I should be fine,” said Billy.

“Okay, let me tell the company what you propose and I'll get back to you,” she said.

Harry and Billy were on their way to the errant combine. Harry was driving the small hauler this time because there wasn't a well mapped route to the combine. At the speed they were traveling it would take about half an hour. Harry hardly saw anything but the path ahead and the screen that was leading him, but they were almost upon the combine.

Billy said, “There it is Harry, straight ahead and slightly to the left.”

It was on Harry's side of the hauler and when he looked where Billy had indicated he could clearly see the combine. It wasn't long until the jerky motion of the machine was obvious. It looked to be traveling about ten to fifteen feet before it stopped. Harry timed the machines motion in his head and became worried. Twenty seconds traveling and then five seconds stopped. There was no way Billy could mount the thing while stopped unless he had started the attempt while it was moving.

“Billy, I think we have a problem,” said Harry. “We should have measured the motion before we left. Seeing it now is kind of discouraging.”

“I can handle it.” said Billy.

“No, let's think about it a minute,” said Harry.

They both were quiet for a minute as Harry pulled up beside the combine and paced it. The machine would lurch ahead of the hauler only to abruptly stop and fall behind, only to lurch ahead again, and repeat. Besides the dangers of trying to board such an unruly platform, it was apparent that working on it would also be a challenge.

“Billy,” said Harry, “you think that if we can get you aboard the thing you'll be able to work with all that wild motion?”

“Yeah, I can do it,” said Billy.

“Okay, I'm going to keep pacing it like this. See if during the time our relative motions are the same, you can get aboard and brace yourself,” said Harry.

“Don't worry,” said Billy, “you just do as you say and I'll get aboard.

Harry focused on his driving, worried that the combine might lurch to one side or the other unexpectedly. Billy stood up.

The combine platform that Billy wanted to mount was about four feet higher than the hauler. Billy should be able to easily bridge the distance in the low lunar gravity. He was reaching out an arm to grab the hand rail. He crouched a bit. The time arrived, the two machines were barely separate and with their speeds only very slowly different. Billy waited, and waited, the combine stopped abruptly. He had waited too long.

“What happened Billy?”

Billy sat down.

“You can't drive,” he said. “If you could drive I'd be on the thing right now.”

“What do you mean?” said Harry. “I paced the thing just like I said I would, you agreed you could get on it, if I kept the pace up.”

“You didn't, you can't drive,” said Billy. “Let's go back to base, I'll get Mark, he can do better than you.”

Harry was shocked, but didn't think they should go back. The combine had already been down too long. They didn't need to delay. Then it occurred to him.

“Billy,” he said, “I bet you are a better driver than I am. Why don't you drive and I'll get on the combine.”

“You don't know what to do,” said Billy.

“No, but you are right here and you can tell me what to do.”

Billy was quiet a moment.

“It might work, I can talk you through it, if you think you can get aboard,” said Billy.

“I'll give it a shot Billy.”

Harry stopped the hauler and the two switched sides. Billy started the hauler and caught up with the combine. He seemed to be having trouble pacing it though.

“Okay, get ready Harry.”

“Can you get it a little more steady Billy?”

“It's fine Harry, stop complaining and get up there.”

Regardless of what Billy said, he was not pacing the combine very well. Harry would have to take a chance. He stood up and reached out his gloved hands to grasp the hand rails. As the combine passed he jumped and caught the rail but before he could bring his feet onto the platform the combine stopped.

Even at the slow speed of the combine Harry's feet and legs swung wildly one way only to swing the opposite way as the combine started up gain. Somewhat startled, Harry was too slow to respond, he had to endure another round of ping-pong.

“Come on Harry, get on up there,” said Billy.

Harry ignored him, focusing on his feet, he bent his legs as much as he could in the spacesuit and pulled and kicked, ending up on the combine's platform.

“It's about time,” said Billy. “Now get the debugger out and pair it.”

Harry, once he was sure he was braced against the next reboot, powered the debugger up. He removed the cover so that the debugger could pair with the microprocessor board.

“Okay, I got the debugger paired,” said Harry just as the combine lurched to a halt.

“Run the program I wrote and it should break the loop,” said Billy.

Harry ran the program, the combine stopped.

“Okay, load the other program and you're finished,” said Billy.

Harry did as he was told and closed the access door. He then got down off the combine and on to the hauler.

“Okay, let's see if it works,” said Billy.

Billy radioed the combine and instructed it to continue the job it had been running. The machine powered up, turned in the direction of the surface mine, and headed that way.

“Let's just follow it a little way before we head back,” said Harry.

Janet was watching the outside camera as the two returned and parked the hauler under the porch. She waited for them to cycle through the airlock and into the small reception area.

“Congratulations you two,” she said, as she and the others applauded. “According to the satellite the combine is almost back to the mining area, Julie will soon be operating it again as intended.”

Then they heard Julie from the control room yelling for Janet. They rushed into the room.

“What is it Julie?” asked Janet.

“The combine, I thought it was alright, but now I realize it keeps going over the same track, again and again.”

Janet looked from Julie to Billy.

“What happened Billy?” she said.

Billy panicked.

“I don't know, Harry was on the machine. He downloaded the program into the combine's memory. He must have messed it up somehow.”

“Harry?” said Janet. “I thought you were going to be on the machine Billy?”

“I was, only, you see . . .”

Billy was silent, looking wide eyed at Harry.

“After trying to pace the combine for awhile I was about to give up when Billy took over. Naturally, I had to run the debugger at that point,” said Harry.

Janet knew it was a lie, Harry was the best driver she had, she'd seen him save the hauler from running into a crater once.

“Okay,” she said. “It doesn't matter who drove, or who programmed. What matters is why is the combine going in circles?”

She was looking at Billy again.

“Okay,” he said. “Give me a few minutes to go over the debugger's log and figure out exactly what was programmed into the combine.”

Billy left for his quarters.

“Sorry, Janet,” said Harry.

“Well Harry, maybe Billy will come up with something that can get us back on track again,” she said before turning away.

Mark came over to Harry.

“Boy, y'all really messed up,” he said.

“Ah, leave me alone Mark,” said Harry who headed for his quarters.

Janet was in another meeting with corporate and from the amount of yelling from Earthside it wasn't going well. She called for Harry and Billy. Harry was the last one to enter the room. Harold Mason was speaking.

“The only reason we have people up there is because we were assured that AI couldn't do the job by itself. Do you have any idea how much more money it takes to support all of you as opposed to just robots? A lot, that's how much. Enough to bankrupt this company if we don't have some money coming in. And speaking of money, how much do you think your contracts are costing? A lot more than the AIs over time.”

“I understand that sir, and we are working to fix the problem,” said Janet. “Billy Vech is here with me. Billy have you found any way to get the combine online again?”

Harry noticed Billy tensed, and swayed, maybe he was going to pass out?

“Ah, I might be able to upload a program, as soon as I figure out what has gone wrong,” he said.

“Are you working with the engineers here,” asked Mason.

“I, I spoke to Jim,” said Billy.

“Okay, Vech I want you on the line with the guys here until y'all come up with a solution, understood?”

“Yes sir,” said Billy.

“Very well, get busy,” said Mason.

“But . . .”

“Go on,” insisted Mason.

Harry knew that Billy was hesitating because he couldn't be on line to the engineers while Mason was hogging the line. Harry wondered if Mason knew.

“Okay Janet, effective immediately, we are cutting the staff up there, and here by the way, in half. You, Julie Kinnear, and Billy will stay, the others will be dismissed. They should make their way back to Tima to be transported Earthside crew transfer vehicle. You and Billy will become part of the operating team. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” said Janet quietly.

“Okay,” said Mason, “anything else?”

“Sir, you wanted Harry Wells?” she said.

“Right. Wells, are you there?”

Harry stepped forward so that Mason could see him clearly. The blood was rushing to his head but he fought back the dizzy feeling.

“I'm here Mr. Mason.”

“Wells, I don't know if you think you are a cowboy or something, but we received the video of your exploits filmed by the hauler's camera and I have exercised clause thirteen of your contract. That clause, in case you don't know, gives the company the right to terminate an employee for reckless and dangerous conduct.

“You're shenanigans in the field meet the letter of that clause, in my opinion, and in the opinion of the company lawyers. Not only does that lead to immediate termination it gives the company the authority to sue for reputational damages. It may be, but does not have to be, limited to money earned, but I believe in this case it will be if you cooperate.”

“And how do I cooperate?” asked Harry.

“When you return to Earth you will sign certain papers saying that the incident was all your responsibility and that the company was in no way responsible,” said Mason.

“I see,” said Harry. “Is that all sir?”

“That's all Wells.”

Harry turned and left.

Epilogue

Harry immediately packed and sat in his quarters waiting for transport. Julie came and she was sorry about how things had turned out, but she was the only one. Twelve hours later Harry was in Tima waiting on the rocket to the orbiting station and the CTV to Earth. No one had spoken to him on the ride over. He had simply stared at the Moon's terrain with all its shades of gray.

There was a message from Janet when he arrived. Billy and the company engineers had gotten the combine online. She was sorry for what had happened.

He was with Harlan in the cantina. He had told him all that had transpired.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted Harlan,” said Harry as he finished.

“You remember back in pre-training where they lumped us all together, no matter what company we worked for?” said Harlan.

“Yeah, that seems eons ago,” said Harry.

“Doesn't it?” said Harlan. “There is something about being on the Moon that makes the stuff Earthside seem small and, well, for lack of a better, a world away.”

“Yeah, when I first got on site I couldn't believe how cramped everything felt but eventually it started feeling cozy and safe. Then I would go out-vac and the tremendous openness was frightening at first but then it became exhilarating. People who think the Moon is just a monotone, boring, desolation have never really looked at the Moon,” said Harry.

As Harry was finishing he was disappointed to see that Harlan was looking at a monitor over his shoulder. Harry looked back at the monitor and didn't quite realize what he was seeing at first. But then he realized, it was him on the hauler.

Video of him mounting the combine was being shown on one of the channels from Earth. Soon he realized that the video was on all the channels. Harlan asked the bartender to turn up the sound.

“. . . daring rescue of the runaway combine, which made a cowboy's life look tame, was the combine's operator Harry Wells who worked for the company. We are currently trying to get a comment from the company and the daring Mr. Wells himself.”

Harlan laughed loudly.

“The daring Mr. Wells,” he said. “Here he is.”

Harlan was pointing down at Harry with his arms raised for everyone to see.

“Please stop it Harlan,” said Harry, “it's embarrassing.”

“Get used to it Harry, you are famous now. I suspect you won't have any problem with the company, or money, for that matter,” said Harlan.

Harry thought Harlan was probably right, but still it was embarrassing and he would miss the Moon.

Lunar Series Glossary

Places

Fontenelle crater – 38 km diameter, 1.8 km deep located at 63.4 N, 18.9 W.

Fontenelle – Settlement south of crater Fontenelle in Mare Frigoris. Mentioned in Moon Miner.

Timaeus crater – 33 km diameter, 2.2 km deep located at 62.8 N, 0.55 W.

Tima – Settlement south of crater Timaeus, major setting for Moon Hab, Moon 3D, minor setting for Moon Miner.

Frigoris Mining Camp – Small mining camp in region just west of Tima. Major setting for Moon Miner.

Companies

Luna Limited – Settlement developer, building Tima.

Space Trucks – Operates LCL and LPL to/from Moon's surface.

Frigoris Mining – Regolith mining company.

Technology

3D Printer – A builder bot powered by an Em. Two tracks and an overhead crane like printer head deliver a slurry of Moon cement from a tooth paste-like tip to iteratively buildup structures.

CTV – Crew Transfer Vehicle which takes personnel from low Earth orbit to low lunar orbit.

DONKEY-BOT – Cargo platform that can wheel, walk, or climb while carrying up to five hundred pounds of supplies.

EM/EMMIE – AI based on human brain model. Called an Emmie when used in a personal assistant device.

LCL – Lunar Cargo Lander built by Space Trucks. Three cylindrical shaped, rocket powered (both lateral and vertical thrust) bodies joined by trusses. The outside cylinders are specifically designed for personnel (see LPL) but adaptable for cargo while the center cylinder is designed for cargo only and is strapped beneath the trusses joining the outer cylinders. Twenty-five tons low lunar orbit to Moon's surface.

LPL – Lunar Personnel Lander built by Space Trucks. Two cylindrical shaped, rocket powered (both lateral and vertical thrust) bodies joined by trusses. Up to five tons of personnel and supplies from low lunar orbit to the surface.

Lunar hauler – Moon truck reminiscent of Earth-like hauler, ten feet high, twenty-five feet long. Used to haul loose materials as well as supplies.

Moon cement (Mooncrete) – Building material made from an alkali binder and regolith (mostly basalt). Used in making blocks and 3D printing slurry.

Porch – An aluminum frame bucky-sphere covered with a sandwich of kevlar and high atomic-weight gel which provides some radiation protection for out-vac activities such as vehicle maintenance and fueling.

SST combine – Regolith mining machine consisting of a scooper section, used to scoop up the top layer regolith and crush if necessary. A separator section which separates into elements the crushed regolith it receives from the scooper using electrostatic and molecular means. And finally, a tank trailer with tanks and open hoppers for gas and materials storage of the results of the separator. It is fourteen feet high with each section about twenty-five feet long.

Terms

Out-vac – A contraction of outside vacuum, a reference to the vacuum of the Moon's surface.

Acknowledgments

The book A Pioneer's Guide To Living On the Moon by Peter Kokh was “mined” extensively for ideas and settings and the technology for living on the Moon.

The Space Settlement Enterprise SSI50: 2019, a seminar held by the Space Studies Institute was the source of many ideas for this series and my Cislunar Series.

Remembered Earth Universe

The Remembered Earth Universe covers the science and technology of the next hundred years, as mankind moves into cislunar space (defined as that space in and around the Earth-Moon system and slightly beyond), and takes tentative steps to destinations farther out.

The story of man's place in cislunar space continues with the Moon settlements of the Lunar Series.

LUNAR SERIES

The money people had only wanted to use AI and robots on the Moon, people were too expensive. But experience might not agree.

Moon Hab: A Short Story

Circling the Moon, alone, in a space station was easy. It wasn't until I over-nighted (remember, two weeks of darkness) that things got hard and deadly.

Moon 3D: A Novella

After more than fifty years man was back on the Moon. But this time he was determined to stay.
And that meant building habitats with the AI-powered latest technology, such as 3D printers.

But while those who were directly involved might show dedication and courage to the job, those remaining on Earth were still more interested in money and reputation.

And that could lead to failure and even death for those on the Moon.

Moon Miner: A Short Story

You would think that mining on the Moon would be a dream job.

Great location, pays well, all expenses paid.

Problem was, people on the Moon were the same as on the Earth. And that could make just doing your job dangerous.

Moon Town: A Novella

Humans or AI-powered robots? That seemed to have become the eternal question in the development of the Moon. But as with all eternal questions, the practical answer might be, can they complement each other?

Moon Power: A Novella

Multiplying settlements required more, reliable power. Two solar power farms located on either side of the string of Mare Frigoris settlements separated by a little over one-hundred-eighty degrees longitude could supply it. An expedition to prepare one of the areas for development ran into the unexpected. The AI brought along had its own idea.

Moon Rail: A Short Story

Building a two thousand mile rail system to connect the Mare Frigoris settlements was an audacious undertaking. But building the first few miles could the worse in lost lives.

Science Fiction

Pages

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Moon Miner: A Lunar Series Short Story