Moonbase population, at 325 after Dr. Russell's quite miraculous deed, drops over successive months whilst the Moon traverses rather busy space and as the Alphans are still in initial adapting mode vis-a-vis their situation. This population drop is mostly a result of Alphan fatalities, though desertions by Alphans or Alphans becoming lost on a planet with insufficient time in the Moon's passage by the planet for a successful search, also contribute to reduced Moonbase population. Alphan outlook begins verging away from one of a quasi-religious belief (fostered by a number of extraordinary and metaphysical experiences) in a beneficent, guiding higher power and becomes rather secular, self-deterministic. And after several distinctly less fatal months, with expanded Moonbase defenses and increased savvy plus the addition of Maya of Psychon to the Alphan complement, there is a guarded optimism, the Alphans for all intents and purposes ready for whatever may be ahead as the Moon sweeps through space.
A pivotal ordeal in such development is what happens on planet Krom II, which the Alphans encounter shortly after Luke Ferro and Anna Davis leave Moonbase for the planet Arkadia. The sudden onset of fanaticism in Ferro and Davis, powering their resolve to settle on Arkadia and fulfill an ordained purpose, to the extent of hostage-taking and extortion, is dismaying to Alpha executives, and the subsequent events on Krom II resulting in Alpha losing Professor Victor Bergman and Paul Morrow, are ever more taxing to the credulity of Alpha leadership as regards a notion of there being a higher purpose or a divine guidance in the Moon's odyssey. An overly zealous faction of Krom II society, having seen their planet's ecosystem undergo catastrophic changes (postulated by the Alphans as having happened after the Moon's devastating passage through a space brain known to have regulated the habitats of many worlds) and overhearing Bergman and Morrow talking about some occurrences for which a metaphysical and/or theological explanation had been put forth, abduct the two of them from the Alphan landing party on Krom II, for a quest in the wilderness on that planet for what was believed was a holy temple (in actuality an Archanon communication tower, Krom II having once been visited by the Archanons), just before an ionic storm hit that wilderness, making sensor detection and finding of life forms quite impossible. Commander John Koenig is forced to abandon search and return to Moonbase before it moves out of Alpha Eagle spacecraft range of Krom II, and he feels quite bitter about the loss of his friends and key Alphans, enough so to shake from foundation his already tenuous belief in some divine purpose to a pre-determined destiny. Few, if any, Alphans can disagree, for Bergman and Morrow were loved by all on Moonbase. Koenig is also more disinclined than ever to trust aliens whom the Moonbase subsequently comes upon in its travels.
Koenig's post-Krom-II disposition of being super-cautious, not disposed to trust, is reinforced by a betrayal by Mentor of Psychon, and he becomes given to preemptive action seen by his colleagues as being rather precipitous, during some successive encounters with aliens. However, conditions on Alpha eventually become more settled, the Alphans survive a series of contacts with aliens without fatalities or Alphans deserting or being lost, and Koenig relaxes somewhat without lowering his guard. Alphan society, untouched by death for many months, becomes rather more casual than previously, though still wary of what may be ahead of the runaway Moon. Moonbase defenses have been optimized, first with installation of a shielding force screen, and next with the placement of laser batteries at Moonbase perimeters, these things having been decided following encounters with warring planets, the space brain, etc.. And there is also a move of command personnel from the windowed and rather vulnerable, highest-Moonbase-level Main Mission to the underground Level D Command Centre. Same for some other essential Alpha sections, such as Medical Centre, Generating Areas, and Weapons Section. After losing Bergman, the Moonbase inhabitants promptly gain Psychon metamorph Maya as new Science Officer, her people's cognizance of symbols and protocols utilized by civilizations of her galaxy proving instrumental by times, as too her ability to transform into other life forms and her superior mathematical skill and scientific knowledge. Plus, efficient Security Chief Tony Verdeschi replaces Morrow in the Alpha command structure.
By the middle of the Moon's second calendar year in space, the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha are poised for responding to whatever crisis should arise while having a reasonably healthy human sociability of which Dr. Russell certainly approves. And as the Moon continues its journey, the Alphans find that their presence in space and in exploring alien planets does bring about positive changes, such as a restarting of the water cycle to one planet, or a restoring of a sense of right and proactive and merciful thinking to the morally apathetic, dominated-for-centuries spiritual entities within the plants of another planet, or impressing upon the empathy-lacking, logical inhabitants of a planet encircled by defenses the need for such intuitive and emotional tenets as loyalty and hope and understanding. Belief once more develops among the Alphans that there may be something, some force, guiding the Moonbase to enable it to interact with aliens in such a progressive way. But as to whether such a force is a deity or the transcendent spiritual progeny of the Arkadian forebears of Earthman or just a natural order of things, is open to interpretation.
THE NATURE OF THINGS: WHAT SPACE IS LIKE
Physical space in total consists of two universes, each the antithesis of the other. There is the positive, matter universe in which Alpha originated and is wandering, the universe in which evolutionary time for intelligent species goes forwards. Barring localized upsets triggered by such calamitous events as death of a space brain, there is a detectable order in the existence of worlds and life forms- whether that order be a result of a higher power's will and intervention or by established laws of nature and/or benevolence or purpose of some of the more highly evolved species of the cosmos, who became what they are through natural processes.
And there is the other universe, on a different continuum, moving backwards in evolutionary time. This is the universe of anti-matter. In it, intelligent creatures are hopelessly devolving into oblivion, which is the only order that may be found in what is for the most part a chaotic universe wherein mindless creatures, scarcely very far to go from becoming primordial slime, are living a primitive existence, reproducing themselves instinctively, to balance life-force with that of the positive universe.
Separating these two continua is hyperspace, an extra-dimensional area of exotic color and compellingly beautiful chaos (seen in space warps), through which phenomena from the positive universe can short-cut in journeys through their space. It is the means by which Taybor the trader can do almost
instantaneous transfers from place to place in his jump-drive spaceship. By the same principle, the neutrino transmission from 2120 Earth utilizes the bypass of hyperspace to teleport messages and objects most of the millions of light-years of distance to the runaway Moon in another galaxy. The almost
massless neutrinos conveying Earth's message travel through hyperspace so fast on their controlled journey that they are unaffected by the chaos of hyperspace and arrive almost immediately at their destination to act as a two-way link between Earth and Moonbase Alpha, before a galactic eclipse separates Earth and Moon. When the eclipse occurs, Earth is no longer able to pinpoint the Moon's location, and without exact spatial coordinates to lock onto, Earth can no longer use hyperspace to send further messages to Alpha.
Hyperspace is the medium by which the speed of light can be bypassed and direct, instant teleporting can be done- and is done by many of the aliens that the Alphans meet. While spaceships with jump-drive devices can exploit hyperspace to go anywhere that their pilots wish with a wave of a hand, others with space warp locator equipment can use space warps, the "doors" into hyperspace at various points in the "fabric" of space, to cut interstellar or intergalactic travel time from weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, or millennia, to minutes or hours. Black suns are also "doors" into hyperspace, and they can provide passage to anywhere in the positive cosmos.
Sometimes, the chaos in the warps affects time, and objects that enter into areas of hyperspace in which there is time distortion, can be hurled forward or backward, either in their own calendar time (especially if there was another localized disturbance in space or time being experienced prior to the point of entry into a warp) or in that of the surrounding universe. Temporal duplication may also occur, as happens to the Alphans during their first space warp. Time ultimately "corrects itself", and the original Alphan voyage resumes.
It is generally not possible to voyage from one universe to the other through hyperspace, although, with a matter/anti-matter converter, it is possible to exchange personal bodily existence with an equal number of life forms from the opposite universe. But such a transfer requires cooperation of both parties, and usually, denizens of the matter universe are not likely to wish a total transfer to an anti-universe where evolution is downward to primordial slime, where their spirit is similarly doomed to oblivion, which is why anti-matter beings try to dupe unsuspecting material life forms into consensual exchange.
Whole worlds, even entire solar systems, of the anti-universe, can, through freak rips in their continuum at the exact same spots as rips in material space, partially or almost totally transfer into the positive universe. Planet Ultra and the Terra Novan solar system straddle such rip "boundaries" between the universes. They appear in material space by means of such freak rips in the two continua causing overlap. Ultra derives heat from a star in the anti-universe while situated almost wholly in normal space within view and reconnaissance distance from Moonbase Alpha in the late 1990s.
Terra Nova seems very solid and material, but its underground habitat, though somehow shielded by the planetary crust, is pure anti-matter. Material forms like Lee Russell can adapt to life there, though in an unstable state, reverting back and forth from matter to anti-matter depending on which of the two that they are in immediate contact with, and they can retain a compassionate spirit, should their anti-matter "hosts" be somewhat high on the anti-universe's evolutionary ladder- though their extinction, along with that universe and its indigenous inhabitants, is certain.
The planet Sunim is a similar example of a body which straddles a boundary. It appears and feels solid, while its humanoid inhabitants exist in a spiritual limbo, unable to fully assume solid form in material space, though over centuries of experimentation, they have managed to project an illusion of solidity. Due to an accident with a generator powering experimental matter/anti-matter conversion equipment, they have been consigned to oblivion in the other universe and are transparent in their doomed anti-material existence, yet can be seen and heard by those whom they try to trick into an exchange. Ideally, in order for a planet or creature to do a complete, stable, permanent transfer out of the doomed evolution in anti-time in the anti-universe, there has to be an exchange with a planet or life form of near equal anatomical composition, to maintain the "balance" in life-force between the two universes. This is the quest of Vindrus and his people, which is eventually foiled by the Alphans, who use one of their own nuclear generators to give to Sunim and its people an explosive push fully into anti-space. Presumably, for the Sunimians to have "crossed over" by accident to anti-space, some natural adjustment must have occurred to maintain the balance. Perhaps this is the explanation for the intrusion of Ultra and the Terra Nova solar system almost entirely into normal space.
Though anti-matter cannot entirely exist in the same space as matter without a colossal explosion, it can be artificially created in a laboratory, with sufficient vacuum shielding to prevent contact with solid matter. The Dorcons power their spaceship with artificially produced anti-matter and journey through space at speeds nearly half that of light and into and out of space warp bypasses. But when their delicate shielding collapses, the Dorcons and their spaceship are thrown partially into hyperspace and obliterated. Professor Bergman is able to preserve some of Lee Russell's skin tissues for experimental purposes in a shielded containment vacuum tube, and he harnesses some of this now-pure anti-matter to bombard a chunk of living rock from Balor's asteroid, itself placed inside of a steady-state vacuum cubicle. The anti-matter is instantaneously "sucked" back into the vacuum tube before the piece of living rock materializes.
When positive space and its superior beings finally reach a state of perfection, an opposite fate will await its counterpart and all of those in it: total entropy and spiritual oblivion.
PRE-BREAKAWAY EVENTS
* denotes relative Earth date
(date) event information
(circa 18,000,000 B.C.) planet Ariel's cylindrical probeships reach the Earth-Moon system and establish an observation post on the Moon's surface, with periodic transmissions, through hyperspace, back to Ariel
(circa 5,000,000 B.C.*) inhabitants of the planet Triton dispatch eye-like deep-space probes to glean knowledge from rival civilizations for purposes of defense against invasions; two such probes eventually travel through hyperspace to Earth
(circa 22,000 B.C.) Arkadian settlers land in North Africa, mate with primitive man, and give rise to the human race
(circa 20,000 B.C.) despite 5 million light-years' distance, the transcendent mental powers of the Zennites focus on the developing species of homo sapiens on Earth as an interesting subject for study
(circa 19,000 B.C.) the Tritonian probes arrive in the Egyptian region on Earth and transmit information on the development of homo sapiens
(circa 9000 B.C.*) Tritonians construct further computer spheres to monitor future human expansion into space
(circa 5000 B.C.*) the earliest recorded events in Psychon history occur
(circa 1200 B.C.) Magus the space magician contends in "magic" with Moses of ancient Egypt
(circa 20 A.D.) Simon Magus petitions Christ's apostles on the possibility of buying the Nazarene's powers
(circa 500 A.D.) Magus reappears on Earth in the person of the legendary sorcerer, Merlin
(circa 510 A.D.*) alien intelligences lacking physical bodies choose the plant life of planet Luton through which to have a corporeal existence, heralding a prolonged war with the herbivorous animal life on the planet that ends with the total annihilation of the animals and dominance for the "possessed" plants, which subsequently declare planet Luton a sacred habitat and refuge for plant life and retain a humanoid work force to periodically release insects and birds to continue natural processes enabling pollenation
(circa 520 A.D.*) scientists on planet Progron discover immortality by way of cellular regeneration and bestow the "gift" of eternity on their people, who, in centuries to follow, become apathetic and corrupt
(April 9, 1016) Archanons Pasc and Etrec are placed in a stasis chamber beneath the surface of the Moon after they are afflicted with the dreaded "killing sickness" during an evangelical mission to Earth
(May 18, 1085*) Balor of Progron is overpowered and placed in his asteroid prison in Progron year 80674
(November 23, 1318*) a nuclear reactor on the S.S. Daria explodes just two decades into its voyage to a new planet on which the Darian race is to settle; the explosion and the resultant radiation leak cause extensive material and human damage on the huge spaceship
(January 1, 1314) the Battle of Bannockburn
(December 31, 1338) John Koenig, Helena Russell, and Alan Carter are hurled into Scotland in this period of the Black Plague as a result of the bungled attempt by Texas City to teleport them to Earth in 2120
(1503-1566) Magus appears on Earth as the legendary seer, Nostradamus
(circa 1600-1700*) as their home planet of Caldor faces imminent death, several thousand Caldorians migrate in suspended animation spaceships to various neighboring solar systems; one of the space vessels embarks upon a 425-year journey to Earth in its crew's hope of settling there
(October 2, 1746*) the Golosian High Court sentences a group of sadistic rebels to exile in sealed cryogenic containers floating in space
(June 22, 1932*) Delmer Powys Plebus Gwent constructs an immensely powerful and potentially immortal computer spaceship and programs his personality into the "brain" of the spaceship-sized apparatus; then, he departs planet Zemo as the sole passenger in the spaceship bearing his name and character traits
(October 4, 1957) Sputnik 1, man's first artificial satellite, is launched into Earth orbit
(September 9, 1958) Victor Bergman studies Sciences at Cambridge
(November 3, 1958) the U.S.S.R. sends its first inhabited capsule into space. It contains a dog, "Laika"
(September 12, 1959) the Soviet Luna 2 lands on the Moon and discovers that the Moon is enveloped by a layer of low-energy ionized gas
(January-April, 1960) the Soviet Luna 3 circumnavigates the Moon for first pictures of the Moon's far side
(April 12, 1961) the U.S.S.R. sends the first Earthman into space, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in Vostok 1, for one orbit of Earth
(May 5, 1961) Alan Sheppard is the first American in space, launched in "Freedom 7"
(July 21, 1961) Virgil I. Grissom is the second American astronaut, in "Liberty Bell 7"
(February 20, 1962) "Friendship 7", piloted by John Glenn Jr., is successfully launched into space
(November 29, 1962) the United States launches its first animal, a chimpanzee named "Enos", into space
(October 2, 1964) Victor Bergman achieves a Doctorate in Space Sciences
(October 15, 1964) Victor Bergman is hired to work at the British Astronomical Society's observatory in Greenwich, England
(July 16, 1968) Victor Bergman is awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in determining the presence of natural satellites through close examination of planetary movements
(September 10, 1968) Ernst Queller studies Engineering at Berlin University
(July 20, 1969) Neil Armstrong of the Apollo 11 space flight sets foot on the Moon
(1970-1980) irrefutable evidence of alien spacecraft on Earth and of their role in the disappearance and mutilation of people results in the formation of a top secret task force dedicated to defending Earth from the alien menace; a paramilitary organization called S.H.A.D.O. with installations on the Moon and at strategic points on Earth and in Earth orbit comes into being over the next decade, and many of the world's leading scientists are congregated into a "think tank" toward the building of sophisticated vehicles, computers, and weaponry; the resultant giant strides in technology have non-S.H.A.D.O. application also in the years to follow, among them artificial gravity fields and better and better propulsion systems for manned interplanetary and unmanned interstellar space travel; however, nobody outside of S.H.A.D.O. can know how these technological developments occurred and to what purpose they are originally applied; S.H.A.D.O.'s technical operation is led by Commander Edward Straker and its bureaucratic administration, the International Astrophysical Commission, responsible for funding and for overseeing the secrecy of S.H.A.D.O. and that will eventually become the World Space Commission, is under the control of General James Henderson; during these years, the surface of the near side of the Moon becomes a mineral search site by private concerns, and S.H.A.D.O. must tolerate their presence on the Moon, until an injunction against further economic exploitation of the Moon is endorsed by the United Nations in the early 1980s
(July 5, 1971) Victor Bergman joins the Sciences faculty at Cambridge
(September 5, 1978) John Koenig enrolls at New York University in the Arts program
1980) Earth is a confirmed target for a U.F.O.-piloting alien species from a dying planet seeking organ replacements and a new home in space; thus, S.H.A.D.O. is put into full-scale operation
(January 5, 1982) N.A.S.A. launches an unmanned spacecraft to Venus for close inspection of that planet's atmosphere, and S.H.A.D.O. covertly accompanies the return of the American Venus Probe due to the possibility of alien interference or attack
(June 21, 1982) John Koenig graduates with a Bachelor of Arts and follows with a two-year, intensive Sciences degree
(September 9, 1983) David Kano enrolls in Computer Science at Harvard
(November 8, 1983) while working at the Berlin Institute of Technology that is secretly funded for the most part by S.H.A.D.O., Ernst Queller devises a fast neutron propulsion system capable of carrying a small spaceship across space at nearly a third of the speed of light, but since the radioactive fallout is lethal to people, this drive can only be used for unmanned space probes.
(1984) an E.S.P.-capable person reveals the aliens' intention to abandon Earth as a place to station and plunder tissues and to instead opt for another planet in the Barnard's Star system, and subsequent to this is a marked decline in U.F.O. incidents and then none at all; new interception spacecraft called Hawks are built but receive very little use for S.H.A.D.O.'s purpose; the Hawks are purchased in secret by the U.S. military for future application in combat
(June 12, 1984) John Koenig receives his second degree, in Science, and goes to M.I.T. to study Astronautics; he meets Diana Morris at a jazz ballet group; she is there on a lark, supposedly to study Electrical Engineering, while she peruses the many bachelors at Astronaut School
(September 6, 1984) Helena Gordon attends Medical College at the University of Chicago, where she meets her mentor, Dr. Randolph Shaw, and it is while attending a seminar in Space Medicine given by Professor Emmanuel Dylan Batrun at M.I.T. that she has casual acquaintance with John Koenig and Diana Morris
(December 9, 1984) John Koenig meets and falls in love with Jean Stevens, who is at M.I.T. studying human stress factors in space for her Masters degree in Psychology
(January 10, 1985) Alan Carter joins the Australian Air Force
(June 28, 1985) John Koenig marries Jean Stevens in Boston
(July 22, 1985) Helena Gordon meets John Koenig again; the two are attending a talk given by Dr. Cabot Rowland at M.I.T. regarding the upcoming Astro 1 Uranus Probe on which he is to be Medical Officer
(1985-6) with U.F.O. incidents no longer occurring, S.H.A.D.O. is disbanded; all information relating to S.H.A.D.O. is vaulted as top secret and no information is to be divulged under any circumstances; S.H.A.D.O. Moonbase is completely scrapped to prevent discovery of its existence and purpose; S.H.A.D.O. Earth orbital platforms are converted to research stations for utilization by N.A.S.A. and the European Space Agency (E.S.A.) and some of them to military use by the U.S.; all S.H.A.D.O. operatives except for Straker and a few others are confined to an island on which to live the remainder of their lives in utmost secrecy; space exploration including further use of the Moon as a platform for human endeavor is henceforth, unless otherwise designated, to be scientific
(September 22, 1985) the Interspace Research Commission (I.R.C.) is formed; it is the transition between the former International Astrophysical Commission and the World Space Commission of the late-1980s and the 1990s
(October 11, 1985) Dr. Josef Verbinski and Dr. Blair Jacobsen start work on their I.R.C.-sponsored study on the relationship between space travel and changes in human behavior, especially sleep patterns; people stationed on Earth orbital platforms are subjected to sleep monitoring; additional research is conducted at M.I.T. by a group including John and Jean Koenig
(November 24, 1985) Jim Haines' parents, Ken and Eileen, are chosen for duty on the Discovery orbital station, and in their absence, Jim stays with his aunt and uncle
(November 28, 1985) the Space Shuttle Falcon, using propulsion technology first devised by S.H.A.D.O. and designed to service the Russian MIR space station, is unveiled at the Burun Space Centre in Vostaach, Russia
(December 8, 1985) Voyager One, powered by the Queller Drive engine, is successfully launched from Cape Kennedy under ordinary rocket power; the Queller Drive "kicks in" as planned once the Voyager is past the Moon's orbit, and its objective is an interstellar information-gathering flight lasting centuries
(January 28, 1986) Voyager Two launches under ordinary rocket power from Cape Kennedy, but just as it is passing six orbital stations, the Queller Drive "cuts in" too soon, spraying fast neutrons in the direction of the six manned satellites, including the Discovery space station, and causing them to explode, killing 205 people; Paul Morrow's father, Christopher, is among those killed, as are both of Jim Haines' parents
(January 30, 1986) N.A.S.A. unanimously decides to suspend the Queller Drive program; the Astro 1 Uranus Probe is, of course, a manned mission and therefore not intended to be powered by the Queller Drive; Astro 1 is set to launch, on schedule, from Cape Kennedy
(February 22, 1986) a permanent Moon base, given the name of Alpha, is proposed by the I.R.C. as a long-term project for serious consideration by the European Space Agency, N.A.S.A., Glavskosmos, and companies around the world who are interested in space exploration; hearings are held at universities and colleges in the U.S., Canada, and Europe; Cabot Rowland attends a few such hearings, whose very promising results lead him to believe that construction of Moonbase Alpha is a certainty within a decade
(March 25, 1986) Astro 1, commanded by Jack Tanner and Cabot Rowland, is launched from Cape Kennedy and is directed toward the outer Solar System; it is planned to pass the planets Mars and Jupiter on its way to reconnoiter Uranus
(September 9, 1986) Tony Verdeschi attends Rome University in the Arts program
(November 24, 1986) John Koenig meets Victor Bergman while Bergman is at M.I.T. to give an address on the proposed construction of a permanent Moon base, and they become close correspondents and friends
(February 14, 1987) the Iranian Jihad "storms" the U.S. embassy in Teheran and seizes 45 hostages; it wants U.S. information on nuclear bomb manufacture; the Americans refuse any deal
(February 28, 1987) Gustav Dorfmann perfects the first fully functioning mechanical heart while conducting research at the Mayo Clinic in Boston
(April 7, 1987) David Kano partakes in an experiment at Harvard to implant computer fiber-sensors in the cortex of his brain
(April 24, 1987) contact is lost with the Astro 1 after it is hit with a proton storm just short of reaching its objective, Uranus; crew are presumed dead
(May 26, 1987) Victor Bergman returns to teaching as Professor of Astrophysics at Cambridge
(June 1, 1987) one of the 45 hostages held in Teheran dies; the U.S. still refuses to deal
(August 5, 1987) Victor Bergman collapses during a talk on the necessity of peace for space research, and he is diagnosed with heart disease
(August 8, 1987) the Iranian Jihad releases its 44 American hostages; the reason for this sudden change of resolve is as yet unclear
(August 26, 1987) Iranian terrorists destroy a peace tower in Bali and kill 309 people, including Alan Carter's Eurasian girlfriend; the Western democracies all issue statements condemning this action, and the United States contemplates military action against Iran; problem, however, is that Iran's cohort, Syria, has a military alliance with the U.S.S.R.
(October 3, 1987) Syrian terrorists detonate a hydrogen bomb in Geneva, Switzerland, destroying the entire country; John Koenig's wife, Jean, on vacation there with her sister, is killed in the explosion
(October 5, 1987) the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. both express revulsion at the terrorist attack (the worst ever) and form an alliance for the prevention of further Islamic terrorism; joint secret plans for a retaliatory military strike are drawn
October 7, 1987) the U.S.-Soviet strafing run over Syria destroys the Syrian Nuclear Research Facility
(October 12, 1987) an Iranian-Syrian terrorist group infiltrates a nuclear power plant near Ankara, Turkey, and primes an explosive device, breaking open the reactor and holding area and causing a massive radiation discharge; thousands die, and many more are exposed to severe doses of radioactivity; neither nation immediately claims responsibility for this particular assault
(October 15, 1987) another atomic power plant attack is executed by Palestinian and Iranian gunmen who invade the Swedish Nuclear Facility north of Stockholm and steal plutonium to build a nuclear bomb
(November 2, 1987) a nuclear explosion destroys Tel Aviv, and Israel declares war on Syria, Iran, and Libya, the three of whom are believed responsible for the attack
(November 3, 1987) in accordance with its alliance with Israel, the U.S. declares war on the same three Arabian states; for the time being, the Soviet Union is neutral, but all U.S. allies, including Canada, Western Europe, Japan, and Turkey, declare war on the three Jihad states
(November 4, 1987) Syria and Israel exchange non-atomic missile fire, and ground troops are deployed along the borders; the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force activate the Draft; Iraqi terrorists detonate a bomb at a Pennsylvania power plant, causing deadly radioactive fallout; thus, the United States declares war on Iraq, which joins Iran, Syria, and Libya.
(November 5, 1987) the American military drops incendiary bombs over Syria and Iraq
(November 6, 1987) a Soviet ambassador at the United Nations is assassinated by an Iranian, bringing the U.S.S.R. into the war; a sizable group of blacks march on Washington to protest the Draft, and white Military Police open fire on the crowd, triggering race riots throughout the U.S. and Canada; a terrorist attack in Tokyo results in the obliteration of a building
(November 8, 1987) the C.N. Tower in Toronto, Canada, is leveled by a bomb planted by Iranian terrorists; Teheran is struck by several missiles launched from Israel, and the Iranian leader vows revenge; the Conscription crisis continues in the U.S., and a new revelation on a secret nuclear-arms-for-hostages deal jolts the Presidency; the White House had approved a clandestine deal of two nuclear bombs for the release of hostages in Iran and several hundred million dollars in payment, the money having then been spent to provide equipment to Nicaraguan Contras in their fight against a Communist regime
(November 9, 1987) with U.S. agreement, Canada institutes mandatory internment of all Arabian-Canadians, and the United States decides to do the same
(November 10, 1987) Soviet bombers make strafing runs over Syria, Iran, and Iraq; Armenia decides to revolt against the Soviet government at this critical time, and the result is further bloodshed; the American President denies any knowledge of a secret arms-for-hostages deal with Iran
(November 11, 1987) black demonstrators at a Remembrance Day service in Ottawa go out of control, and the resulting brawl kills fifty-two; martial law is declared throughout Canada and the U.S.
(November 15, 1987) economic hardship in the U.S.S.R. causes simultaneous revolts in urban areas; the K.G.B. opens gunfire on the demonstrators
(November 16, 1987) when documents surface proving the White House's part in the Iran-Contra deal, the President and his staff are forced to resign; civil war erupts throughout the Soviet Union; bombing of Arabian states resumes
(November 17, 1987) the U.S.S.R. bows out of the war; officials at the Pentagon decide to drop nuclear bombs on the Syrian and Iranian capitals, with Soviet acquiescence
(November 18, 1987) atomic bombs are dropped on Teheran and Damascus; in turn, Syria launches a massive assault on Israel; so, U.S. and Israeli forces drop another two bombs on Syria; the Soviet regime is overthrown, and a provisional government attempts to run the country on democratic principles
(November 20, 1987) the Syrian government is ousted as radioactive fallout contaminates the whole country; Iranian authorities attempt to quell a rebellion by firing their guns against the mobs, but the revolution is successful, and the Ayatollah is executed
(November 21, 1987) Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Libya surrender; international hostilities cease, but deaths continue due to radiation
(November 23, 1987) world peace conference is convened in Amsterdam; the four Arabian countries agree to sign a declaration that no further terrorist groups will be sponsored, and United Nations inspection teams are to be allowed into these countries to check for hidden nuclear bombs; atomic weapons are banned, and all member nations agree to disassemble their bombs and missiles and search for a suitable disposal site for the broken-down component nuclear materials
(November 24, 1987) as a crucial aspect of the peace agreement, to quell the Islamic Jihad, religion is no longer permitted to have any part in a government's policy decisions; total secularization of states world-wide is to be the working basis of the peace; disgruntled Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. prepare to lobby Washington, to no avail, and the fundamentalists plan an attack on the space program that they blame for their loss of influence
(November 26, 1987) by agreement between the new Russian government, the European Community (E.C.), and the United States, all satellites are to be demilitarized, and the nations involved are to cooperate in turning the satellites into platforms for a major international space effort, the culmination being a Moon base and orbital stations around Earth, Venus, and Mars. N.A.S.A., Glavskosmos, the E.S.A., Japan Aerospace, and several private companies are to merge programs under the banner of the World Space Commission, an international body to promote interest in and coordinate efforts toward the peaceful exploration of space
(December 11, 1987) the Pegasus space platform is converted out of an American military satellite/missile launcher; the also-demilitarized Falcon space shuttles are to be used for transport to and from Pegasus
(December 18, 1987) Victor Bergman is one of the first recipients of a Dorfmann mechanical heart
(February 26, 1988) under the guidance of the newly-formed International Lunar Finance Committee (I.L.F.C.), the World Space Commission (W.S.C.) puts the Centauri Space Station under construction between the Earth and the Moon; plans for a permanent Moon base are produced, with Victor Bergman having a key position in the planning stage
(June 21, 1988) Professor Lawrence Benes, father of Sandra, invents the Interstellar Transmitter allowing for instantaneous transmission of messages across billions of miles of space
(July 9, 1988) Helena Gordon is offered a position at a prominent hospital in Minneapolis
(July 12, 1988) construction of Moonbase Alpha begins in the crater Plato in the Sea of Showers; Doctors Verbinski and Jacobsen submit their work on human behavior patterns and are selected as members of the initial planning team
(July 18, 1988) Helena Gordon is granted an award for her brilliant work in neurosurgery by the eminent Professor Emmanuel Dylan Batrun
(August 8, 1989) the first, central section of Moonbase Alpha is completed, stationing fifty people, and the acting Commander is Andrei Vasayov; construction continues on the branching sections
(September 7, 1989) John Koenig joins Astronaut Cadets, where he meets Tony Cellini, Sam Petersen, and Tessa Underhill
(November 30, 1989) Helena Gordon meets astronaut Lee Russell at a fund-raising dinner party in St. Paul
(February 3, 1990) Astro 2, consisting of a Mothership and 2 Swift support spacecraft (stylish, faster variations on the Falcon shuttles), is sent to Mars for a manned landing and to establish a permanent orbiting station, the Aragon; the Mothership will become the station, once additional component modules are constructed; Cadet Tony Cellini is on the mission, piloting one of the Swifts; Falcon shuttles are used as Earth-to-Mars supply spaceships during and after the completion of Space Station Aragon
(May 23, 1990) Helena Gordon and Lee Russell are married in St. Paul; Dr. Shaw gives her away
(June 25, 1990) Tony Verdeschi graduates from the University of Rome with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
(July 5, 1990) Steve Maddox replaces Andrei Vasayov as the Commander of Moonbase Alpha
(September 11, 1990) Tony Verdeschi goes to Cambridge to obtain a Phd in Sociology
(January 5, 1991) Helena Russell accepts a position at the Space Commission Medical Authority, affording to her the chance to work at the same place as her husband, astronaut Lee Russell
(February 4, 1991) under the terms of the Peace Conference, all nuclear weapons are disassembled, and their nuclear material is buried with non-military atomic wastes on the far side of the Moon in a site designated as Waste Disposal Area One; Moonbase Alpha, in addition to its scientific work and space research, will act as a watchdog over the disposal and continued storage of the wastes
(April 11, 1991) Sam and Tessa are engaged to be married
(May 2, 1991) Tony Cellini is a crew member on a successful Astro 3 Mission to Venus, with a Mothership that will become the orbiting Space Station Aphrodite, and two Swift support spacecraft; Cadets Sam and Tessa are assigned to duty on Aphrodite within two years; Cellini returns to Earth in one of the Swifts
(October 17, 1991) Ryo Takanashi succeeds Steve Maddox as Moonbase Commander
(January 5, 1992) Astro 4 is an Earth-to-Mercury reconnaissance flight; from Earth to Venus, it is manned, but once the crew stop at Aphrodite to await Falcon shuttle transport back to Earth, the Mercury Probe resumes unmanned with an experimental computer-robot, a forerunner to the Captain Michael Brain
(August 3, 1992) the Eagle Transporter replaces the Falcon shuttle, with its superior combined cold fusion and liquid oxygen drive giving longer range and 20% faster speed; Falcons continue to be used for ground-to-orbit ferries of supplies or personnel; Eagles are used primarily for direct Earth-to-Moon travel
(November 12, 1992) Astro 5, a Mothership and one Swift, is sent to Mars as part of an orbital unmanned satellite construction project
(February 27, 1993) Space Station Aphrodite sends unmanned scout spaceships to the infernal surface of Venus to map the terrain and acquire mineralogical readings
(June 15, 1993) aboard Astro 6, graduating cadets Sam Petersen and Tessa Underhill are part of a replacement team sent via Swifts to Space Station Aphrodite; John Koenig also comes on the mission, although he is not posted for duty on Aphrodite
(June 21, 1993) Tony Verdeschi completes his Phd with a thesis on human stress in space, its effect on relationships, and the policing requirements
(June 29, 1993) the Commander of Astro 6 decides to abandon scientists on Aphrodite after a mysterious virus brought from the surface of Venus by an unmanned probe starts to spread plague-like symptoms among the Aphrodite crew; Sam and Tessa, John Koenig's friends, are part of an advance party already on Aphrodite and are among those left to die to prevent spread of the infection to Earth
(July 5, 1993) Paul Morrow signs onto the British Astronaut Training Program
(August 7, 1993) having graduated from pilot training, Peter Rockwell becomes pilot on the Transatlantic Superbird Concorde lines, and he will meet Sandra Benes on one of his flights
(November 5, 1993) Giovanni Petra assumes the position of Moonbase Commander; he is fourth to serve in this capacity
(November 24, 1993) Tony Verdeschi enters the European Astronaut Training School
(December 5, 1993) Moonbase Alpha's life-support system reaches its ultimate form, with a multi-layered titanium-dylenide-crystal-alloyed main core that is virtually indestructible, and, to channel the power through Alpha for full-scale Moonbase operation, 10 smaller, less durable auxiliary units; a space warp at 361 days after leaving Earth orbit will damage one of the auxiliary life-support systems, necessitating titanium or a suitable replacement therefor, e.g. terranium, for its repair
(March 4, 1994) Astro 7, commanded by Lee Russell, launches successfully from Cape Kennedy for a journey to the Mars space station to relieve some of the crew there and to then proceed to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and then to Jupiter for a close reconnaissance of some of the Jovian moons
(May 13, 1994) external construction on Moonbase Alpha is completed; Launch Pad One and Space Exploration Division are put into full operation; above-ground area supports 100 people as underground work continues
(May 15, 1994) Nuclear Waste Area One is superseded by the larger Waste Area Two
(July 3, 1994) Moonbase Alpha launches its first space probe, the unmanned Spacefarer One, toward the Sun to study Solar flares
(July 30, 1994) Alan Carter signs onto the U.S.-Australian Space Cooperation Program
(August 3, 1994) Bill Fraser joins the Canadian Air Force
(August 8, 1994) Victor Bergman discovers the planet Ultra in an area of space relative to the outer Solar System, but off the plane of the ecliptic almost by 40 degrees; the planet, never having been seen before, is thought to have originated outside the Solar System, and this unprecedented phenomenon warrants serious consideration for a manned space probe, the most ambitious ever undertaken; however, Astro 7 is receiving full priority now with its mineralogical survey of asteroids and some of Jupiter's moons
(September 22, 1994) Spacefarer 2, another unmanned probe, is dispatched to Mercury's far side to relay two years' worth of readings on the harsh conditions
(September 24, 1994) John Koenig and Tony Cellini are assigned to the Reconnaissance Section on Moonbase Alpha
(October 11, 1994) Juliet Mackie comes to Alpha's Sciences Department on the request of her former teacher, Victor Bergman; in addition to being one of the foremost experts on Nuclear Physics and one of the architects of Alpha's radiation screening system, she is a skilled astronomer
(November 21, 1994) Contact is lost with Astro 7 as it moves into an orbit around Jupiter and high radiation levels and serious mechanical problems are reported; because no further transmissions are received, Lee Russell and his crew are presumed dead
(November 25, 1994) Helena Russell resigns from the Medical staff at the World Space Commission and withdraws into herself
(December 3, 1994) Spacefarer 3 departs Moonbase Alpha on its unmanned mission to study conditions on the Martian moon, Phobos
(May 6, 1995) Moonbase Alpha launches unmanned Spacefarers 4 and 5 to probe the Jupiter system to look for clues as to what went wrong with Astro 7
(June 2, 1995) Anton Gorski assumes the position of Moonbase Alpha Commander for the first of two separate stints
(September 13, 1995) Bill Fraser attends classes in Space Sciences at Queen's University in Toronto; he is eventually assigned to Alpha's Sciences Section, although he is also an excellent pilot and will work in this capacity most of the time
(October 13, 1995) years of economic difficulty in Russia cause riots to erupt all over the country; the provisional government loses a confidence vote, and Communist hard-liners gain control
(October 14, 1995) Siberia and the Baltic provinces threaten to secede if the Communists consolidate their hold on power
(October 16, 1995) Russia starts rearming with the intention of intimidating the dissenting republics
(October 19, 1995) the U.S., unnerved by Russia's turn to rearmament, resigns from the W.S.C. and starts allocating funds to the building of arms
(October 20, 1995) the E.C. denounces both the Soviet and U.S. military build-up and promises to boycott all U.S. products if the build-up is not stopped
(October 22-27, 1995) anti-war demonstrations occur in several countries
(January 13, 1996) William J. Dixon is appointed Commissioner of the World Space Commission
(January 19, 1996) his organizational abilities extensively documented, Paul Morrow is assigned to Alpha as a Main Mission staffer; within a year, he becomes Main Mission Controller, and on his second tour of duty, starting in 1999, Morrow will assume that position until he is lost in a planetary encounter during the Moon's post-1999 space odyssey
(February 2, 1996) the U.S., the E.C., and several additional nations boycott the Winter Olympics in Leningrad
(February 5, 1996) when Russia moves to "clamp down" on Siberia and the Baltics, the United States dispatches Mark IX Hawk spaceships over the North Pole to attack Murmansk, Leningrad, and Moscow; strategic targets are hit, and casualties are minimal, but the Communists vow to retaliate
(February 7, 1996) detection of possible U.F.O. activity between the Solar System and Alpha Centauri leads to the temporary reactivation of S.H.A.D.O.; Straker and his colleagues petition the W.S.C. to launch a heavily armed Mothership and four Swifts all fitted with the new Nova Drive, permitting them to reach one quarter of the speed of light, to investigate; when this mission, commanded by Captain Michael, loses contact with Earth, it is presumed destroyed by the U.F.O. aliens and information surrounding it is installed in Moonbase Alpha computer banks but is only accessible during a memory review process authorized by Moonbase Alpha Commander; as this mission involves the use of the new Nova Drive, to which the Mothership and the four Swifts are adapted, these particular Swifts are thinner in shape and fitted with additional propulsion tubes on both sides of the upper hull; because of the different appearance of these Swifts, Koenig does not immediately recognize Brian's Swift when it first appears on Command Centre's Big Screen during Alpha's encounter with Brian the Brain (Captain Michael's computer-robot), though he does notice the distinctive features (the grasshopper-like legs, the eye-like indentations in the nose cone); concerned about the possibility of an alien attack, the W.S.C. secretly installs laser batteries on the Lunar surface that are later found by the Alphans following the break from Earth orbit
(February 8, 1996) Moonbase Alpha launches the unmanned Spacefarer 6 to track comets
(February 11-12, 1996) a mass revolt in Moscow results in the ousting of the Communists and a return to democracy
(February 17, 1996) Christian fundamentalists hijack a Falcon shuttle leaving Cape Kennedy for the Pegasus Two manned orbital platform; once the shuttle docks with Pegasus Two, the fundamentalists open gunfire on the crew of the platform, killing 26 people; the gunmen are subdued and placed into custody
(February 18-22, 1996) in the shared revulsion at this act of religiously espoused brutality, international tensions ease
(February 28, 1996) the United States rejoins the W.S.C.; all rearmament on both sides ceases
(March 2, 1996) the W.S.C. decides to declare faith in the new detente by launching the new Nova Drive-fitted Astro 8 Ultra Probe to send a manned flight to Ultra at the fringe of the Solar System; an international news network on space research and exploration, "Space News", is established
(June 6, 1996) Astro 8, the Ultra Probe, commanded by Tony Cellini, with a crew consisting of Darwin King, Juliet Mackie, and Monique Fauchere, leaves for its eight-month trek to Ultra from the Centauri Space Dock; it is powered by the Nova Drive
(November 22, 1996) Spacefarer 7, unmanned, is launched toward Saturn
(November 30, 1996) Helena Russell resumes her work at the W.S.C.
(February 19, 1997) the Ultra Probe reaches its objective, and contact with it is lost
(August 12, 1997) Dr. Bob Mathias comes to Alpha to work in Medical Centre
(August 18, 1997) Anton Gorski resigns as Moonbase Commander due to personal crises on Earth, and his replacement is Anatoly Grodno
(September 1, 1997) the unmanned Spacefarer 8 is launched toward Uranus to study Uranus' eccentric rotational and orbital pattern
(September 4, 1997) the Ultra Probe Command Module is located on its course back to Earth
(September 15, 1997) Tony Cellini is found bearded and near death inside the recovered capsule from the lost Ultra Probe
(September 18, 1997) Tony Cellini is put under medical observation because he claims that a tentacled monster killed his crew
(October 16, 1997) Commissioner William J. Dixon "grounds" Tony Cellini, John Koenig, and Victor Bergman in a vain effort to retain credibility after the failure of the Ultra Probe; except for Koenig, nobody believes Cellini's story
(January 3, 1998) William J. Dixon is replaced by Gerald Simmonds as Commissioner at the W.S.C.
(January 7, 1998) Hiroshi Nakamura is appointed seventh Moonbase Commander
(October 6, 1998) Ben Vincent meets Louisa Willis while studying Medicine at U.C.L.A.
(October 25, 1998) Boston Red Sox defeat St. Louis Cardinals in Game Seven of the World Series
(November 12, 1998) Greg Sanderson is assigned to duty on Alpha as a surface explorer
(November 11, 1998) the unmanned Spacefarer 9 is launched from Alpha to reconnoiter the outermost planets of the Solar System
(December 1, 1998) planet Meta is discovered "southward" off of the Solar System's plane of the ecliptic in the vicinity of the outer planet Pluto; a manned space flight, Astro 9, is proposed to learn why yet another planet has such an unusual position relative to the other planets in the Solar System; however, contributors to the I.L.F.C., the Ultra Probe fiasco still foremost in their minds, are reluctant to commit to a project so strikingly similar in circumstance and planning; Commissioner Simmonds "stakes" his position on a successful completion of the mission, and the I.L.F.C. gives to the undertaking its tentative support
(January 2, 1999) Anton Gorski returns to serve another term as Commander of Moonbase Alpha
(January 4, 1999) Helena Russell becomes Chief Medical Officer on Moonbase Alpha
(January 18, 1999) Alan Carter is commissioned on Moonbase Alpha as Chief of Reconnaissance
(January 22, 1999) Eric Sparkman goes through the Astronaut Training Program as a potential candidate for piloting the Meta Probe
(May 17, 1999) Cynthia Crawford comes to Alpha for her first tour of duty as operative in Nuclear Generating Area Two, working with her husband, Jack Crawford, who is on his second tour of duty.
(June 5, 1999) Dr. Ernst Queller changes his surname to Linden and applies for duty in Moonbase's Technical Section
(June 8, 1999) Sandra Benes and Peter Rockwell are engaged to be married once Sandra's latest 4-month tour of duty is supposed to end
(June 12, 1999) Frank Warren goes through the Astronaut Training Program
(June 16, 1999) Bob Mathias returns to Alpha to be Dr. Russell's assistant in Medical Centre, and he will retain that position until he and Ben Vincent exchange duties at 1174 days after leaving Earth orbit
(June 21, 1999) Tony Verdeschi is assigned to duty in Alpha's Security Section
(July 2, 1999) on John Koenig's insistence, Tony Cellini is reassigned to Alpha in a low-profile Reconnaissance position
(July 5, 1999) Anton and Eva Zoref are assigned to Alpha's Technical and Data Sections
(July 9, 1999) Ben Vincent comes to Alpha for a 4-month tour of duty in Medical Centre; his fiancee, Louisa Willis, is still at U.C.L.A. in her final year studying Physiotherapy
(July 11, 1999) Bill Fraser signs on to service in Moonbase Alpha's Sciences Section
(July 14, 1999) Alibe Kurand arrives on Alpha for her tour of duty in Data Section
(July 17, 1999) Jim Kelly marries Melita Janni before the two are assigned to Alpha's Reconnaissance and Data Sections
(July 23, 1999) Eric Sparkman and Frank Warren are selected to man Astro 9, the Meta Probe; they begin their training flights over the far side of the Moon away from Alpha traffic and near the old Nuclear Waste Disposal Area One
(July 31, 1999) Jim Haines comes to Alpha on the Apprenticeship Program at Urbana University, and he is placed under the guidance of Dr. Ernst Linden (Queller)
(August 3, 1999) Dr. Hermann Ellendorff comes to Alpha to assemble his experimental Brain Impulse Machine for possible treatments of various mental diseases
(August 18, 1999) Blake Maine is sent to Alpha under the auspices of Montreal's Laval University's apprenticeship program and is tutored by Bob Mathias
(August 21, 1999) Clive Kander arrives on Alpha for duty as a Security guard and Records Officer
(August 20, 1999) Luke Ferro arrives on Alpha for a month-long photographic survey; the Ellendorff Brain Impulse Machine is completed and tested, and results are tentatively successful
(August 22, 1999) scientists at the Space Communications Division at M.I.T. start looking to neutrinos as a viable way of transmitting messages at unprecedented speeds across the cosmos; Victor Bergman is asked to come to Alpha as a scientific advisor for the Meta Probe Mission
(August 23, 1999) while on Earth to visit his ailing mother, Jack Crawford dies from an unknown cause; Commander Gorski orders a thorough radiation check in Nuclear Generating Area 2, but no radiation leakage is found; Crawford's wife, Cynthia, four months pregnant, remains on Moonbase Alpha to complete her tour of duty slated to end in mid-September
(August 27, 1999) at Cambridge, British engineers and physicists, including Professor Geoffrey Hunter, begin drawing plans for a theoretical faster-than-light Superswift spacecraft
(August 31, 1999) a worker at Nuclear Waste Disposal Area Two is stricken by crazed, violent behavior, glazed eyes, skin discolorations and lacerations, and a high fever; it looks like a rapid onset of radiation sickness, but no radiation leakage is detected at the site; waste Disposal Area One is also checked, and no leakage is found there either
(September 1, 1999) the Ellendorff Brain Impulse Machine is proposed as a potential treatment for the disorientation caused by the illness, despite Dr. Helena Russell's contention that it is an inoperable and untreatable form of radiation sickness; the machine does ease the disorientation, but as the source of the disease is an inoperable, cancerous growth in the brain, the disease is pronounced incurable
(September 2, 1999) the stricken worker dies of his illness; the unmanned Spacefarer 9 transmits close photographs of Meta indicating an atmosphere, but, judging from its distance from the Sun and its presumed extra-stellar origin, Meta should be completely frozen; curiosity is heightened about the planet, and a manned mission is ever more imperative
(September 3, 1999) mysterious radio signals are relayed from Meta by Spacefarer 9; meaning in the signals is unknown, but they probably indicate extraterrestrial life
(September 4, 1999) six more workers at Disposal Area Two become terminally sick; Commander Gorski attributes the fatalities to a virus and has all Waste Area Two workers quarantined; to avoid panic, a news blackout is imposed on Alpha, and civilian press on Earth is muzzled
(September 5, 1999) one by one, the six sick workers die; radiation experts Jack Bartlett and Joe Ehrlich are summoned to Alpha to oversee a thorough check at the disposal site
(September 6, 1999) a member of Bartlett and Ehrlich's inspection team behaves erratically and is hospitalized, and still no radiation leak is found
(September 7, 1999) another man dies of the sickness, and Frank Warren, one of the Meta Probe astronauts, exhibits the same symptoms; waste Area One, which was below their training route, is checked again, with negative results
(September 8, 1999) Eric Sparkman is also afflicted, and the Meta Probe is suspended, with the W.S.C. practically screaming for answers; a new Commander for Moonbase Alpha is appointed in hope that a different, firm presence in command will yield results in the investigation
(September 9, 1999) Helena Russell, Victor Bergman, and an additional radiation monitoring team go to Disposal Area Two, and one of the men, Jim Nordstrom, becomes violently disoriented and kills himself in a laser barrier; John Koenig arrives on Alpha to succeed Anton Gorski as Commander and is determined to find the cause of the spreading malady
(September 10, 1999) John Koenig and Victor Bergman visit Waste Area Two to conduct another search; their pilot, Mike Collins, goes berserk and nearly kills them, but, again, no perceptible radiation leakage in the usual sense is found; both Sparkman and Warren die of their illness, and Collins dies within a day, as does Paul Steiner, who was at Disposal Area Two on September 9
(September 11, 1999) a flare-up occurs at Nuclear Waste Area One; Koenig, Russell, and Bergman discover that a new and highly dangerous form of magnetic radiation was responsible for this flare-up, that all of the affected workers passed over Area One daily on their way to Area Two, and that the two dead Meta Probe astronauts also flew that route on their training flights
(September 12, 1999) a similar surge in magnetic levels registers at Waste Area Two, which contains over a hundred and forty times the amount of waste as Area One; a flare-up here could create a massive detonation of all of the wastes; Commissioner Gerald Simmonds arrives on Alpha and oversees the desperate operation to disperse the wastes over a wider area and reduce the magnetic pulse before it causes a chain-reaction of atomic blasts; every available Eagle with a modifiable middle section is fitted with a utility pod containing a magnetic crane for picking up the waste canisters from their silos, and sent to Area Two to begin work
(September 13, 1999) efforts to avert an explosive chain-reaction at Waste Area Two are not sufficient to prevent the disastrous blasts that send the Moon out of Earth orbit; when the first flare-up occurs at Area Two, signaling the beginning of the chain-reaction, two pilots are killed when their Eagle breaks apart; at Moonbase, Koenig orders Eagles to abort the dispersal mission and return to Alpha; however, with insufficient time for this, the Eagles must do a sudden landing on the Lunar surface, their pilots hoping that the radiation screens on each of their Eagles will protect them from the nuclear blast waves; further surges in magnetic energy occur, and their effect is intensified by the immense heat of the initial blast; the resulting second shockwave is as violent as the first, and it has the effect of overriding the centripetal force of the Moon's orbit, pushing the Moon away from Earth and 37 degrees "southward" from the plane of the ecliptic, so that it is impossible for the Moon to settle into a new orbit around the Earth or around the Sun; before the blasts, the Moon was moving in its orbit adjacent with Earth toward the far side of the Earth orbit, with the far side of the Moon pointed toward the Sun; so, when the breakaway blasts occur in the northern hemisphere of the Moon's far side, they have the effect of pushing the Moon from the Sun and "downward" from its orbit around Earth
THE IMMEDIATE BREAKAWAY AFTERMATH ON MOONBASE ALPHA
When gravitational forces connected with the Moon's break from Earth orbit subside and the Alphans are able to stand, a thorough damage and casualty check is conducted. No further casualties. Moonbase's population at this time is 311, which is the number that Earth has, the W.S.C. having been relayed the information on the two pilots believed dead at the start of the nuclear blasts chain reaction. An Earth news broadcast seen on Main Mission's Big Screen states this population figure of 311 before dissolving into a mess of static. 1999 Earth authorities express little hope of anyone on Alpha surviving the blasts and the Moon's drift.
WILDING FIELD AND THE RUNAWAY MOON'S MOTION
Instead of decelerating, Alpha moves at a constant velocity, and a rather rapid one, away from Earth and "southward" off of the Solar System's plane of the ecliptic. The nuclear blasts have yielded a new radiation which has reacted with the layer of ionized gas around the Moon to form a previously-theoretical Wilding Field, which reduces the Moon's inertia of mass and enables it to travel at such speed. The effect of the Wilding Field increases drastically when the Moon is almost entirely removed from the Sun's gravity. In interstellar space, the Moon's velocity approaches that of light, with associated time-dilation, so that, at maximum speed within the Wilding Field, the Moon traverses light-years in weeks in Moonbase Alpha time. The time-dilation causes considerable discrepancy between Alpha time and time on Earth, but random changes in the Moon's speed and trajectory complicate an exact measurement of this discrepancy.
THE FIRST DAYS OF THE MOON'S ODYSSEY
Return to Earth is declared impossible because of an as yet uncalculated amount of damage to Eagles in the nuclear blasts and due to the unexpected velocity of the Moon as it careens "southward" off of the ecliptic plane.
The Moon passes the planet Meta, from which radio signals continue to be received for several days. However, due to a limited amount of serviceable Eagles and insufficient time to mount a full-scale evacuation (with so few Eagles that can be used requiring repeat Alpha-to-planet transport) during the Moon's rapid passage by Meta, Koenig abandons any hope of colonizing Meta.
During the Moon's passage by Meta, the radio signals abruptly cease. And to the mystification of everybody on Alpha, Meta is found not to have an atmosphere, contrary to all earlier data, and is in fact a Pluto-like ice world.
Commander Koenig is given the full endorsement of Moonbase personnel, although Commissioner Simmonds is disgruntled at the lack of strategy for a return to Earth. His grumbling is solitary, for all others on Alpha realize that the increasing distance from Earth is beyond the capacity of any of Alpha's at this time nineteen serviceable Eagles.
An Eagle construction program starts, to augment the number of spacecraft currently in operation. Several Eagles were rendered unflyable due to sudden sharp landings during the nuclear blasts, and Reconnaissance Section, with assistance from select Engineering members of Technical Section, puts into construction additional spacecraft of varying design, with component parts already in storage in the hangar in the seldom-used Launch Pad 10. Alpha News Service, whose function has been to report news from Earth, is no longer considered essential and will be phased out as its equipment is utilized in Eagle construction.
So, by the time of Alpha's encounter with planet Ariel, there are 28 Eagles, and with more being primed for use. All of the new Eagles have flexiplastic hatches, which in some cases bend into storage in the thin area between the airlock and the between-wings section.
MAYA'S PSYCHON LIFE
Planet Psychon is in many ways an alternative version of Earth. It has many same species of plant life, giving rise to the theory that both worlds, Earth and Psychon, were the spawn of a third, older planetary civilization migrating from planet to planet and transplanting elements of its former world as it knew it (rather like the Arkadians did on Earth, in bringing trees from one planet to another). Psychons have no regional diversities in physical appearance or culture because they developed a rapport with the life-force of their planet so that they became able to metamorphose into other forms through the life principle. Regional physical differences over generations became voluntarily assimilated as the Psychon race metamorphosed itself into uniformity. There were no wars, hence no large population losses, and for the multitudes, scientific and engineering pursuits were a high priority coinciding and never clashing with those of culture. Also, Psychon was a world of modest population growth.
As the centuries passed, the people of Psychon mostly lost interest in their race's ability to transform, and it became a talent limited to Psychons with the wish and the time to learn and master it. Some Psychons were rendered incapable of it by an attack by outworlder Dorcons.
On a thousands-of-years cycle of stellar movement in the sector of space where resides planet Psychon, a neighboring star came close to Psychon's solar system, its gravitational influence pulling solar prominences out of Psychon's sun and inducing a rise in surface temperature on the orbiting planets. This event was not attributable to Moonbase Alpha "tearing through" a space brain as it was the product of something in motion long before that other catastrophic happening.
(day-month-Psychon annum) event information
(03-11-6752) Maya is born to Mentor and Geya, citizens of Manos Province, planet Psychon
(22-05-6759) young Maya is brought by Mentor and Geya to the Manos hinterlands, where she is to develop her innate sensitivities to the molecular structures of living things; Maya's sensitivity does not come instantaneously with every life form, in some cases requiring being in the presence of a life form for some amount of time
(12-05-6765) Mentor gives to his teenaged daughter her first instruction on the art of molecular transformation; though Mentor himself was innately capable of personal molecular transformation, it was a faculty that he lost due to exposure to a Dorcon experimental light beam that permanently deprived all affected Psychons of the ability to transform; the Dorcons later refined the light beam to induce only temporary inhibitions to Psychon transformation power; Mentor's own inability to transform led to his study of the use of chemical/biological machinery to cause inanimate matter to metamorphose, yielding his eventual creation, Psyche, the biological computer
(30-10-6765) while on an archaeological expedition, Mentor discovers a matter/anti-matter converter utilized by an alien civilization on Psychon millennia past
(07-12-6765) Geya dies of a respiratory infection transported from equatorial migrants fleeing the mounting Psychon surface temperature's first disasters, and a devastated Mentor cannot reconcile himself to the fact that his wife is gone
(19-03-6766) a Dorcon spaceship lands in Tytis, Psychon's capital city, for purposes of trade only; by this time, Psychon and Dorca have a standing peace treaty that has banned any Dorcon kidnapping of Psychons for brain stem transplant; this treaty only came into effect because Dorca was threatened by Betanon, a rival militaristic empire from another galaxy, and needed its resources devoted to conquering that threat; Psychons are desperate for technology to stop the overheating of their planet and hope that Dorcon merchants may have something that could be adapted for solution of the ecological crisis
(05-04-6766) in an experimental procedure to tap the kinetic energy of planetary movement in hope of generating massive amounts of power needed to mechanically cool Psychon, a huge artificial satellite is placed in orbit around the planet
(03-01-6767) Mentor travels with Maya to the Psychon moon, to instruct her in transforming into larger animal forms, including the Laran and Fenor, which can store oxygen like a camel stores water; transformation into larger forms is generally very difficult, for it requires tremendous mental power to will a rise in temperature around the body to convert molecules of heated air into the energy needed to assume extra body mass; it helps if the larger life forms have a comparatively low body temperature and/or low kinetic energy, meaning slow body movement; in any case, Maya tends not to wish to transform into these creatures in anything other than their natural environment or a reasonable facsimile thereof
(10-01-6767) Mentor accompanies Maya to Kreno, the next nearest planet to Psychon's sun, where Maya learns how to transform into a chlorine-breathing animal
(19-01-6767) Maya learns to transform from one living thing to another without reverting to herself, but she knows also of the danger of doing so when her transformed state is smaller than she and when metallic objects such as cage bars encircle her smaller chosen form; unless the objects surrounding her smaller form are of living origin, e.g. made of wood, Maya cannot safely transform back into herself or something else; were she to attempt transformation while encircled by metal, there is danger of metal thrusting into her and killing her; Maya can change inanimate matter like clothing or communication devices or laser guns on her person during her transformation out of her original self and into another life form, but it is when she is another life form that she must be very wary about metallic elements in a circular proximity to her
(23-11-6767) Mentor is elected to Psychon High Council's scientific Board and confers with such luminaries as the philosopher, Dorzak
(22-02-6768) a catastrophic malfunction in the kinetic-energy-tapping satellite causes it to go out of control and collide with the natural Psychon satellite, reducing both to fragments, some of which descend to Psychon, causing serious damage; loss of its moon causes tidal problems and earthquakes on Psychon; volcanic fissures spew hot lava, further raising surface temperature
(21-12-6768) with temperature rise all over the planet and increases in volcanism, Psychon is rapidly becoming inhospitable; already, surface conditions necessitate settlement in underground bunkers
(02-07-6770) Mentor's project, a biological computer capable of transforming matter for purpose of changing wastelands into prime habitats, requires vast amounts of mental energy to be of any use in saving Psychon's ecosystem; the High Council snubs Mentor's dream and opts instead for full-scale evacuation, and Mentor's son leads the first evacuation spaceship fleet of a thousand souls
(07-05-6771) as the last spaceships prepare to launch for destinations unknown, Mentor declines to join the others and stays with Maya on Psychon
(6772-6) as Mentor becomes more and more obsessive in his dream of restoring Psychon to its former beauty, he lures several passing trade space vessels to the planet and drains the minds of their occupants into Psyche, the biological computer; one such spaceship is a zoological freighter with diverse specimens of alien life- including Earth animals- into which Maya becomes able to transform herself; the zoological freighter's captain is able to escape Psychon after feigning a deal with Mentor to bring other such spaceships to Psychon; Mentor finally trains his eyes upon Moonbase Alpha
POST-"BREAKAWAY" EVENTS
red date color denotes filmed episode; for episodic synopses, consult episode guide
episode (days after leaving Earth orbit) supplementary information
"Breakaway" (0000) the Moon is blasted out of Earth orbit and hurled 37 degrees southward off the plane of the ecliptic; Wilding Field forms, and Moonbase Alpha's transstellar odyssey begins
"Moon Odyssey: The Early Weeks" (0000-79) Moon swiftly passes the planet Meta, departs Solar System, accelerates to maximum Wilding Field velocity, and encounters the rather abrupt manifestation of a stellar system, in which is the planet Terra Nova- and found to be traveling, like the Moon, in its region are a Tritonian probe-sphere and an also likewise on-the-move Caldorian spaceship; and next to face the Moon is a suddenly appearing black sun; Commissioner Simmonds protests against not formulating a plan to repatriate with Earth and then lurks for awhile in the Alphan background before stepping forward to agitate with renewed vigor for a return to Earth
"No Looking Back" (0027) as the Moon moves further away from the Sun and its velocity increases and time-dilation effect starts, the Alphans find that bearings on the position of Earth become impossible to ascertain
"Matter of Life and Death" (0041-4) a tiny solar system suddenly appears in space in the Moon's path in closer proximity to Earth's sun than had ever been detected, and orbiting the parent star of this phantom stellar zone is planet Terra Nova
"Ring Around the Moon" (0051-7) Moon still within the space of Terra Nova solar system; data on planet Triton was implanted into Alpha's computer banks by way of Lee Russell, who imparted to Alpha the necessary knowledge for Helena to survive the impending crisis of the Tritonian space probe, a crisis of which he was prescient; relationship between Koenig and Alan Carter becomes somewhat less formal after this episode
"Earthbound" (0062-5) Moon departing Terra Nova solar system; its crew in suspended animation, a slow-moving Caldorian spaceship crash-lands and later re-launches into space from Alpha, said spaceship's Earthbound journey for peaceable settlement there to be completed in Earth year 2117
"Black Sun" (0074-9) Terra Nova solar system vanishes just as mysteriously as it appeared, and in the Moon's path in this evidently unstable sector of space is a black sun, also of an abrupt manifestation; the Moon enters the black sun and is thrown into another galaxy, into the Cryton solar system, and within reconnaissance range of planet Zenno
"Cryton" (0082-98) Moon drifts through the Cryton solar system, consisting of planets Zenno and Piri, among others
"Missing Link" (0082-5) Moon within Cryton solar system, said by alien Raan to be 2 million light-years from Earth
"Guardian of Piri" (0097-8) Moon still within Cryton solar system; time on Alpha is suspended for a sizeable part of this encounter; Koenig's forehead scar from the Zenno encounter has completely healed by the start of the Piri episode, though rib cage still a tad tender; Kano's desk is temporarily removed from Main Mission following a power surge to its circuits when the Guardian of Piri exploded
"Another Time, Another Place" (0102-14) space warp one; Moon is thrown back into Earth solar system; when time corrects itself, Alpha is back to 0102 days after "Breakaway" and three weeks away from reconnaissance range of planet Ariel in the Ariel-Astheria solar system in a rather advanced and busy galaxy
"Force of Life" (0111-3) Moon at outer fringe of Ariel-Astheria solar system; explosion at Nuclear Generating Area 3 results in reduction to Moonbase lighting intensity from whites to greens or faint pinks, most notably in Main Mission
"Alpha Child" (0117-21) Moon within Ariel-Astheria solar system
"The Last Sunset" (0124-7) Moon within Ariel-Astheria solar system
"Voyager's Return" (0141-3) Moon within Ariel-Astheria solar system as Moon erratically arcs around parent star
"Collision Course" (0152-6) Moon within previously unseen far side of Ariel-Astheria solar system; after "colliding" with planet Astheria, Alpha now in Ultima Thulian-Rethan solar system and within reconnaissance range of Ultima Thule
"Death's Other Dominion" (0162-4) Moon within Ultima Thulian-Rethan solar system
"The Full Circle" (0170-2) Moon within Ultima Thulian-Rethan solar system
"End of Eternity" (0182-4) Moon still in Ultima Thulian-Rethan solar system; asteroid encountered by Alpha is on a transit course and originates from another stellar environ
"War Games" (0227) Moon in Deimusian-Bethan-Deltan binary solar system; at first, Moon does not appear to Bergman to be on a course toward the second of the twin stars
"The Last Enemy" (0243-6) Moon within vicinity of star in the Bethan-Deltan part of the Deimusian-Bethan-Deltan solar system
"The Troubled Spirit" (0256-9) Moon at outer fringe of Deimusian-Bethan-Deltan solar system
"Space Brain" (0274-6) collision with space brain causes Moon to go into a bizarre anti-time-dilation, advancing in Alpha calendar time by several hundred days
"Transients in the Void" (0790-933) adrift along a popular route for spacefarers, the Alphans meet some interstellar wanderers
"The Infernal Machine" (0794-6)
"Mission of the Darians" (0822-7)
"Dragon's Domain" (0877) at 0896 days-after-breakaway, Helena typewrites the story of Tony Cellini, some while before the anti-time-dilation reverses, pushing Alpha back to 0280 days-after-breakaway as it approaches planet Arkadia
"Birds of a Different Feather Flock Together" (0899) new Eagles, the components for which having been in storage in the seldom-used Launch Pad 10, are brought into operation, including Laboratory, Booster, All-Purpose, and Survey Eagle classes, with interior layout different from that of the standard Transporter Eagle
"The Testament of Arkadia" (0287-91) Moon within tiny Arkadian solar system
"Command Centre" (0301-4) plans several weeks previous for moving operations control underground come to fruition; Moonbase uniforms also change, going back to pre-1996, non-unisex format; David Kano assumes a regular station in Technical Section, and Tanya Alexandria likewise
"Krom II" (0311-7) Moon within Krom solar system; Alpha loses Prof. Bergman and Paul Morrow
"Same Time, Different Space" (0361) space warp two; Moon hurled into exploration range of planet Psychon in the Psychon-Krenoan solar system and Alpha calendar time reverts twenty days to 341 days-after-breakaway; it is theorized that temporal shifting such as anti-time-dilation, calendar advancement, calendar reversals, and the displacement by the latest space warp are facets of a destabilization in the region of space in which Alpha travels
"The Metamorph" (0342) Maya joins the Alphans
"The Primary Life-Form" (0360-2) Alpha encounters an imperious primary life-form of elementary particles who is capable of molecular transformation and who wants Helena as his consort; Maya battles and defeats him in a personal metamorphic duel, and in her deed Maya gains the full confidence of many Alphans who had had some misgivings about her
"The Exiles" (0403-5) Moon passing through a planetless solar system; planet Golos is eight light-years distant
"Journey to Where" (0444-7) Moon passing through another planetless solar system, concurrent to which a new Reconnaissance class of Eagle comes into operation; prior to and some time after this episode, Dr. Ben Vincent is working closely with Dr. Helena Russell on research on the physical effects of prolonged removal from Earth environment
"The Taybor" (0490) Moon within yet another planetless solar system
"One Moment of Humanity" (0515-6) Moon traversing Vegan solar system
"All That Glisters" (0565) Moon within the solar system of the planet of living rocks
"The Mark of Archanon" (0640-1) Moon within a vast solar system consisting of asteroids and meteors; Dr. Raul Nunez temporarily replaces Dr. Bob Mathias in Medical Centre as Mathias is accompanying a team of Lunar surface explorers
"Stormy Passage" (0849-91) Alpha moves through a 42-day-long space storm
"The Rules of Luton" (0892) Moon in Luton solar system
"New Adam, New Eve" (1095-6) Moon now in a region of space characterized by an abundance of hot, young stars, some of which are still in the process of formation; New Earth's star is a rare exception to this
"Brian the Brain" (1150)
"Catacombs of the Moon" (1196-7) Dr. Ben Vincent has replaced Dr. Bob Mathias in Medical Centre as Dr. Russell's assistant; Mathias is now stationed in Data Section, researching human stress factors in space
"The A B Chrysalis" (1288) the solar system through which Alpha now drifts has but one planet, possessing a ringed moon system
"The Beta Cloud" (1496-1503) Moon in a space zone of enigmatic star clusters, nebulae, and tiny worldlets
"Seed of Destruction" (1608-10)
"A Matter of Balance" (1702-3) Moon entering into an unstable area of space where a planet straddles two universes and a space warp is nearby
"Space Warp" (1807-8) space warp three; Moon is thrown five light-years across space and into a highly surreal region of the current galaxy
"The Encroaching Darkness" (1912-2517) Alpha is in the midst of a star-poor sector of space wherein the line between reality and fantasy has blurred
"The Bringers of Wonder" (1912-??)
"Dorzak" (2009) Moon in Taura solar system's outer fringes close to a belt of asteroids
"The Seance Spectre" (2012-4) Moon in Taura solar system before going into long passage through starless, disturbance-free "Peace Zone"
"Devil's Planet" (2305-6) Moon in Ellnan solar system; Helena gives her Moonbase Alpha Status Report after Koenig and Maine's Eagle has already crashed on Entra and before she is informed of that event; on Koenig's return to Alpha, he, along with Bill Fraser and Alibe, are thoroughly tested for communicable infection and found to be free of such, the pathogen that killed the people of Ellna and Entra having been infectious but not contagious, though just the possibility of a deadly disease spreading on Alpha sparks recall by Koenig of the Aphrodite disaster of 1993, and he begins to have nightmares- and he was already compelled by the Entran mind probe to remember his late friends, Sam Petersen and Tessa Underhill
"The Lambda Factor" (2308-9) Moon still in Ellnan solar system; the Lambda phenomenon is concealing the planet that Alpha will encounter two days hence
"The Immunity Syndrome" (2310-1) Moon still in Ellnan solar system
"The Dorcons" (2409-10) Moon in outer fringes of dimly lit and planetless solar system
