2020
Steve woke up that morning
much like he did every other morning for the past 48 years. He
checked his plants, made his tea, took a bite out of an apple, washed
his face...
Has it already been 48
years? It's so easy to lose track here.
Time for some exercise.
Steve leapt, he's been doing this every day. He could only leap about
2 metres high these days. He remembered he could easily leap 3 metres
when he just got here. Steve exhaled as he came down on the rocky
surface.
It must have been 48
years... Steve always carefully followed the rotations of the Earth.
1972
It had been rumoured that
Apollo 17 would be NASA's, and the world's, final manned Moon mission
for the foreseeable future. Steve had been working for NASA in various
roles for 12 years now, and he knew these rumours to be true. Steve
liked being alone. He didn't even hate people, he could get along
with people just fine. He was just the happiest when he was on his
own. He always dreamt of building an entirely solitary life for
himself one day. Those who knew him knew this. He dreamt of a life
where he couldn't possibly be interrupted by anyone. The final manned
Moon mission was... now that was a chance to go somewhere and never
be bothered by anyone. He set out to see what he'd need to pull it
off. He could make a rudimentary dome that could renew an oxygen
supply, he could get equipment that could recycle water, he could
grow plants, a vegan lifestyle suited him just fine. But obviously he
couldn't do this alone. As has been said, Steve could get along with
his colleagues just fine, and they knew of his desires. And truth be
told, NASA had never been completely open and transparent about what
they sent up into space anyway, it's not like public or media were
ever allowed close to where the magic happened. And Steve happily
added some of his own money into the project. He was born wealthy and
it's not like he was ever gonna need his money again. And thus it was
settled. Apollo 17 was the largest of all the Moon landers, in it not
3 but 4 passengers, and the equipment to sustain 1 of them for a
lifetime. Steve's disappearance would be covered up by the NASA,
nobody would ever know a thing.
2020
Steve was 84 now. At least
he thought he was, surely he had followed the rotations of the Earth
carefully enough? It is so hard to tell at this point. He never
regretted his move. He had often wondered, but never regretted.
Wondered what had become of his fellow astronauts of the mission,
Eugene, Harrison and Ronald. Wondered if Elvis Presley was still
recording songs, that man seemed unstoppable. He also wondered how he
survived for so long in the first place. It was a bold move,
involving many at the time untested technologies. He was fine with
that, he considered this a dream worth dying for. All his equipment,
and his own body, just turned out to be so robust that that never
happened. Yet. He also wondered when man would ever travel to the Moon
again. He very much considered it a possibility that the USA or the
Soviet Union would one day reignite their space race. Or make peace
and get here together? Or, well, destroy each other, but surely he
would have seen those explosions from up here? That's how they
advertised it anyway. He wouldn't have minded seeing someone take a
step on the Moon again. As has been said, he didn't hate people, and
frankly it would have been amusing to see the look on the poor
astronaut's face if he found Steve here. Steve turned to his journal.
He has been writing his findings down for 48 years now. He was still
a scientist, he knew his experiences here would provide valuable
information to whoever would find it. So Steve started writing again.
Happily living another day in paradise.
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