Disclaimer: Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, Ronald Evans and Houston Control
belong to themselves. All other characters belong to their respective authors.
Bonus credits to anyone who successfully predicts which settings will be
involved in this. :-)
(Still making some progress on Decoy, but not enough to toss out more just
yet. This teaser and some setup stuff just kind of popped into my cranium
today, and demanded release immediately. The drill didn't help.)
The Moon
1972 December 14 00:36 GMT
Exerpt from transcript of Lunar EVA #3 (final EVA), Apollo 17.
Schmitt (Challenger pilot and mission scientist): "I'm still not
sure just what it is."
Cernan (Mission commander): "Definitely the source of what you
pointed out yesterday."
Schmitt: "Absolutely."
Technical chatter.
Cernan: "Whoo."
Schmitt: "Bigger than I thought."
Houston Control: "Say again, Taurus-Littrow."
Cernan: "Nothing Houston, just another perspective shift. We've got
more detail on the 'visual distortion'; it's a region with about a
25 foot diameter on the ground, extending approximately 15 feet
above the lunar surface forming a distorted hemisphere. The lunar
surface is oddly smooth inside the hemisphere."
Schmitt: "There're five standing stones spaced evenly just inside
the perimeter. It's a regular pentagon formation marking the
boundary."
Cernan: "It looks too regular."
Schmitt: "Concur." Pause. "The visual effect is consistent with a
bubble of air..."
Astronaunts park lunar rover and dismount.
Schmitt: "Well." Pause. "We just tossed a rock into the distortion,
and the dust tossed up is behaving like dust in air."
Cernan: "This is too weird."
Discussion of next move. Several remote experiments performed and
spare sensors placed.
Schmitt: "Commander Cernan has crossed the boundary."
Cernan: "Feels like air. No other effect." Pause. "The standing
stones look worked.
Schmitt: "He's reached the center, crossed it... He's out the other
side."
Cernan: "Nothing."
Schmitt: "My turn?"
Cernan: "Geez Harrison, you're acting like this is Disney-"
Houston Control: "Language, children."
Cernan: "-land." Pause. "Okay, go ahead."
Schmitt: "I'll be sure to be back before midnight, mother."
Cernan: "Knock it off."
Schmitt: "Okay, stone #1. Definitely worked, looks like with hand
tools. No markings otherwise visible... Looks somewhat worn by
weather..."
Evans (America pilot): "Like rain?"
Schmitt: "Like wind, rain and the whole ball of wax."
Evans: "Where'd you get wax?"
Cernan: "Children."
Schmitt: "Stone #2 - same thing." Pause. "Stone #3 is identical."
Pause. "As is stone #4." Pause. "And five." Pause. "Double checking
one... Yes, all alike."
Cernan: "There's a breeze in there..."
Houston Control: "Assembly line identic- Say again?"
Cernan: "There's a light breeze stirring up dust in a whirlpool
pattern."
Schmitt: "Definite air moveme-"
Houston Control: "Say again. Schmitt?"
Evans: "Harrison? Eugene?"
Pause.
Cernan: "Schmitt... vanished."
--
Delusion of Reality