Memoirs

Shooting the Moon

The buzzing of thousands of voices fills the lower levels, undulating in varying volumes and frequencies. Laughter, solemn conversations, gentle teasing­­ - all are present tonight as the festivities progress at a comfortable pace. It's around ten in the evening; dinner wear is all one would be able to see upon entering the broad lower floor of the European Union's State Interdimensional Institute, or SII for short. A festive occasion, for sure.

A wonderful spectacle for all but one guest, that is.

Margaret Thatcher is her name, head pilot of the SII's Telemar, the first craft to ever be piloted by man outside of the intrinsic boundaries known as the Milky Way galaxy. In essence, she and her crew had gone where no man had gone before, and the world was set on celebrating her success. More so than Neil Armstrong's first moon landing, this was the accomplishment of the century, the final blow at the borders Earth's inhabitants had naturally set upon themselves. There was no life beyond our solar system, they once taught in schools, or even past the galaxy our tiny planet inhabits - but now, there was a way to confirm that such a notion was false, and everyone seemed to be pleased.

Again, such a thing seemed to be true for all but one.

The Telemar's pilot currently sat outside the ballroom's stage door, waiting for her cue to make her way onstage for her debut and celebration into the world of fame. Fortune was hers, it seemed; and yet, favor was not. Sitting slumped against the brick wall that comprised the exterior of the subterranean building, she cradled her head in her hands, sandy curls lying in damp waves against her forehead. She'd succumbed to more than nerves, despite her current appearance. Rather than normal stage fright, paralyzing fear wracked her frame, sending miserable shudders up and down her thin frame.

What could she tell them? She couldn't admit to the crowd assembled in the room beyond anything but the truth - and yet, to do such a thing would, in essence, be suicide. They were all out there having a good time, sipping from glasses of champagne and commencing with their party conversations, the ones they only pulled out amongst the most important company. And it was she who was that important company, she who they had deemed such a spectacle necessary to celebrate... It was for her and her false accomplishment - and that was what sickened her the most.

What no one in the distant ballroom knew for certain was the exact progress of events that had occurred in deep space some months ago. No video footage had been recorded - and even if there was, Margaret would have been sure to throw it out and claim technical difficulties of some kind after. It was one of her crew members who had concocted the story that was currently circulating about, the one that claimed they had breached the confines of the Milky Way and escaped into deep space, uncharted territory. It had thrilled both the press and the general public, but the false accounts only sickened the pilot to whom they accredited it all to. So brave she must have been to steer her crew through the loophole that had brought them out of the galaxy, far away into a new kind of place, among a new kind of people... It all sounded too romantic to be true, and she couldn't understand how anyone had actually fallen for it.

People believe what they want to hear, perhaps. Maybe that was why they had believed Armstrong's account when, in actuality, a moon landing wasn't accomplished for twenty years after his flight. Maybe that was why they had gobbled up her story without thinking twice.

Over the helpless buzzing of her nerves, she could now hear the proud voice of the SII's president announcing her accomplishment, foreshadowing her imminent appearance on the grand stage that would be her burial place. Her head spun, cold flashes made her shiver in her flimsy party dress - and more than anything, she wanted to be out of here, far away from the crowd that would soon condemn her for her lies. If only she really could fly away into space, where no one could ever find her, far away into the distance of a neighboring galaxy...