SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

AN IMMINENT CATACLYSM

The seconds passed and we remained exactly in the same place.

The pilot did not stop pushing buttons, calling in a hurry by microphone. I couldn't pay too much attention of what he has saying. The fantastic exit had me excited and it crossed my mind to look down.

Everything seemed lit up. As it was supposed to be in the "dark" side during new moon. A huge crater could easily be distinguished at a big distance.

Astonished, I understood that that was the place where we had left from. The spaceships form the base departed from there.

Now several black tips started to show!

"Lucas," the doctor said urgently, "would you mind moving away from the exit?"

"Of course not.... It's just that...."

The spaceship started to cruise slowly in a perfectly straight line...

"This is new technology," the pilot explained. "There are new laws, not only flight laws but also physics itself."

I turned around. Some huge rockets formed a curve flying on the opposite way. Would they be going to Earth? Would they be evacuating people from the base?

"Mr. Wright", the doctor said, "Voodoo, keeps another SVM in the LHC, it is a more powerful machine than the one in the base. And it is out of control..."

"Then it exists!" the pilot said amazed. "Damn! I didn't believe him!"

I turned to the front.

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked." Did you know about the other SVM?"

"Well... Before I came to the base, Voodoo had offered me an SVM of his, not the one from base." He turned to us and then to the doctor, "I never really trusted him. That is why I turned down his offer," raising his eyebrows he added, "I would rather rent the SVM from Mama Bat..."

Everything was so clear: Voodoo, the commander from the base had turned into a lame dealer. Diverting funds from the base he had constructed his own SVM. He offered it to some investors that clearly rejected the offer. Then he looked for other bidders: the dark Vampires. As he was not satisfied with the money from the Vampires, he had figured out the way of making more millions before his retirement, renting the machine to an opportunistic magnate.

"Now, you already know what a group of dangerous terrorists is doing on the moon," replied the doctor. "They are looking for the same thing you are".

"Not exactly," the pilot defended himself, "I intend to aid mankind and they intend to damage it."

Something still did not quite add up.

"Why were we attacked when we arrived?" I interrupted. "We came in a Vampire..."

"I heard someone tried to kidnap you," the magnate said. "That must have been pretty ugly." The doctor ignored Mr. Wright's comment. Notwithstanding, he looked at him with an incriminatory look. "If they attacked you," Mr. Wright added, "it was clear that not the entire base was aware of Voodoo's real plans."

The doctor didn't say anything.

A strained silence was made.

I looked at Darwin; his posture was like any other passenger: he was looking through the window of the spacecraft, totally relaxed.

I thought it was convenient to do the same. So I tried to make myself comfortable and I looked down. We were flying over a huge zone of canyons and luckily my attention was captured immediately by that place.

The great distraction didn't last long, the doctor's loud voice stressed me again.

"When are we going to be there?" he asked.

"In three minutes", the pilot answered and continued with the previous conversation. "Professor Masterton, you may be right. The Vampires and I have something in common; we want you and your people to design and operate SVM's because we do not believe in Voodoo, he's not brilliant..."

That is why we were kidnapped. Each group by itself, investors and terrorists, would buy technology from Voodoo, but they didn't trust him to operate it. Even terrorists wanted famous professor Masterton when it came to lunar technology!

"Lucas," the doctor replied, "there will not be any more SVM's. After the reestablishment of S and V balance on the moon I will order their destruction."

The pilot saw him out of the corner of his eye.

"Wouldn't it be better to repair them?"

The doctor shook his head.

"They're too dangerous."

Lucas interrogated him with his eyes.

"A chain reaction of gravitational S, originated by other SVM is happening right now. Do you know what will happen if we can't deactivate the SVM in the next few minutes?"

Lucas turned his attention to the control panel and shrugged.

"More moonquakes?"

"That will be only the beginning", the doctor answered. "An accelerated reaction will take 90% of the moon mass in less than one second." He took a breath and continued, "a global hecatomb will take place on Earth, a big tremor caused by the sudden extinction of the gravitational forces of the moon. This will translate into a devastating seismic pulse. Some continents will rise hundreds of miles, others will sink opening huge abysses in the ocean making its water evaporate, and the shake will last a few microseconds. It will be like detonating hundreds of thousands of megatons of nuclear explosives at the same time." And lowering his tone, he added, "the surface of the Earth will be crushed into pieces."