Birthday on The Moon

First Edit, Part 10

They stepped into a wider metallic corridor that was defiantly dark unlike the rest of the laboratory, the light bounced off the walls and Adrian caught a glimpse of the tall ceiling and walls. He did not feel the judgement of the other devices weighing him down- they had all ran away as he stepped into this new room, as though they feared something.

"Wait here," instructed Grandpa, so Adrian stopped in silence on the edge of darkness as he disappeared towards another side of the room. The other tools peaked over his shoulder to catch a glance of what was happening, they were gossiping among themselves as to what the new person was doing there.

"Here we go," Grandpa said from the shadows, as he pressed another button, the clanking sound of chains could be heard heaving a heavy curtain apart from within the dim dome he found himself in.

Adrian remained on the edge, between the hygienic light and the static darkness. He began to look around the shadows as Grandpa approached him; another light was turning to banish the darkness. Behind Grandpa was standing it. Their ride. Their chariot. The latest in Grandpa-technology. Their spaceship. A large wedge of metal that stood tall and proud in the light just as it did in the darkness. Carved into something remotely aerodynamic, unpainted with a black smudge across it. Thick beams, with the chains and heavy curtain draping and dangling from them, kept it upright as the rudders bore the brunt of the weight from the hull and living quarters. Small circular windows dotted across the centre of the wedge with a door in the middle atop a thin wooden ladder.

"It is not finished, you and I are going to finish it," Grandpa said as he held a thick ranch in one hand. Adrian looked up at it and felt it staring back as he froze in place. "We need to cover and the fix the interiors, install a paint-fuel tank and calibrate the rudders - among other things," said Grandpa listing off all the issues with his wedge of metal.

"This is amazing," said Adrian slowly approaching it, as he could sense it staring at him unimpressed. Grandpa began walking inspecting it closer as he walked around listing more things for them to do.

"How does it work?" asked Adrian unable to take his eyes off it.

"- and the windows need air tightening," said Grandpa focusing on the big wedge, "it does not work yet", he turned to Adrian," but do you think you can help me?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes," said Adrian confidently. Grandpa smirked with him as they both felt the spaceship crack a smile and a smirk.

"So," Adrian began, "how does it work?" as he looked up at the wedge of metal, with rudders, a small door and its series of pipes. The more he looked the more he saw. He joined Grandpa in pacing around it, inspecting it closer and occasionally ducking his head from other pipes and tubes.

"Well," said Grandpa, "it is nearly complete but needs more work", he said as it towered above them, "a lot, in fact."

But, how does it work?" Adrian insisted, "how will we get to the moon?" Grandpa chuckled under his voice.

"Do you remember the paint?"

"Yes."

"That paint defies gravity and when it is applied to something: that thing too defies gravity too," he said as Adrian hung to his every word nodding along, "then the paint simply lifts the spaceship up - with us inside - towards the moon and the nearest source of gravitational pull," he said raising his hands to demonstrate how simple it would be. "It is not that strong to defy gravity, but strong enough," he finished by patting the metal proudly with his hand, it gently banged and echoed throughout the still silo. "Yes, that is the genius of the paint: all you need is a container and whizz! Away we go!" he said striking a pose and pointing to the collapsible ceiling. Adrian took it all in as nothing like this had even been talked or dreamt about in his books; paint that could defy gravity? He thought. He could believe it as what happened in his bedroom but could not imagine it: they could jump into a spaceship and simply fly away? No way, he thought, but he wanted to do it, nonetheless.