Story: Message On The Moon

Blog Post : Message On The Moon

Sam had lived on the moon for over seventy years but still thought of home every single day. He was the oldest rhesus macaque monkey ever and the most changed. Born on Earth, he had been sent into space as a forced test subject for an early experimental spacecraft. The craft had drifted off course. This scenario was thought possible and was listed under undesired but acceptable outcomes.

After drifting out of orbit, he fell asleep. The sound of the hatch woke him up and a bright light shone in. New friends, whom he later named the Watchers, helped him into their larger vessel. At first, they scared Sam, but they put kind feelings into his head. They taught him their language, helped him grow as large as a man and made him part of their crew as they continued to stealthily orbit the Earth.

A time came when the Watchers had to return to their own planet. They asked Sam to continue the mission and, once he agreed, they built a home for him on the dark side of the moon. He would not be alone; there was a now a small population of his kind. His favourite pets, androids and plants would be with him and the Watchers would always be contactable.

His mission was to continue the observation of the planet and report back on human activity. Recent decades had seen increasing numbers of craft were arriving at the moon and radio signals told of plans for a permanent base on the moon. Sam knew one day, he would be face to face with the ancestors of those that had sent him into space. He was once a simple animal. Thanks to his new family, he was a genetically enhanced creature with an intellect and lifespan far beyond that of any human.

He knew what he would say to them on that day.

“Yes - you can live out in space, but you have to become greater too.”