Paul Gillebaard: Moon Hoax

Though it was an early spring afternoon in Jiuquan, the outside temperature was a chilly 10 F. The coldness from the outside seemed to be creeping into the hallway Peter and Rob walked. Peter pulled his coat around tighter as he hurried to stay with the soldier in front. The cold didn’t seem to bother Rob, who was struggling to keep up while hauling his heavy briefcase. The Chinese soldiers walked at a brisk and steady pace, in a unison march, staring straight ahead and saying nothing. The pounding of their boots echoed in the empty hallways. Peter was surprised to see the hallways bare of workers, considering a mission was currently going on. He assumed it was probably because the launch was five days earlier and all communications had been transferred to the Beijing Command Center. This was the first time while visiting Jiuquan that Peter was being escorted by soldiers. He could not help but notice the gun in the holster on the soldier’s side. He and Rob looked at each other; Rob with a look of concern. Trying to put his friend at ease Peter just gave him a wink, knowing Brits weren’t allowed guns and the sight of one was probably making Rob nervous.

Upon arriving at Jiuquan, Peter and Rob had been put through a tight security check where Rob’s briefcase was emptied and searched, and both had to walk through a metal detector and a full body soft x-ray scan. They were then warned by CNSA security to do exactly as they were told while at the launch center. Under no circumstance were they to go anywhere unescorted. Even if one of them had to use the restroom, they were to be escorted by one of the soldiers, who would stand behind as he did his business. Peter’s previous visits never required such tight security. Today’s escort and pat-down was probably due to the current mission. This was obviously a visit they had not planned on or prepared for, and what was going on around him was apparently top secret stuff. This was the perfect opportunity to gather intelligence on China’s current and future plans for space.

The soldier Peter trailed came to a door at the end of the hallway, and knocked. A pretty Chinese lady opened the door. The soldier stepped aside and motioned for Peter and Rob to enter. They bowed slightly to both soldiers before turning to enter the room. The soldiers took position outside the doorway, one on each side. Upon entering, Peter’s lungs were overwhelmed by the cigarette smoke blanketing the room, and he struggled not to cough, which might be perceived as rude. It seemed like every man smoked in China.

The lady bowed, and again, Peter and Rob bowed back. She offered to take their coats. Peter had been coached both by the CIA and by Byington Corporation on proper etiquette for business meetings in China. He understood the importance of tradition and showing respect. This being Rob’s first visit to China, Peter gave the engineer some pointers on the plane, but basically told him to follow his lead and remember, he was the senior member of the team and it was expected he would do most of the talking. Peter handed the girl his coat, Rob doing the same.

This was the first time Peter had been to this conference room, and he did a quick scan. The large room was surprisingly bright and fortunately much warmer than the hallway, which Peter assumed was due to all the lit cigarettes. The room had no windows, but on the back and side walls were beautiful murals of rockets. The front wall had an impressive six-foot CNSA emblem made of stained metal. In the front corner of the room was the prototype of the MK laser on a stand with wheels. In the center of the room was a large conference table with probably twenty-five chairs around it. He had been to some meetings where they sat on the floor, so he was happy to see chairs. He counted eight gentlemen, seated at one end of the table. Seating was by seniority, and in all his previous meetings Sie had been at the head of the table. In this meeting he was second back on one side. Since senior members sit across from each other, this meant there were at least three gentlemen who had seniority over Sie, and one of those was a military officer. This was a serious meeting.

Peter first walked up to the person of highest seniority, seated at the head of the table. The gentleman stood. Per local custom, Peter extended his hand and looked to the floor, a sign of respect. The gentleman shook his hand. Peter then held out his business card with both hands, with the Chinese written side showing. The gentleman did the same with the English side up. Peter slowly took the card and examined it in silence. The card read: Kuang Pin, Director of China National Space Administration. Wow, the director of CNSA! Damn, this must be an important meeting, especially with a mission going on. Peter quickly concluded the laser must be somehow involved on the mission, but how? He continued to formally meet the remaining gentlemen at the table, as Rob followed and did the same. When all introductions were complete, Peter instructed Rob to take out the wrapped gift box from his brief case, and put it at the center of the table as a traditional gift offering to the group. All bowed in appreciation. Peter and Rob took their appropriate seats.

Kuang opened the meeting thanking Peter and Rob in English for making it on such short notice. Peter thought back to the blonde he hurriedly had to leave and a sly smile crossed his face. Rob nudged him. Kuang went on, saying the meeting would be spoken in English since most everyone spoke it. Peter was amazed how good Kuang’s English was. Kuang turned to Peter and asked, “Are you the son of Tom Novak, the astronaut who walked on the moon back in the early ’70s?”

Peter was surprised Kuang knew this since Sie never mentioned it, plus it was an odd way to start the meeting. He looked at Kuang. “Yes, I am.”

Kuang turned to Sie. “ Tai qiao le. ”

Peter didn’t know what that meant and thought it was impolite after Kuang said the meeting would be in English. An amused look crossed Kuang’s face when he said it, like he knew something Peter didn’t. That was an odd reaction. Peter looked over at Rob to get his read on Kuang, but instead saw a dumfounded look on the Brit for hearing he was a moonwalker’s son. Peter just smiled as he looked back at Kuang, who motioned for Sie to take over the meeting. Sie paced over to the MK prototype and rolled it in front of Peter and Rob.

Sie said, “We are testing the laser at a very remote location in China. For some reason the laser stopped working, and we have to fix it immediately. As director of engineering, Mr. Novak, you need to know the facts.”

“What is the emergency?”

The room became totally silent. All the Chinese gentlemen began looking at each other, like Peter had done the unthinkable. Sie looked at Kuang as if to question if he should answer. Kuang nodded. Sie turned back and explained. “The laser is in an area so remote we cannot get earth-moving equipment there. The laser had been firing at boulders to break them up. One of the boulders broke and collapsed on a group of workers who are now trapped. The location is on a side of a hill where we cannot get dynamite or equipment up soon enough. We have been in radio contact with one of the trapped men and apparently there is very little air, and they are slowly dying. We need to get the laser working as soon as possible and break up the boulder before they die.”

Though he was surprised they admitted to increasing the laser’s intensity to a destructive level, he still knew he wasn’t being told the truth. The laser’s design was to move space junk, not break apart boulders. “Why is CNSA involved, especially with a mission going on?”

Sie again looked to Kuang; Peter could tell there was another story coming his way. He had every right to ask such questions since China had signed documents confirming the laser would not be used as a firearm. Sie knew Peter would not help them unless he was given a plausible explanation and shown the laser was not being used as a weapon. He knew Peter had an obligation to his company. Again a long silence, Sie again looked at Kuang, again the “nod.” Sie then turned to Peter and said, “The information I am about to pass on is considered top secret to China and CNSA, and is not to leave this room.”