Paul Gillebaard: Moon Hoax

“What was it about?” asked Anya, her breasts peeking out over the sheet.

“It’s a dream I keep having. I’m in space running out of oxygen and I’m going to die… never to see you again,” said Peter.

Anya cuddled up close. “It’s just a nightmare. I’m right here by your side. I won’t ever leave you.”

Suddenly everything went dark.

“PETER, XING YI XING! Peter, xing yi xing !” Anya said.

Why is Anya talking in Chinese? “Baby, speak English,” Peter mumbled.

Suddenly he felt his body being shaken. He slowly opened his eyes and with blurry vision saw what looked to be a Chinese taikonaut above him. Peter’s helmet was off and he was hot and sweaty, heavily breathing oxygen through a gas mask strapped around his head. He tried to remember where he was. As he shook his head he thought back to what just happened. His last memory was when he strapped himself to the Chinese spacecraft and attempted to slow down his metabolism. Damn, it must have worked! Thanks, Dad! As he continued to wake up, he looked around and found he was thinking clearly. Good, no brain damage. He was in the airlock portion of the Chinese spacecraft with only the one taikonaut and the hatch closed.

“Peter, you okay?” asked the taikonaut.

As Peter focused on the taikonaut dressed in a spacesuit with his helmet off, he did a double take. “Tang Liwei?”

Tang smiled. “Yes. You out ten minutes.”

Peter remembered meeting Tang at Jiuquan and knew he was one of the taikonauts who had walked on the moon. Holding the oxygen mask securely to his mouth Peter slowly lifted his head, looking around before saying, “Looks like I made it in okay. Thank you.”

Tang said, “We not leave fellow taikonaut to die.”

Peter smiled, honored Tang called him a taikonaut. After clearing his head he said, “Congratulations.”

Tang slightly tilted his head, questioning this. “Why?”

“For being the thirteenth man to walk on the moon,” said Peter with a wink.

Tang just smiled. “Yes, moonwalker like your father.”

PETER SAT STRAPPED in his seat ready to go home. Sitting next to him was Tang in the commander’s seat with Nei on the other side of him. Both taikonauts were speaking in Chinese, preparing their spacecraft for the journey home. Not able to understand them, Peter decided to look out the window. There in all its glory was the moon. He now looked at it differently, knowing he was returning to Earth. No longer was the moon the place where he was going to die, but instead it was a wonderful place he had visited. He couldn’t believe he was actually going home, something he had accepted wouldn’t happen. He thought of Anya and the moment he would embrace her. He also imagined, for the first time, holding and playing with his child—a thought he never allowed himself before. A smile came across his face, proud of what he had accomplished and excited about what lay ahead.

Peter felt the thrusters’ fire. As the spacecraft began to slowly rotate, the Soyuz appeared in the corner of his window, sad and lonely, doomed to crash into the moon. He gazed at his old home, thankful it had done its job. As the Soyuz continued to slowly pass, its position eventually allowed Peter to see inside through its open hatch. With the sun lighting up the interior he was able to see one of Viktor’s floating arms, as if he was waving goodbye. Staring at the levitating arm only reinforced the sorrow Peter felt leaving his friend behind. To ease his guilt, he remembered how happy Viktor was reaching the moon and how much he was looking forward to seeing his wife. Viktor was probably in a better place, and would have been happy Peter was returning to his daughter. Viktor probably wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Peter couldn’t think of a better resting place for the brave cosmonaut than the moon, where he dreamed of going all his life. He said a short prayer for his partner.

China’s spacecraft eventually moved to the point where Peter could no longer see inside the Soyuz. A tear welled up in his eye. Viktor, I would have been honored to have called you my father.

Peter wiped the tear from his eye before turning to Tang. “Let’s go home!”

All characters in this book, with the exception of Yuri Gagarin, are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The names, incidents, dialogue, and opinions expressed are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Nothing is intended or should be interpreted as expressing or representing the views of the CIA, NASA, CNSA or any other department or agency of any government body.

MOON HOAX

Copyright 2012 by Paul Gillebaard.

2016 revised edition for Hoax Trilogy.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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ISBN: 978-0-615-45576-1