HRVST, Ch.18: First Has Meaning If There's Next
HRVST, Ch.18: First Has Meaning If There's Next
If the first was also "last", it becomes nothing. "Next" is what gives "first" meaning.
1957, The Dawn of The Space Race
The first satellite in space was the USSR's Sputnik.
The Space Race began during a Cold War. Each side raced to be first but real victory was making sure there was always a next.
The first man in space was Yuri Gagarin, on board Vostok 1.
Vostok 1 was the first manned mission to orbit Earth, for 108 minutes, automated.
Soyuz 1's was the first crewed mission, which ended in a tragic crash landing. Afterwards, the authorities banned Gagarin from new missions. The Soviets did not want to lose their first space hero. Vostok 1 was Gagarin's only flight into space.
The first American astronaut in space was Alan Shepard, on Freedom 7.
Slated for April 1960, the Freedom 7 launch was rescheduled several times. It was a 15 minute suborbital flight that reached an altitude of 101.7 nautical miles. It was the first flight where the pilot had some control of a spacecraft.
Shepard was sick and it seemed like his first flight was his last. He went to space a second time, and became the fifth man to walk on the Moon.
Alan Shepard was the only "Mercury 7" astronaut to go to the moon.
The first only matters if there is a next. If the first was also "last", it becomes nothing. "Next" is what gives first meaning.
There must be a next to give meaning to making a first.
It's not about second place, it's about second steps.
First has no meaning if there is no more after "next".
First Has Meaning If There's Next.
Luna, Aitken Basin, Outer Boros, Grissom Hall
The captain ran, the weight of his gear and one child was not a problem, the problem was time. It was also some of the troopers he thought were locked in the stairwell behind him. They broke out, and began firing into the dark Hall.
When the trooper minding the child didn’t respond to their check-in, that was enough for someone with initiative to find out the the bottom of the stairwell was locked.
“TwoTwo, I’ve got company!”
“Keep going Cap, I left some surprises scattered in the Hall.”
Infrared decoys scattered throughout the Hall, planted as the first lures were shut off, as other decoys were lit up in the Stairwell to draw in the troopers and box them in.
“TwoTwo, how much time before we drop the hammer?”
“ETA 10 minutes. We can hold off until you’re clear before we drop the ship on the roof deck.”
“No, most of them are still boxed in, how much further??”
“You’re good, Cap. Turning on decoy countermeasures.”
The troopers ran into walls of flashbombs, flares, smoke, and incendiaries lighting up the Hall.
The shooting stopped.
“TwoTwo, that did the trick for now.”
The captain found the door to the maintenance rooms, and ran down its hallway for the entrance leading to the depot. He double checked on the boy, and patted him on the back. He slowed down as he adjusted holding the boy, and then took a few deep and slow breaths.
“Hold on, Alek, we’re almost there, you’ll be with your mom soon.”
They went into the maintenance room, and then through a hatch leading to the Depot.
“Ship’s one minute out.”
“I’m past the hatch. Prep the trains. Alek, you’re doing great. I want you to hold tight, we’re going down this ladder. Tommy, you there?”
“Tommy, here, Captain.”
“Get ready. I’m coming.”
Everything shook. The captain almost lost his grip for a second but grabbed tight. It must have been the ship dropping on the rooftop. Seconds left. He kept going, looked down and saw he was close and let himself slide down.
Landing with a stumble, he fell back, as rubble fell.
“Almost there, Alek!”
Picking himself up, the Captain threw the boy over his shoulder, and ran for the depot.
The lights of the trains were ahead. They were both still here.
He ran for the train headed to Armstrong, packed with the civilians. TwoTwo picked up the boy and brought him into the train car. He glanced up as the depot’s walls began to shake.
“Go, go, go!!!”
“Copy that!”
The captain ran for the other train, headed to Shackleton, as it began to move. Rubble missed him by inches but he kept going. Tomassina was waiting to grab the Captain’s hand and pull him in. The shower of rubble began to increase as the Hall above began collapsing. He stretched his arms out to the open train door, and Tomassina missed but then grabbed him. They pulled him up before his feet could drag along the track floor. The roar behind them was heavier, and what looked like a dust storm was headed towards them.
“I got you, Cap!!”
Tomassina and another crew member dragged the Captain into the train.
The doors sealed just as the dust cloud of the Hall’s collapse breached the Depot’s hatches.
The Captain laid on the floor of the train car, and began laughing.
“On to Shackleton.”
NOTES
1
portrait of an astronaut, pen and ink, intricate line drawings, by craig mullins, ruan jia, kentaro miura, greg rutkowski
2
Zaha Hadid city with dome and mosque by Hassan Fatahy in a Fantasy world and photo inspired by Where weird things happen by Daniele Gay on art station , le corbusier model on the ground inspired by Mining by Risa lin on art station