章 1: Final Phase - Part One
6th March
DELOS Offices, Old Settlement, Artemis
Looking out on the street, there is a lot more people than you might expect for what would normally be midway through a shift. With the triple shift system, usually a third of the population is working, another third is on break, and another third is sleeping. But today is special. A break in the regular system, in the regular beat of life that we humans have established here. Today is a celebration, marking seven years to the day that we first stepped foot in this ancient lava tube. I can still remember that day. When the drill cut through the last layer of bedrock and opened this tube up to us. Chee Soon Mei had been the first one down. And while today is remembered as the founding of this city, it took us another two months to map out the lava tube and start construction on the city proper. We still weren't able to walk around the cave without helmets for another year or so.
But now look at us. A true city. A true civilization. Almost sixty thousand denizens and growing each year. The frontier of all humankind. And what am I? Well, that depends who you ask. Apparently on Earth, I'm more or less considered a mythical figure. The man in the moon. The moon man. President of the Moon. In reality, I'm just a government employee, although that may be understating it a little. I currently serve the Singaporean government as the Governor of Artemis, not that that is my title on paper. After all, no nation is allowed to claim ownership of the moon. I work in the Department for an Extra-terrestrial Lunar Outpost and Settlement, or DELOS. I don't know who came up with the name, but it's fitting. When I first proposed this plan to the Singaporean government, I referred to it as 'Project Artemis', so I guess that's where they got the idea for the name. Delos is a Greek island that was supposedly the birthplace of Artemis and her twin sibling, Apollo.
I hear the door behind me, and turn away from the window. Just the person I'm expecting stands there. Kyle Matthews. Like me, he was born in New Zealand. He's been with me since Project Artemis was just a pipe dream in my and… in my head. One of my closest allies and friends for almost two decades now. Or maybe it has been two decades? My memories are a little fuzzy. I guess that's my age showing.
But he is one of my oldest friends regardless, and I don't get to see him too often anymore. So, I put on a smile and greet him as if I didn't have any other concern.
"It's good to see you, Kyle. When was the last time you were up here? A year ago?"
I embrace him with a hug and a big smile.
He smiles back at me, with the same look he gave me back in university, "more like three. That was quite the task you gave me."
Not that I ever took him up on that look. He's just not really my type. I prefer him as a friend, I guess.
"I should have been able to tell from the tan."
"Maybe. And you should see the sun more. You look pale, even compared to the other's up here."
"I don't have much choice. Running a city is harder work than I thought it would be. Especially when I'm effectively judge, jury, and executioner. And I don't it's a good idea to go up to the surface as often as some of them do. I already took in too much radiation in the early days."
"And I thought I was having a hard time," Kyle exasperated, "when did your hair start going grey?"
"Huh? Grey? Where?" I reached up to my head, even though I had no way of seeing where the grey hair was.
"I'm joking."
"Don't scare me like that," I smile.
So, I poured him a drink, and we sat down around a low table in my office. I guess you could call it a coffee table, but I never drink coffee. I used to all the time. But it's ridiculously expensive to get on the moon. Real coffee that is. There is synthetic stuff that's available cheap, but it really isn't the same. Not yet, anyway. There's something about the bitter and homely taste of coffee they haven't quite perfected.
"How was Jerusalem?" I say. I've perfected this tone. It says you know what I really mean, but we don't know who might really be listening. Kyle has known me long enough he picks up on it instantly.
"About as expected. We actually made the deal a while back. The Israelis were more agreeable than you first anticipated."
"I first anticipated?" I feign shock, "oh, that's right. I did give you advice on that project, didn't I?"
"Yes, that's right," his eyes silently apologise for implicating me.
"How about your girlfriend, Persephone? She went on a trip a while ago, didn't she? Do you know when you'll see her next?"
"Two weeks or so. Maybe a bit less. She's going from place to place rather quickly. I should be seeing her in Singapore about then."
"That's good to hear."
"Yes, I haven't seen her for a while, so I'm looking forward to it."
I can see in his eyes that he understood all of that. He is my oldest ally, after all. That's why he knows so much. He probably knows more than anyone, besides myself, about the final phase of Project Artemis.
The conversation we just had outlined the current progress of Project Artemis, but to anyone out of the loop, it had the appearance of two old friends catching up over a drink. So, to keep up the pretence, we continue our conversation for a while, talking about all sorts of things. Just not about business deals in Jerusalem, or a lady called Persephone. The reason for this, is that we cannot trust anyone with this information. Even Kyle does not know or necessarily understand the entire plan. He just trusts that I understand what I'm doing, and from there he just needs to follow me.
I don't know all of the workers in this building, let alone the entirety of DELOS, to trust them enough to openly plot in view of their cameras, and earshot of their microphones. And as much as I am enjoying catching up with Kyle, I'm always too busy nowadays, even for him. It makes me feel exhausted just thinking about it. Too much to do. Not even enough time to drink with an old friend.
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