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This is interesting...I have the beginning & the ending of the story written, but nothing in the middle! In any case, what I'm interested in hearing feedback on is the ending. The story is about being sent as sheep among wolves; missionaries! I've always had a deep appreciation for sci-fi, so this is putting it out into the future, with lunar colonies. Being entirely atheists that go to live in their own lunar settlements, two men go off as partners to evangelize.
The ending I'm including is actually something I wrote today to channel the loneliness I keep feeling. I have wonderful friends, but I still know there's someone missing. I'm designed for a romantic relationship, and the lack thereof causes me pain every day. But I'm starting to see this as a blessing in disguise; I understand Christ's loneliness so much more, now that I have a taste of it in my own life! He hasn't taken the pain away, but He's given it meaning.
When I sat down to write out my loneliness, I realized it could work very well with the plot of my lunar missionaries, as a closing scene where Paul Heinlein, one of the missionaries, dies. At some point, I would have Ross, the partner, be separated. I don't know how, but the separation works into what I wrote. I may have an epilogue, where Ross comes back to give his partner a proper burial. I also just realized that I gave the name Paul to a missionary character--this was not intentional! Paul Heinlein is a name I've used before, and I thought I could put him in this story.
Without further ado, here is the beginning of the story. The ending, I'll put into the next post, as I'm sure it will need to be split up.
-----
Great missionaries of Christian history are people I’ve always heard stories of, but never thought I would experience. Furthermore, it confused me, as I saw converting people’s mindsets in foreign lands to be a rather odd thing to focus so much energy on, when there are so many needs to be filled where we already are. But as things have turned out, Lunar 5 was the site for just another sort of these missions, and I was in just the position to carry one out. Since the initial moon landing in the late 1960s, there was quite the lull with little human activity on our nearest celestial neighbor. But as crazy-rich nutjobs decided to create their own home on a distant land, far away from any taxes, beggars, or anything they don’t want to deal with. The moon truly is a dream home for people who want to get away from it all…for good.
This is how it all began, in the briefest manner I could think to describe the background of society and of my mindset. We pick up with my good friend Ross, who always has a unique way of looking at these things.
“Lunar 5? That’s the name of the landing site? And let me guess…Lunar 1 through 4 came before? My goodness, man, these names are lamer than the Canadian hockey teams!”
Ross let out a laugh. He was a man that always made people feel happy; wherever he was, you could be certain that a good-natured laugh at the absurdity of life would soon be heard for miles around.
I am Paul Heinlein, a distant relative of the great Robert Heinlein. My personality is far more calm; nothing much bothers me, even when things get stressful for everyone else. I take life in stride, walking this journey in a sort of peaceful & slow manner; Ross sees life as a comedy show, something with absurdities around every corner that are begging to be called out. Nothing bothers him, either, but he’s much louder about everything, in the best way possible. We have been good friends since childhood, and our common interest in space travel has led us to this unique point in world history. Of course, that term may need to be updated, as there’s no longer just one world we’ll be discussing.
We have both loved rocketry, space photographs, and the Air & Space Museum in D.C. Ross is one of the Jesuits, an intellectual elite among scientists and Catholics alike. I work with him, without taking the religious vows that would keep me from being able to marry someday. I am the more thoughtful, research-oriented one, while Ross is better at collaborating with the necessary people to make a large project work. His loud and fun disposition makes him hard not to like, and my generally quiet disposition makes me better suited for quiet research behind a computer.
We’ve been watching these recent lunar landings with great interest. I thought it was fascinating how technology has advanced so well that a single rocket could bring up the necessary supplies for an entire landing site; Ross occupied himself by laughing at the funny names of the astronauts. In any case, we both saw a great societal change happening before our eyes, as the richest of the rich take their entire fortunes into space, converting a lifetime of financial earnings into elaborate moon bases with swimming pools and bars like no other. What we saw happening, what everyone saw happening, was a new branch of society opening up; there is a group of tax-free, law-free, carefree people that are setting up in different craters across the moon, generating their own society from the ground up. Sociologists mainly focused on the question of how their governmental or educational facilities will arise, but Ross and I had a different focus.
What we saw was an atheistic utopia…but we knew that there was still something higher. Nothing is more important than souls, Ross would say. Up there, on the stony ball we can see every night…there’s a lot of souls that still need to be saved. Now Ross, he never struck me as the missionary type. He lived his vow of poverty devoutly, giving all his extra money to a church program that covers the rent for people who need a place to live. But his time was always spent in astronomical research, discovering more and more about God’s Creation beyond this planet. He was the favorite of the workers in these observatories, and certainly fulfilled a holy purpose in bringing joy into so many people’s lives. But going out there, wherever “there” may be, to bring the Gospel to people who had no knowledge of how it could change their lives…he’s never even mentioned wanting to do this! Frankly, neither had I. But both of us were fascinated by the growing moon society, and I suppose it’s only natural that we would want to be a part of it. If nothing is more important than souls, and nothing fascinates us more than everything “up there”, then bringing these two together will certainly be the best thing we could do.
Ross talked to his superiors, of course. They say the Jesuits are an order, not a democracy; authority overrules the general desires of the masses. But his superiors were thinking the same thing. They were too old for their bodies to handle the stresses of space travel, but Ross and I are both healthy young men with strong hearts, and already well-established among astronomers and astronaut trainers. Why not go for it?
We researched it. This would take a lot of money. Even with the resources of a professional astronomical lab behind us, we would have to be the first lunar nomads. There was no way we could invest so much in a permanent base; we would have to live in a small hut that we could carry on our backs. This would leave us susceptible to few dangers; there would be no wildlife to worry about, no thieves who would take from us. Meteor collisions would be a threat, but monitoring systems for such things were put on the moon before the first permanent base was ever established, and they were remarkably accurate. We would know where the safe and unsafe places would be. The issue would be seeing how far we would have to move. A permanent base has a defense system to make meteors no longer a threat, but Ross and I would essentially be living in a tent, so any rocks kicked up by an impact could end our mission, if we were not considerably distant form the meteor. Our biggest obstacle would be discomfort; but then, if discomfort was a stumbling block, no missionary would have ever set out. It was rather supernatural, as our Lord & Commander Jesus Christ endured so much more discomfort than we would ever have to face, even wandering across the gray rocks of the moon.
So, armed with the greatest technologies of the late 21st century, and on a mission from God, we proceeded to turn this missionary dream into a reality. No one who had set up their base on the moon was committed to any religion, though zealous atheism will likely be the dominant ideology among these people. Yet we really didn’t know what to expect. As Ross kept reminding me, if God truly wants this to happen, it will happen. As I keep reminding Ross, if God truly put us in charge, then we need to do everything we can to make it a reality. He’s more idealistic, in his God-will-do-it mentality; I’m more realistic, knowing that God likes to make us earn our accomplishments. We balance each other out well.
We started with a press conference, then some more calculations, an improved version of portable lunar housing, and finally, we were strapped into a rocket, ready for takeoff. Ross brought consecrated hosts, so we could truly have Christ with us on our journey. I brought a medallion that was stamped specifically for this journey, with the papal blessing of Francis III bringing prosperity to our soul-saving expedition. We both brought materials for building an altar, as well as materials for setting up the first lunar cemetery. As long as death is inevitable, the afterlife will be on people’s minds to some degree; this may be what it takes to bring these people to realize the truth that there is something eternal.
The ending I'm including is actually something I wrote today to channel the loneliness I keep feeling. I have wonderful friends, but I still know there's someone missing. I'm designed for a romantic relationship, and the lack thereof causes me pain every day. But I'm starting to see this as a blessing in disguise; I understand Christ's loneliness so much more, now that I have a taste of it in my own life! He hasn't taken the pain away, but He's given it meaning.
When I sat down to write out my loneliness, I realized it could work very well with the plot of my lunar missionaries, as a closing scene where Paul Heinlein, one of the missionaries, dies. At some point, I would have Ross, the partner, be separated. I don't know how, but the separation works into what I wrote. I may have an epilogue, where Ross comes back to give his partner a proper burial. I also just realized that I gave the name Paul to a missionary character--this was not intentional! Paul Heinlein is a name I've used before, and I thought I could put him in this story.
Without further ado, here is the beginning of the story. The ending, I'll put into the next post, as I'm sure it will need to be split up.
-----
Great missionaries of Christian history are people I’ve always heard stories of, but never thought I would experience. Furthermore, it confused me, as I saw converting people’s mindsets in foreign lands to be a rather odd thing to focus so much energy on, when there are so many needs to be filled where we already are. But as things have turned out, Lunar 5 was the site for just another sort of these missions, and I was in just the position to carry one out. Since the initial moon landing in the late 1960s, there was quite the lull with little human activity on our nearest celestial neighbor. But as crazy-rich nutjobs decided to create their own home on a distant land, far away from any taxes, beggars, or anything they don’t want to deal with. The moon truly is a dream home for people who want to get away from it all…for good.
This is how it all began, in the briefest manner I could think to describe the background of society and of my mindset. We pick up with my good friend Ross, who always has a unique way of looking at these things.
“Lunar 5? That’s the name of the landing site? And let me guess…Lunar 1 through 4 came before? My goodness, man, these names are lamer than the Canadian hockey teams!”
Ross let out a laugh. He was a man that always made people feel happy; wherever he was, you could be certain that a good-natured laugh at the absurdity of life would soon be heard for miles around.
I am Paul Heinlein, a distant relative of the great Robert Heinlein. My personality is far more calm; nothing much bothers me, even when things get stressful for everyone else. I take life in stride, walking this journey in a sort of peaceful & slow manner; Ross sees life as a comedy show, something with absurdities around every corner that are begging to be called out. Nothing bothers him, either, but he’s much louder about everything, in the best way possible. We have been good friends since childhood, and our common interest in space travel has led us to this unique point in world history. Of course, that term may need to be updated, as there’s no longer just one world we’ll be discussing.
We have both loved rocketry, space photographs, and the Air & Space Museum in D.C. Ross is one of the Jesuits, an intellectual elite among scientists and Catholics alike. I work with him, without taking the religious vows that would keep me from being able to marry someday. I am the more thoughtful, research-oriented one, while Ross is better at collaborating with the necessary people to make a large project work. His loud and fun disposition makes him hard not to like, and my generally quiet disposition makes me better suited for quiet research behind a computer.
We’ve been watching these recent lunar landings with great interest. I thought it was fascinating how technology has advanced so well that a single rocket could bring up the necessary supplies for an entire landing site; Ross occupied himself by laughing at the funny names of the astronauts. In any case, we both saw a great societal change happening before our eyes, as the richest of the rich take their entire fortunes into space, converting a lifetime of financial earnings into elaborate moon bases with swimming pools and bars like no other. What we saw happening, what everyone saw happening, was a new branch of society opening up; there is a group of tax-free, law-free, carefree people that are setting up in different craters across the moon, generating their own society from the ground up. Sociologists mainly focused on the question of how their governmental or educational facilities will arise, but Ross and I had a different focus.
What we saw was an atheistic utopia…but we knew that there was still something higher. Nothing is more important than souls, Ross would say. Up there, on the stony ball we can see every night…there’s a lot of souls that still need to be saved. Now Ross, he never struck me as the missionary type. He lived his vow of poverty devoutly, giving all his extra money to a church program that covers the rent for people who need a place to live. But his time was always spent in astronomical research, discovering more and more about God’s Creation beyond this planet. He was the favorite of the workers in these observatories, and certainly fulfilled a holy purpose in bringing joy into so many people’s lives. But going out there, wherever “there” may be, to bring the Gospel to people who had no knowledge of how it could change their lives…he’s never even mentioned wanting to do this! Frankly, neither had I. But both of us were fascinated by the growing moon society, and I suppose it’s only natural that we would want to be a part of it. If nothing is more important than souls, and nothing fascinates us more than everything “up there”, then bringing these two together will certainly be the best thing we could do.
Ross talked to his superiors, of course. They say the Jesuits are an order, not a democracy; authority overrules the general desires of the masses. But his superiors were thinking the same thing. They were too old for their bodies to handle the stresses of space travel, but Ross and I are both healthy young men with strong hearts, and already well-established among astronomers and astronaut trainers. Why not go for it?
We researched it. This would take a lot of money. Even with the resources of a professional astronomical lab behind us, we would have to be the first lunar nomads. There was no way we could invest so much in a permanent base; we would have to live in a small hut that we could carry on our backs. This would leave us susceptible to few dangers; there would be no wildlife to worry about, no thieves who would take from us. Meteor collisions would be a threat, but monitoring systems for such things were put on the moon before the first permanent base was ever established, and they were remarkably accurate. We would know where the safe and unsafe places would be. The issue would be seeing how far we would have to move. A permanent base has a defense system to make meteors no longer a threat, but Ross and I would essentially be living in a tent, so any rocks kicked up by an impact could end our mission, if we were not considerably distant form the meteor. Our biggest obstacle would be discomfort; but then, if discomfort was a stumbling block, no missionary would have ever set out. It was rather supernatural, as our Lord & Commander Jesus Christ endured so much more discomfort than we would ever have to face, even wandering across the gray rocks of the moon.
So, armed with the greatest technologies of the late 21st century, and on a mission from God, we proceeded to turn this missionary dream into a reality. No one who had set up their base on the moon was committed to any religion, though zealous atheism will likely be the dominant ideology among these people. Yet we really didn’t know what to expect. As Ross kept reminding me, if God truly wants this to happen, it will happen. As I keep reminding Ross, if God truly put us in charge, then we need to do everything we can to make it a reality. He’s more idealistic, in his God-will-do-it mentality; I’m more realistic, knowing that God likes to make us earn our accomplishments. We balance each other out well.
We started with a press conference, then some more calculations, an improved version of portable lunar housing, and finally, we were strapped into a rocket, ready for takeoff. Ross brought consecrated hosts, so we could truly have Christ with us on our journey. I brought a medallion that was stamped specifically for this journey, with the papal blessing of Francis III bringing prosperity to our soul-saving expedition. We both brought materials for building an altar, as well as materials for setting up the first lunar cemetery. As long as death is inevitable, the afterlife will be on people’s minds to some degree; this may be what it takes to bring these people to realize the truth that there is something eternal.