The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Reason for F.N.'s long delay and apparent indecision arose from method of sneak attack. Decision had been made shortly after we embargoed grain (so we learned from captured transport officers); time was used in mounting attack--much of it in a long elliptical orbit which went far outside Luna's orbit, crossing ahead of Luna, then looping back and making rendezvous above Farside. Of course Mike never saw them; he's blind back there. He had been skywatching with his ballistic radars--but no radar can look over horizon; longest look Mike got at any ship in orbit was eight minutes. They came skimming peaks in tight, circular orbits, each straight for target with a fast dido landing at end, sitting them down with high gee, precisely at new earth, 12 Oct 76 Gr. 18h-40m-36.9s--if not at that exact tenth of a second, then as close to it as Mike could tell from blip tracks--elegant work, one must admit, on part of F.N. Peace Navy.

Big brute that poured a thousand troops into L-City Mike did not see until it chopped off for grounding--a glimpse. He would have been able to see it a few seconds sooner had he been looking eastward with new radar at Mare Undarum site, but happened he was drilling "his idiot son" at time and they were looking through it westward at Terra. Not that those seconds would have mattered. Surprise was so beautifully pla

So they caught us with our p-suits down. And our weapons. But with troopers dead we still had six transports on our surface and a command ship in our sky.

Once Bon Marche engagement was over, I got hold of self and found a phone. No word from Kongville, no word from Prof. J-Clty fight had been won, same for Novylen--transport there had toppled on landing; invading force had been understrength from landing losses and Fi

So I talked to Fi

Fi

Told him to wait--they couldn't get at us by tube, not while we controlled power, and doubted if that transport could lift. "Let's look at this one."

So we went out through lock thirteen, clear to end of private pressure, on through farm tu

Then pushed it up and climbed out; outcropping of rock shielded us. We Red-Indianed around edge and looked, using helmet binox.

Then withdrew behind rock and talked. Fi

"How?"

"If I tell you, you'll think of reasons why it won't work. So how about letting me run my own show, cobber?"

Have heard of armies where boss is not told to shut up --word is "discipline." But we were amateurs. Fi

Took him an hour to put it together, two minutes to execute. He scattered a dozen men around ship, using farmers' surface radio silence throughout--anyhow, some did not have p-suit radios, city boys. Fi

When flare burst over ship, everybody burned at once, each working on a predesignated ante

Fi

Decided Fi

I said, "Listen, you upstart collection of semi-conductors, you are merely a minister-without-portfolio while I am Minister of Defense. I ought to see what's going on and I have exactly two eyeballs while you've got eyes spread over half of Crisium. You trying to hog fun?"

He told me not to jump salty and offered to put his displays on a video screen, say in room L of Raffles--did not want me to get hurt... and had I heard joke about drillman who hurt his mother's feelings?

I said, "Mike, please let me have a capsule. Can p-suit and meet it outside Station West--which is in bad shape as I'm sure you know."

"Okay," he said, "it's your neck. Thirteen minutes. I'll let you go as far as Gun Station George."

Mighty kind of him. Got there and got on phone again. Fi

"This is not Gospodin Selene," Mike answered in a strange voice, "this is one of his assistants. Adam Selene was in Churchill Upper when it lost pressure. I'm afraid that we must assume that he is dead."

"What?"

"I am very sorry, Gospodin."

"Hold phone!" Chased a couple of drillmen and a girl out of room, then sat down and lowered hush hood. "Mike," I said softly, "private now. What is this gum-beating?"

"Man," he said quietly, "think it over. Adam Selene had to go someday. He's served his purpose and is, as you pointed out, almost out of the government. Professor and I have discussed this; the only question has been the timing. Can you think of a better last use for Adam than to have him die in this invasion? It makes him a national hero... and the nation needs one. Let it stand that 'Adam Selene is probably dead' until you can talk to Professor. If he still needs 'Adam Selene' it can turn out that he was trapped in a private pressure and had to wait to be rescued."

"Well-- Okay, let it stay open. Personally, I always preferred your 'Mike' personality anyhow."