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From the moment I met Chiaki-San, I knew she was destined for the moon.
At the time, I had just received my postgraduate degree in Aeronautical Programming and been thrown into the job of a lifetime. When I first walked in, the room hummed with a sense of ambition, a sense of eagerness, that with ambition, we could achieve anything. I stepped into the shoes of a man who made history each morning, and went to work to put my country on the moon.
It was here that I met Chiaki-San. She came from a rich family, up in the hills, and had lived here all her life. She was living in the far-away Kanagawa District. She too shared a sense of energy, but behaved with the utmost politeness in the workplace. She would often fetch coffee for myself and Haruto-San without buying one for herself, which I thought strange. It was not until we finally finished work on the lander that we had the opportunity to speak.
If I am remembering correctly, she may have asked me to help on one of her commutes home, considering that I lived in the nearby Yamato district, and it is a long journey to make alone at four o’clock in the morning. I may have offered to drive her; I cannot remember. The one thing I can remember is that, in a strange way, she never once looked me in the eye.
Chiaki-San was a young woman, perhaps in her early thirties, and living with an original purpose. From an early age, she had sensed the importance of this, the importance of space, the future that was not going to pass in another generation’s, but the future that was going to pass in hers. The development of all-new technology was not just meant for the moon - it was meant for going beyond. Deep down, I also think Chiaki wanted part of it for herself.
I know all of this because sometimes, between a smoke for myself and a short nap for her, we would stop at a roadside diner in Hachioji, a place I had been coming since the age of eighteen, and share coffee. The white lights help to drag the people trapped by the early hours of the morning.
“I think,” she lit another Seven Stars, “it’s all made of paper.”
I shrugged. “What makes you say that?”
“What makes you say that?” she snapped in return. I gave her a smile but she was, of course, not looking at me.
“Well, I just,” I continued. “I just wondered if you’re serious.”
“Serious about what?”
“About your paper theory.”
We would be the first country to manage a precision landing on an extraterrestrial surface - within one hundred meters of its target. It would not only mean a lunar expedition - it would be a signal of intent, a message to future generations that Japan has the ability and ambition to become a valuable partner in the new space-age era of business and diplomacy. We could reach Mars. We could reach Venus. And in the generations to come, we could reach further.
These were the essential beliefs of Chiaki-San, who had helped design the electronic motherboards. She and I were about the only two people not surprised when the craft came back online yesterday afternoon. We shared half a glance over our shoulders at 03:06, when the signal finally came through. She, like me, had lived for two weeks surrounded by chaos. I will always feel that we came through that JAXA together.
“Do you like the moon, Suzuki-San?”
“I suppose,” I said in reply. Barrels of steam from hot, black coffee rose between our seats. “I see it enough, that’s for sure.”
“It’s always so gorgeous in the morning.” She paused to adjust her posture. “Do you want to go?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Do you ever want to go?” she asked again, this time slightly annoyed. I must have hesitated somehow in my answer, as she then added: “and don’t give me any sort of corporate structure nonsense… none of the technicalities, or physical requirements, just in theory – somewhere, deep in your God-given soul – do you ever want to see what’s all out there?”
I must have hesitated again.
“Don’t be a prick, Suzuki-San. There’s no wrong answer to this one.”
“I don’t know, I would… but at the same time, I always have so much to do here.”
“Would you rather have less work?”
“I’d rather have more sleep.”
She smiled and stubbed out her Seven Stars, letting out a sigh into the electric Tokyo air. “I’d rather have less work.”
We stopped sharing the drive when she moved, several years ago. But the fact that she will become the first woman on the moon? She and I are probably the only two people not surprised.
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Read the original article (Greg Brosnan - BBC News):
Japan Moon lander survives lunar night - BBC News
disclaimer:
The views expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of the author. The stories themselves are based on imagined events. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is fictitious and should not be taken as representative.
The moon landings etc took place at PETER PAN LAND, KIRRIEMUIR, SCOTLAND. Here is the address-----The Moon, Kirriemuir, DD8 5BF
Beautifully atmospheric piece. (Odd considering there's no atmosphere on the moon.)