Lunar Colony by Patrick Kinney Read Free Book Online Page B

find on the other side, he took a deep breath and gently opened it.
    Inside, he found an area used to keep all kinds of gardening equipment. And among the rakes, shovels, and bags of fertilizer was a woman with her back turned to Glen. She muttered to herself and appeared to be looking for something.
    It was Salerno.
    “It’s got to be somewhere around here,” she said, talking to herself, unaware that Glen was in the room.
    Glen was astonished to finally be face-to-face, or at least face-to-back, with Salerno. But now that he’d found her, he realized he didn’t know what to do.
    “Ahem,” he said, clearing his throat.
    Salerno froze. Then, slowly, she stood upright and turned around to face Glen.
    “Just as I thought,” she said. “It was hard to tell as you were spinning around on the gyroscope, but now I see that I was correct. They sent a boy, no more than twelve years old, to disrupt my search.”
    “My name is Glen Johns, and I’m actually thirteen,” he said nervously. “And, uh, you’re supposed to come with me.” Glen felt even stranger than he had when he’d spoken to Nat the robot. He wasn’t used to giving orders to grown-ups, especially astronauts.
    “I can’t do that,” Salerno said. “I’m on the brink of the greatest discovery ever made, and I must see this through.”
    “Does it have something to do with those obelisks out there?” Glen asked. He knew he was supposed to be taking her into custody, but he was dying for some answers.
    Salerno looked at Glen, who was surprised to notice a certain kindness in her eyes. “Have you seen them?” she asked.
    “I saw two of them. What are they? Where did they come from?” he asked.
    “Glen, I believe they were left here millions of years ago, long before the dawn of man. I can’t say for certain
who
left them here, but I can tell you that it was no one of our Earth.”
    “So, you’re saying they were created by . . .” Glen’svoice trailed off. He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
    “Yes, Glen, I believe they were created by aliens. And I think that if I can find the fourth obelisk, which I call Number Four, they may interact with each other in a way that will allow us to make contact with their creators.”
    Glen was fascinated by what Salerno was saying but was also aware of how crazy it sounded. And as much as he wanted to hear more about the obelisks, he knew that he had a job to do.
    “Commander Salerno, I’m sorry, but I can’t go home without you. Please, just give up your search and come with me.”
    The astronaut turned an empty bucket upside down and sighed as she had a seat.
    “Glen,” she began, “I’ve wanted to be an astronaut all my life, ever since I was a little girl. And do you know why?”
    Glen didn’t reply.
    “It’s because I wanted to explore the universe, to see what’s out there. When I was a kid, I’d lie in the grass and stare up at the stars, trying tocomprehend the vastness of space. And I asked the same question that’s been asked throughout our history:
Are we alone?
Now I’m so close to proving that we are not alone, that there are others out there. I can’t give up now.”
    Glen remained quiet, but he couldn’t help thinking of his father. Mr. Johns would have understood what Salerno was saying. He’d be glad to know that there were astronauts like Salerno, who shared his sense of wonder and desire to know what other worlds might exist out there. In fact, Salerno’s words reminded Glen of the way he once felt, when he was a young boy who was fascinated by space and all its mysteries.
    “The space program is coming to a close, Glen,” Salerno continued. “If I give up and leave with you now, I’ll never get another chance at this. Do you understand?”
    She searched the boy’s face and saw that he was torn between what he wanted to do and what he had to do. Salerno felt sorry for him but had an idea.
    “You know, Glen,” she said, “I could use somehelp in finding Number