Analog SFF, June 2007 by Dell Magazine Authors

Author:Dell Magazine Authors
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Dell Magazines
Published: 2010-12-15T07:07:45.835000+00:00

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A ZOO IN THE JUNGLE

by CARL FREDERICK

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Illustration by Vincent DiFate

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The real purpose of a tool is not always its most obvious application...

As Yevgeny drove the moon buggy toward the distant wall of the crater, Arthur Davidson, sitting beside him, stared away at the Earth looming large just above the rim. Had he been home in New York, Arthur would be celebrating his twenty-eighth birthday about now. Not that it would be much of a celebration; as a loner, he had few friends, and, a half year earlier, his mother had died. Yet her passing had supplied him the emotional freedom to follow in his father's footsteps—but hopefully, not too closely in them.

Arthur lowered his gaze to the crater wall, its unrelenting blackness a silhouette against the star-pricked blackness of the sky. Somewhere near that wall some nineteen years ago, on the last lunar mission, his father had disappeared. As soon as he was old enough, Arthur applied to the space program and, probably out of respect for his father, they'd accepted him.

Now, despite his youth, here he was on the Moon, a part of the joint U.S./Russia expedition. He knew he had his father's reputation to thank for that. Of course, it helped that he was proficient in Russian.

With its lights off to conserve power, the buggy's large wheels rolled over the lunar landscape. The white-gray interior of the crater reflected a soft bluish tint from the bright Earth above, while basketball-sized rocks cast black shadows with fuzzy borders.

“You are as quiet as Moon,” said Yevgeny in English.

They conversed in English both because, as Yevgeny said, “You not need practice Russian. I need practice English,” and also because Commander Drummond said, “It makes me nervous when people speak in languages I don't understand,” which meant any language other than English.

“You concerned about what we find?” Yevgeny added after a few seconds.

“No, Zhenya,” said Arthur, using the Russian's nickname. “My father died as he would have wanted—for the sake of science and exploration.” He wondered if he was just idealizing his father. When Arthur was six, his parents had divorced and, despite his protestations, his mother had been awarded sole custody. He loved his mother, of course, but he always felt the loss of his dad.

Yevgeny nodded toward the disk of the Earth. “I not think Mission Control considers this science mission.” He threw up a hand. “For nineteen years, nobody care about Moon, but now..."

Arthur blew out a breath in his helmet. He appreciated that it would sound like a gale when transmitted to Yevgeny's transceiver. “I know. As long as we set up a base before the New Arabia mission arrives, they'll be happy. But I really wish we had a more substantial mission."

Yevgeny shrugged. “How many people you need to plant flag?"

“Claiming the Moon.” Arthur balled a fist. “It's stupid. It'll lead to war.” He let out another breath, this time through his nose. “But as for exploration, space is the only game in town.

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