Captain Forsyth: A Letter

Fly me to the moon….

The ongoing letter that Henry writes to his brother Clarence, which may be about to become irrelevant!

Dear Abigail,

I regret that we are now out of heliograph contact. I hope you’ll forgive these scribbled notes as I go. We found the Glow! It’s a giant fissure in the moon’s surface that does indeed emit a glow.

We descended down this giant canyon for something in the order of 30 miles, before our ship got into difficulties. The atmosphere had increased, so the eather drive began to struggle.

In short order, Grant was fighting with his ship. We hit the wall, almost landed on a ridge, but tumbled onto a lower one where we came to rest. The pressurisation was all wrong and the hull popped a few rivets, which were easy to repair.

Incoming air was breathable, cold and damp. That was all good news. It meant we didn’t have to expend air supplies and there possibly a source of water.

Looking about there was nothing but that glow below us. This fissure clearly went a long way further down, we didn’t have any sense of the bottom. The hydrogen balloon that should have easily elevated us out here, had failed on deployment.

But again, it was repairable. We concluded repairs with a degree of confidence that we could fly out.

However, the essential diamond at the heart of the engine was shattered. How could we possibly get a replacement?

But what of this fissure? Things had got a bit mashed up with the crash. But this was just so curious and I can’t resist that kind of challenge. Besides I was still looking for Clarence.

We’d got rope and climbing gear, so started to descend, following strict climbing protocol to ensure none of plunged to our deaths.

I’d have loved to abseil down, but Wilhelm and Hartwell are less versed in mountaineering. That may have proven better in the long run. As it made us more cautious.

Slime was our first problem – and encouragement. It made grip a tab more difficult, but told us there had to water somewhere.

Day after day, we climbed down. We found edible mushrooms and thereafter the source of ‘the glow’.

It was another fungus of a different hue, that gave off a translucent effect. We’d found the source of the glow! It wasn’t strong but just the sheer volume of it was enough to create good illumination, all be it in a strange cast of light.

Wilhelm was nearly lost, when his rope crossed one these not quite mushroom type glow things and it secreted a very powerful acid. It burnt through the rope in very short order.

Wilhelm managed to grab an out crop of rock and save himself.

Another day climbing down. Now we found to answer to the question ‘is there life on Luna’, suddenly we had a cloud of batlike creatures around us. Nasty devils, with sharp teeth all over you. We were on a narrow ledge so evasion wasn’t possible.

I heard shots ring out and a couple of splats, but there were far too many for that. I grabbed a couple of them and slammed together, but to little avail.

There were too many, taking them in ones or twos wasn’t enough.

I’d been bitten to ribbons. Wilhelm had the answer as he so often does. His ‘gubber gun’ accounted for a fair many and a second shot effectively did for the rest.

Wilhelm has also rebuilt his healing device, I believe at great personal cost, which now cured me.

We continued the endless climb.

We were now aware of the need to avoid or clear the glowing fungus. An observation was made that the bat like creatures we’d swatted aside were being absorbed by the fungus at a very fast rate.

Further down we encountered some odd creatures that for all the world I would have called rats, except they looked more like insects. Size of rats, but an insect type of structure.

We continued down, it was harder going than you can imagine, there was little hope but no other option.

Eventually we came upon the wreck of the lost Russian flyer, clearly wrecked. Curiously the ship had been stripped of any machinal or electrical parts. Significantly there were abandoned rifle crates with the Remington company logo clearly on them.

We concluded from the cyclic writing that this was the lost ship of Vladimir Tereshkova of Russia. Why he should transport arms into the unknown is a matter of speculation.

However, it strikes me, with my military training, that you would only do this if you had the troops to arm them with. He has made many journeys here before.

Have the Russians discovered something of import and tried to set up a defence?

Or is there something far more to moon than we suspected?

One thing was clear, in order to gut this ship effectively, the survivors - or someone else, must have had access to food and water. We had hope!

No sooner had we settled than we were attacked! A strange giant caterpillar creature with mandibles and a gaping maul. As it advanced on us Hartwell put a bullet through it, creating a big hole and catapulting it over the side of the ledge.

I should explain that were climbing from ledge to ledge, finding place to rest, when our exertions were enough. But now it was noticeable that our path down and the ledges had been cleared of any harmful fungus.

Down further, another ledge, another stop to sleep and another giant caterpillar type creature. It attacked Wilhelm, whereon he whisks out his rapier and lances the head of the thing! He’s a scientist for heavens sake. I carry a sword as part of my uniform, but I’ve barely drawn in anger.

Down again, then there is another damaged flyer across the cavern. Playing my telescope across it I made out it’s insignia ‘The Moth’!

I’d found a trace of Clarence, my brother’s craft. Ropes led down from the craft, so there was hope.

The chasm was too wide for any thoughts of crossing.

We continued our aching descent, was no end to this chasm?

We were attacked again by another of these huge caterpillar creatures that are extremely fast and can climb the vertical surfaces with ease. I took a nasty bite, but Wilhelm has recreated his marvellous healing device and I was back to right in no time.

Following the ropes descending from the Moth, I did spy a corpse on an opposite ledge. It was too badly degraded to identify. But ropes continued down, so hope remains.

Finally, we hit a ledge that had a cave leading off it. Looking down the chasm there is a rope bridge linking to the other side of the chasm and still no sign of the bottom. Clearly there are people living here, but who and quite what they may be, we are yet to discover. The Russians and their rifles pose a big question.

Much as it would have been nice to reach the bridge it was still a long way down and off to the side, which would have involved the traversing along the chasm wall.

The cave seems like the better option. The fungus is present and provides illumination. A short way in it opens into a circular chamber. Stalactites and stalagmites abound.

We go on.