There's Something On the Moon!

By John D'Angelo

Richard Johnson retired and started a new hobby, Astronomy. He made a discovery of something on the moon that started a chain of events that nobody could have predicted. His discovery would lead to a situation that would affect every person on Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365429866

Book preview

There's Something On the Moon!

There's Something On the Moon!

Richard Johnson discovered something unusual happening on the surface of the Moon.

His discovery would lead to the most important events in the history of the human race!

Copyright © 2016 John D'Angelo

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One-Retirement

Chapter Two-Discovery

Chapter Three-Bad News

Chapter Four-The White House

Chapter Five-Major Peter Flynn

Chapter Six-Doctor Elizabeth Cunningham

Chapter Seven-Captain Edward Connell

Chapter Eight-The Briefing

Chapter Nine-Crew Training

Chapter Ten-Simulation

Chapter Eleven-Assembley in Space

Chapter Twelve-Contact!

Chapter Thirteen-Aftermath

Chapter Fourteen-The Oval Office

Chapter Fifteen-Payback

Epilog

Prologue

Askuwheteau was walking along the great river that goes both ways. He looked at the forest and the leaves were beginning to change color, signaling the coming of winter. There was a gentle breeze and the air was cool as he walked along, looking for game. It was a beautiful time, with clear blue skies and cooling days. He enjoyed these days as he scanned the woods, then something caught his eye and he turned to see what it was.

Coming along the river was a giant canoe with many men on it and the canoe had white clouds that billowed out and stayed above the canoe as it moved along. It was a sight that he had never seen in his life before and he fearfully hid behind a tree!  As the gigantic canoe sailed by he heard the members of the tribe talking in a strange tongue and he watched as it moved along without the men doing any rowing! He thought that this must be a magical canoe inhabited by Gods.

As the giant canoe sailed into the distance, Askuwheteau had a sinking feeling that his life would be changed forever.

Chapter One-Retirement

It was a nice party, with his friends and coworkers wishing him well after forty years with Kingston Consolidated Industries. He had started in the mail room all those years ago, just a young kid, wondering what the future would hold for him and now he was a senior executive, but once again looking ahead to a new and unknown future.

Richard Johnson had worked very hard over the years, putting in long hours, and never turning down an assignment. He felt that he could have stayed longer, but the company had been bought out by U.S. Eagle Incorporated and the people at USEI were a different breed. The word Loyalty had no meaning in their vocabulary and he felt that they should all be dressed like pirates. After they took over everything went down real fast and Richard felt his only option was to take a deal, then get the hell out before he had a heart attack!

After the handshakes were over with and the group broke up, he walked down an empty city street with a cold wind hitting him in the face as snow drifted down. He felt very dejected and thought about Anne. She had passed away five years ago, but her memory still burned in his brain and heart.

They had been married for thirty years when she was diagnosed with cancer and their lives changed forever. There was nothing he or anyone else could could do as he fought by her side, trying to hold back the inevitable. There came the time when they had to come to the realization that further efforts to save her would only increase her discomfort and they changed the treatments to just ease her pain. The night she died, it was raining outside and the wind was increasing. As she got weaker,  he kissed her and held her, trying to not let her go, but she slipped away quietly in her sleep.  He felt that the wind was there to carry her away. 

He walked to the station and caught the late train to Weston. The railroad car was not well heated and he felt a chill as he gazed out the window into the night as his train rumbled on. His two children had moved out of the home years ago and were spread across the country communicating with each other by email  and  his home  had become a terribly lonely place. Richard decided that it was time for a change.

His retirement package was excellent and it would give him a decent income for the rest of his life if he played his cards right, so he decided to take the bull by the horns, sell his home, and then move to where the night skies were clear. He always wanted to be involved with astronomy, and it was time to do something for himself!

Chapter Two-Discovery

Alice's smiling face was backlit on the laptop as they talked to each other.

...So, Bill and I are hoping to get some free time next month, and we can visit you for a week.

That would be great, honey, I'd love to see you both again and I know how much you love  Aurora. It is absolutely beautiful at night out here. The nights are always cool and the stars are like diamonds!

It really is great out there Dad, and we want to look through that telescope of yours. OK;  I have to run now, but we'll firm up the dates and let you know when we will be there. Love you!

Love you too, honey, bye.

He had been in his new home for three years and deeply loved it where he was now. It was really strange how the family lived these days. Alice was up in Cape Cod and his son William was in Big Sur, yet they talked and texted to each other via the internet and it seemed like they were all together. He  enjoyed having them stay with him when they could, but they were so busy in their jobs it was hard to get the time together.

His retirement home was in Aurora, Utah and built west of the edge of town with Broad Canyon in the distance. He had five acres of land with low scrub pines giving him an excellent view of the sky at night. He had a sprawling ranch home. It was a well insulated building built on a solid foundation with thick walls and a high pitched roof. With three bedrooms, the kids could visit anytime they were able and stay as long as they wanted. Aurora, Utah was named for the beautiful Aurora Borealis  that at times could be seen in the clear night skies.

The piece de resistance of his home was the attached observatory. It had a roll off roof and contained a massive 16 inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. The equatorial mount was constructed with a deep cement base that removed any vibration as the telescope tracked the skies overnight. He had a large picture of the Great Nebula in Orion framed on the wall, that he had taken shortly after building his observatory, the back lit image was breathtaking.

Richard had a heavily insulated control room that was next to the telescope room with a triple pane glass picture window facing his scope. He could control the movements of the telescope and work in complete comfort while the telescope sat in 30 degree weather. The control panel had a monitor that could view the image from the eyepiece while he took long exposure photographs. He had everything he needed at arms length, including a