Helium3 - 1 Crater (35 page)

T
he eighth continent of Earth, commonly called the moon but more appropriately Luna, is the least explored of all our land masses, perhaps because it lies approximately 239,000 miles away from the other seven. The continent of Luna—many scientists believe it was torn from the Earth by a little understood but clearly gigantic impact with perhaps another planet—was first visited in 1969 by two Earthians, then followed by ten more on five excursions, bringing back a treasure trove of unique minerals for further study. At the time, it appeared the expansion of our civilization onto the moon was imminent. Lunar facilities were on the drawing boards and a vast new frontier seemed to be open for business. But then it all stopped. Although there are many explanations as to why, none of them are rational or good. As a nation and a world, we've suffered ever since and our eyes and minds have turned inexorably inward. The new frontier, the new continent, remains closed.

Humankind will, of course, eventually sweep back to the moon. It's just a matter of time and circumstances. Luna is too close, too rich, to be ignored forever. Some people will go for scientific purposes and others will go as tourists, but I believe most of them by the thousands will go into that extremely harsh environment to dig, process, containerize, and transport a magical but very real isotope called Helium-3. In other words, they're going to be miners, convoy truckers, and bush pilots, which describe some of my favorite people. As someone who grew up in a mining town and was a coal miner, I am pleased that the future citizens of the moon and I will share a natural bond. It also means that anything I write about the way they act and think, even before it happens, is probably going to be fairly close to reality. Miners and mine owners don't change that much just because a century or two passes by. As for bush pilots and convoy truckers, I know them pretty well too. They're actually a lot alike. They'll get their rigs from point A to point B one way or the other—and do it with some flair.

These days there is much fretting about the kind of energy we use to run our civilization. It is too dirty, some say, and it causes bad things to happen to our climate. That may be so, or it may not, but the fretting will continue either way, and eventually we'll decide to do something about it. No matter what the claims of the green energy industry are, the truth is there is only one clean energy source that has any hope of ever replacing the fossil fuels and nuclear reactors that keep our modern civilization going, and that is the process called fusion. The fusion of two hydrogen atoms to make one helium atom, thus releasing energy, is how the sun works. One of its byproducts, an isotope called Helium-3, turns out to be the best fuel possible for earthly fusion reactors. In a way, that is unfortunate, since it's rare on Earth. This is because the solar wind, that gigantic river of energetic particles (including Helium-3) that flows from the sun, is repelled by our atmosphere and magnetic field.

For those of us who think people should live on the moon, however, this is a good thing. The moon has neither an atmosphere or a magnetic field and therefore the solar wind washes over it like a constant gale, loading it up with lots of Helium-3. When we need it, all we'll have to do is go get it. To accomplish that, surface mining operations on Luna will have to be organized, and miners will be sent to do the work. Robots, however clever and dexterous, will never be able to replace human miners. If they could, they would have already done so on Earth. No, it will take those special men and women who bring with them not only their muscle, but supple minds to solve the myriad and constant problems inherent to all mining.

This novel is my vision of what life will be like on our eighth continent during its raw, frontier mining days before everything gets civilized. It is derived somewhat from an earlier novel of mine,
Back to the Moon
, and is based on my knowledge and biases of the moon, the space business, the mining profession, war, and history. To help fill in, I also interviewed Dr. Barbara Cohen, a NASA planetary scientist and geologist who is often called the “Moon Goddess,” for a couple of reasons, one of them because she believes, as I do, the moon will ultimately be settled by Earthians. Dr. Cohen also perused an earlier draft of Crater's fine adventure, making a few suggestions to improve its accuracy, which I appreciated very much. Of course, any scientific or technical errors in this tale are entirely my own.

Further thanks are extended to my most excellent editor, Ami McConnell, whose encouragement almost singlehandedly caused me to write this, the first in a planned trilogy of Helium-3 novels. That's why I dedicated this book to her. She and publisher Allen Arnold and all the folks at Thomas Nelson are truly prodigious. Thanks are also extended to my first editor and wife, Linda Terry Hickam, and her helpmate Mango, our beloved orange tabby, who usually graces her lap while she peruses my scribblings. Of course, I thank all the true rocket boys and rocket girls who are still out there in the space business constructing the machines that will eventually carry us back to the moon, this time to stay, build, dig, sweat, and prosper.

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Reading Group Guide

1. At the beginning of the novel, Crater is very happy just working the Scrapes, collecting Helium-3. But Petro has bigger plans for both of them. Why do you think Crater was happy doing the same job every day, and why is Petro so eager to get out? Which character do you relate to the most?

2. What would be the best part about living on the moon? What would be the hardest to adjust to? What would you miss most about Earth?

3. The gillie has been with Crater his whole life, but it is illegal, as everyone keeps telling him. Why do you think he never got rid of it? In what ways does it help him in the course of the novel?

4. If you had a gillie, what would you get it to do?

5. When you imagine life on the moon in the years to come, in what ways is it similar to the way life is described in
Crater
? What do you think will be different?

6. What are Crater's greatest strengths? What are his greatest weaknesses?

7. If you lived on the moon, which profession would you be most interested in?

8. Describe life on Earth as Crater sees it. What is different than the way it is now? What is similar? Do you think the Earth in the book is how Earth truly will be in the future?

9. How would you describe the relationship between Crater and Petro? How does it change over the course of the novel?

10. Why did the Colonel choose Crater for his mission? Why did he have second thoughts?

11. On the Colonel's desk is a placard with the phrase “Do not wish ill for your enemy; plan it” engraved on it. What does that let you know about the Colonel as a leader? Do you think Crater thought the same things?

12. On the convoy, the truckers seem to have little respect for Crater, yet Captain Teller expects him to control the truckers. Do you think there is anything Crater could have done early on to gain their respect? Do you think they gained respect for him by the end of the convoy?

13. What do you think is the hardest obstacle Crater encountered on the road to completing his mission? How do you think he managed to survive it all?

14. What do you think will happen next for Crater and his friends?

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About the Author

HOMER HICKAM
is the author of the #1
New York Times
bestseller
Rocket Boys
, which was made into the acclaimed movie
October Sky
. He is also the author of the bestseller
Torpedo Junction
,
The Keeper's Son
,
The Ambassador's Son
, the award-winning memoir
Sky of Stone
, and the bestseller
Back to the Moon
. He is married to Linda Terry Hickam. See
www.homerhickam.com
for more information.