Men of Moon

I raised my hands like I was holding a rifle.

“Then I aimed,” I said loud enough for the whole bar to hear. “And I started shooting.”

I lowered my voice. “Didn't miss a single shot!”

The people in the bar cheered.

Glasses hit metal. Some laughed with excitement. Some called me a hero.

I drank my glass of water.

Then a man in the corner stood up. Big and drunk staring right at me. He let his beer fall from his hand. It shattered across the metallic floor. “You think you're a hero?”

The noise in the bar dipped. Everyone paying attention.

I smiled and walked towards him. “What did you say?”

“You heard me!”

For a second, I almost stopped.

Then I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer seeing my own reflection in his eyes. “Say it again.”

He reached for another glass. I hit him before he could grab it. My fist cracked against his jaw. I hit him again. Harder.

He folded, gasping. I drove my knee into his stomach. Felt the air leave him.

The noise came back. People shouting. Movement all around us like birds flying around trying fo flee.

I grabbed his shoulders and forced him down to his knees. “I am the hero who saved the moon!” I said it quieter. “You're just a newcomer.”

He didn't answer or look at me. I raised my hands, and stopped. For my own sake.

Two well-dressed men pulled me back. They dragged me outside before I could say anything. I pulled away. “Don't touch me.” I turned to leave.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Our association is interested in you.”

“No.” I didn't even look back. The grip tightened. “That wasn't a request.”

I glanced back. Their faces serious. “They'll contact you within twenty-four hours,” one said. “Refuse… and you'll regret it.” Said the other.

For a moment I believed that. And I hated that.

I walked away. Didn't even look back. Put my hands in my pockets and walked to my lunar house.

I looked at the night sky. If you didn't look too hard you wouldn't notice it's a projection.

They said the moon was supposed to be perfect.

Around seventy years ago, that's what they promised. After humans successfully returned to the Moon, the United States government had announced an ambitious vision. By the year 2100, they said, the most advanced city ever built by mankind would stand upon the Moon’s empty surface.

It would be the largest and most expensive project humans had ever attempted. A path towards greatness, at least, that was the promise. But history has a way of turning ambition into violence.

Before construction had ever properly begun, rival nations like Russia, China, and others rushed to claim their share of the gray, dust-covered world. Lines were drawn where none had existed before. Territories were marked, argued over, and some taken by force. And what began as a dream slowly transformed into a competition, and in this world, competition always leads to war.

During those years there were countless conflicts. Some were small, arguments over mining zones or research districts. Others were far worse. Domes were sabotaged. Supply routes were stolen. Entire work crews vanished into the vacuum outside.

By 2070 the project was only halfway complete. Thousands of people were sent there. Still, maps had already begun dividing the Moon into territories depending on nationality and passports. Even on another world, borders followed humanity.

But the Moon was not quite what people on Earth had imagined. It was not a shining city of towering glass structures and endless technology. The domes were smaller than expected, the buildings rarely taller than four floors. Most of the real infrastructure was buried beneath layers of lunar soil to protect it from radiation and meteorites. Progress had come, but slower, and rougher than the advertisements had promised.

Present Day: 2101

“I don’t know why I was selected for this.” I said quietly.

“It doesn’t matter.” Matt replied immediately “It’s not like you can back out now.”

We were sitting in the small living area of our apartment. The artificial lights overhead simulated late afternoon, though outside the thick walls the moon existed in its endless, indifferent silence.

We were discussing the new assignments distributed a week earlier. Jobs across the lunar city were often given based on skill, age and experience, and Matt had not been happy with his. To be fair neither had I.

Out of everyone who could have been chosen for the role, I still could not understand why the association had selected me to become… what they called a field operative. Basically an old fashion Spy if we want to look for a simpler word.

“I’m telling you,” Matt continued, leaning back in his chair “something about this doesn’t make sense.”

Matt had been with me through everything, the training years, the early lunar construction, and the war that followed. If anyone deserved the position as much as I did, it was him. Maybe more. But some things are better left unsaid.

I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about the details of the offer. Not even Matt. Still, he was the closest thing I had left to a family on this gray dusty rock.

The silence between us lasted moments longer, then Matt slammed his hand against the table in frustration. The coffee container floated up instantly, drifting slightly slower than how it would on earth through the air before I caught it.

“See?” he muttered. “this damn gravity.”

Even after years of living here, it still felt strange. The Moon’s gravity was only a fraction of Earth’s. Objects moved differently. People walked in longer, lighter steps. Sometimes you forgot how lightly everything was held to the ground.

The cities used weak electromagnetic floor systems to simulate a little extra pull, but it was never perfect. If you knocked something over, it wouldn’t fall instantly. And it wasn’t equal either. The rich got stronger fields. The poor got enough to get by. You could feel the difference the moment you crossed from one district into another.

Matt sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“You might think it’s fun at first,” he said. “But after a few hours of walking on low gravity like an idiot you realize daily life here is harder than anyone back on earth thinks!”

I could argue with that. Of course it had drawbacks, but it wasn’t that bad.

A quiet chime suddenly interrupted the room. A notification flashed across the lens of my eye-ring.

Incoming call. Private response required.

I frowned.

“I’ll be right back.” I told Matt.

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask questions.

I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me before accepting the call, and suddenly Three figures appeared on the projection screen. They were seated in darkness, black masks covered their faces completely. Even their voices were distorted by electronic filters.

For a moment, none of us spoke. Then one of them leaned slightly forward. “We represent the Men of Moon.” the voice said. I blinked once. The name sounded dramatic, almost theatrical.

“Well” I replied calmly, “aren't we all?”

There was a pause. No laughter. Apparently my sense of humor was not appreciated.

The figures continued explaining their reasons for contacting me. Most of it sounded official-evaluations of my past work, my experience during the lunar conflicts, and several references to operations I barely remembered anymore. Or perhaps preferred not to remember.

Eventually the conversation turned toward the actual purpose of the call. “You have been selected for a special assignment,” one of them said. A new message appeared on the screen.

Transport scheduled. Private transit sector.

“A vehicle will arrive shortly,” the voice continued. “You will receive further instructions there.” I stared at the three silent figures.

“So let me get this straight,” I said slowly leaning forward. “You contact me out of nowhere, tell me I’ve been chosen for a spy job, and expect me to just accept it?”

The figures remained motionless. Then one of them responded. “Were you not part of the underground crews gathering intelligence during the Moon conflicts?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I was.”

“Then you already understand the nature of this work.”

I crossed my arms.

“Sure, but usually spies receive some kind of training first. You know… like the movies.”

The silence that followed was almost uncomfortable.

Finally, the central figure spoke again. “You will learn what you need to know.”

The tone had changed slightly. “There is also something else you should understand.”

Another file appeared in my vision.

Fragments of my past. Operations. Reports. Records I had hoped were buried.

“We are familiar with your history, and if you wish to resolve certain outstanding matters with the government, you will cooperate.”

The meaning was perfectly clear. They had leverage. And they knew it. I exhaled slowly and leaned back in my chair.

“Well, I guess this job isn’t going to be fun.”

No one responded. “We will stay in contact.” said one, then the screen went dark.

I sat alone in the room for a long moment. Then I got up, opened the door, and went back to where Matt was waiting. The only man on this rock who would have noticed if I hadn’t.