MOON Base Colony

The Moon is by far the most attractive site for an off-Earth colony, because it is so close. The Moon's nearness to Earth, along with its weak one sixth gravity of Earth, makes travel between Earth and Moon relatively easy. Manned travel to the Moon is not so very difficult. It was first accomplished on July 21, 1969, when Neil A. Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. By 2030 NASA's "Gateway" space station, in stable Moon orbit became operable. greatly facilitating travel between Earth and Moon. MOON Base Colony excavation and settlement began in early 2100.

People on the Moon are required to live under very different conditions than those on Earth. The much lower force of gravity, cramped and artificial conditions, limited diet and environmental danger, working over generations produced changes in body, mind and social system. We first visit Moon Base colony in 2300, 200 years and 4 generations after it began. Life is still not easy, but conditions have improved considerably since the early days. Everything is recycled, there is no waste, and everyone has enough to sustain life, but little more. After experiencing Moon Base Colony through the eyes of its inhabitant Ann5, we leave and then return in 2600, 5 centuries and 10 generations after settlement. Everyone has considerably more living space, and both food and energy are much more plentiful. The caste system and autocratic government are weakening. Moon Base Colony is suffering from moving pains, but the movement is forward.

By 3100, after living on the Moon for 20 generations, there have been many changes. Living standards have greatly improved, and now there is a new recreational facility, called a swimming pool. Everyone likes to splash and play in the pool. No one knows how to swim, never having been immersed in water. Moon base people now look quite different than Earth people, but are still human. Relations with Earth have been deteriorating for some time, and Earth now threatens to seize MOON Base and take its food and water. The people on Moon Base have seen this coming, and devised what they call the Final Solution to their problems with Earth. Just what the Final Solution is, will be revealed in the book's closing Chapter. Does the Final Solution represent an end to Moon Base Colony, or is it a glorious new beginning? Read the book, and then decide.