The year is 2052 and I want to contact my travel agent Wondrous Wanderers (WW; previously known as The Wanderers) to fix my travel plans. I snap my fingers and a virtual screen comes before me. My digital friend, Brainy, has a brain-computer interface and can understand my commands by the movements of the neurons in my brain. Immediately, I am connected to the reception desk of the agent.
‘Hello’, I say.
‘Yes, Sir’, says the lady on the screen. (Actually she is a robot dressed like a pretty girl!)
‘Please update me on my plan for lunar travel’ (Even though it is a robot, I have to use words like please, sorry etc!).
‘Sir, you are booked on the flight to the moon from Greenhorn Space Centre on the 20th of January, 2053; exactly 12 months and 10 days from today. You have to reach Greenhorn two weeks in advance to complete the acclimatization formalities, including getting accustomed to special food, so that you can withstand the grueling space travel gravitational forces and you are able stay in the reduced gravity and rarefied atmosphere on the moon for 6 months. Before that, you have to attend a local specialized gym for slow assimilation. To this end I have arranged special fast transport from your residence to the gym and back on all days. I have already booked you in these local and Greenhorn programs, the details of which you will find on your communicator device. Switch it on, Sir, and the communicator will install the programme on to your brain. You can save and it will appear in front of you whenever required’.
I am pretty excited about this trip as it is my first one. I am a part of the research team some of whose members are already on the job. A large greenhouse has been built on the moon over the years. Initially algae and mushrooms were cultivated and now tomatoes, potatoes are grown.
My first day to reach the special gym, which is 200 kms away in the hills, is interesting. I first have a short and fun-filled 3 kms jet-propulsion flight to the Wide Monorail Train (WMT) station. It is fun riding on WMT. It moves above the road traffic and so is immune to traffic jams. I reach the Hyperloop station on the outskirts of the city and board the fast Hyperloop train which takes just 15 minutes to reach its destination. This train travels at 1200 kms per hour, within a vacuum tube and levitates between magnets. It gets propelled by induction motors. Finally, I get a lift by means of another jet-propulsion kit to reach the gym on a hill.This routine continues over the year.
At the gym, I am familiarized with the harsh conditions encountered during space travel and the long stay on the moon. I am subjected to high gravitational forces in machines and also experience prolonged weightlessness on other equipment. Besides, I work on the normal gym gadgets to increase muscles and reduce fat. I follow a strict diet regime.
Now it is getting closer to my momentous lunar trip. With a snap of my fingers and with the help of Brainy, I get into a video conference with the pretty lady at WW.
‘Hello! Please give an update on my lunar trip’
‘Yes, Sir! You are booked on the supersonic flight from the international airport on 6th January, 2053 departing at 12 noon. A special helicopter will land on the helipad at the top of your building exactly at 11.15 am. All immigration and customs procedures will be completed there only by means of a special device and your helicopter will land directly near the supersonic aeroplane. You will travel at 3 times the speed of sound and will cover 12,000 kms in less than 6 hours. You will reach your destination on the same day at 6 am, thus gaining 6 hours! There you are booked at the Thereton 7 Star hotel.
‘Thank you, lady!’
As the red letter day approaches, my excitement increases manifold. The supersonic flying experience is wonderful. The view from the window is amazing, literally out of this world!
At Greenhorn airport, I am whisked away to the Thereton Hotel in a helicopter. I dictate to Brainy a thank you note to WW for all the precise arrangements they have made for my lunar program.
On the appointed day, we four travelers assemble on site, dressed as astronauts, have our final briefing and are guided to our places in the Dragon capsule which will be our temporary abode for the next two days. Then the countdown begins and we hear noises below us as the various equipment operates and then with a big thud the spacecraft is off and we go speeding 45,000 kms per hour to escape the earth’s gravity and move onto the earth orbit. The spacecraft can achieve this because the engines do not have compressors but depend on shock waves to heat the fuel and ignite it. From gravitational forces of more than 4g, we suddenly find ourselves in zero gravity weightlessness! Then we move onwards to the moon. A Lander takes us down to the moon’s surface. A Lunar Rover Vehicle transports us to our research complex. The overall experience of space travel and the ride in the “lunar buggy” is something which I will never forget in my life. Very sensational to say the least!
I am being taken to our barracks when I experience breathing problems; probably something wrong with my special apparel, I think. I start to choke badly and shout for help…..when suddenly I see my mom waking me up. ‘What is wrong, beta? Why are you screaming?’ Then I realized that I was reading this book “Future Space Travel” and fell asleep. It seems I had choked on the blanket. Whew! Back to life with Covid19 – Stay at Home!