The main pressure dome at the AMT-1 site was only 20 feet across, and its interior was uncomfortably crowded. The bus, coupled to it through one of the two airlocks, gave some much-appreciated extra living room.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNw1ubTKf4C
Inside this hemispherical double-walled balloon lived, worked, and slept the six scientists and technicians now permanently attached to the project. It also contained most of their equipment and instruments, all the stores that could not be left in the vacuum outside, cooking, washing, and toilet facilities, geological samples, and a small TV screen through which the site could be kept under constant surveillance.
Marshall was not surprised when Halvorsen elected to stay in the dome; he stated his views with admirable frankness.
"I regard spacesuits as a necessary evil," said the Administrator. "I wear one four times a year for my quarterly checkout tests. If you don't mind, I'll sit here and watch over the TV.
Some of this prejudice was now unjustified, for the latest models were infinitely more comfortable than the clumsy suits of armor worn by the first lunar explorers. They could be put on in thirty seconds, even without help, and were quite automatic. The Mk VI into which Marshall was now carefully sealed would protect him from the worst that the Moon could do, either by day or night.
Accompanied by Dr. Michaels, he walked into the small airlock. As the throbbing of the pumps died away, and his suit stiffened almost imperceptibly around him, the felt himself enclosed in the silence of vacuum.
That silence was broken by the welcome sound of his suit radio.
"Pressure OK, Dr. Marshall? Are you breathing normally?"
"Yes---I'm fine."
His companion carefully checked the dials and gauges on the outside of Marshall's suit. Then he said:
"OK---let's go."
The outer door opened, and the dusty moonscape lay before them, glimmering in the earthlight.
With a cautious, waddling movement, Marshall followed Michaels through the lock. It was not hard to walk; indeed, in a paradoxical way the suit made him feel more at home than at any time since reaching the Moon. Its added weight, and the slight resistance it imposed on his motion, gave some of them the illusion of the lost terrestrial gravity.
The scene had chanced since the party had arrived barely an hour ago. Though the stars, and the half-earth, were still as bright as ever, the 14-day lunar night had almost ended. The glow of the corona was like a false moonrise along the eastern sky---and then, with no warning, the tip of the radio mast a hundred feet above Matt's head suddenly seemed to burst into flame, as it caught the first rays of the hidden sun.
They waited while the project foreman and two of his assistants emerged from the airlock, then walked slowly toward the crater. By the time they had reached it, a thin bow of unbearable incandescence had thrust itself above the eastern horizon. Though it would take more than one hour for the sun to clear the edge of the slowly turning moon, the stars were already banished.
The crater was still in shadow, but the floodlights mounted around its rim lit the interior brilliantly. As Marshall walked slowly down the ramp toward the gold obelisk, he felt a sense not only of awe but of helplessness. Here, at the very portals of Earth, man was already face to face with a mystery that might never be solved. Three million years ago, something had paused this way, had left this unknown and maybe unknowable symbol of its purpose, and had returned to the planets---or to the stars.
Marshall's suit interrupted his reverie. "Project foreman speaking. If you'd all line up on this side, we'd like to take a few photos. Dr. Marshall, will you stand in the middle----Dr. Michaels---thank you....."
Nobody except Marshall seemed to think that there was anything funny about this. In all honesty, he had to admit that he was glad someone had bothered to bring a camera; here was a photo that would no doubt be historic, and he wanted copies for himself. He hoped that his face would be clearly visible through the helmet of the suit.
"Thanks, gentlemen," said the photographer, after they had posed somewhat self-consciously in front of the pylon, and he had made twelve exposures. "We'll ask the Base Photo Section to send you copies."
Then Marshal turned his full attention to the gold obelisk---walking slowly around it, examining it from every angle, trying to imprint its strangeness upon his mind. He did not expect to find anything, for he knew that every square inch had already been gone over with microscopic care.
Now the sluggish sun had lifted itself above the lip of the crater, and its rays were pouring almost broadside upon the eastern face of the obelisk.
How strange, Marshall thought, to stand here while this---thing---is seeing daylight for the first time since the Ice Ages began on Earth. He looked up at the Earth, beginning to wane in the morning sky. Only a handful of the six billion people there knew of this discovery; how would the world react to the news when it was finally released?412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBT176RQjr
The political and social implications were immense; every person of real intelligence---everyone who looked one inch beyond his nose---would find his life, values and philosophy subtly changed. Even if nothing whatsoever was discovered about AMT-1, and it remained an eternal mystery, Man would know that he was not alone in the universe. Though he had missed them by millions of years, those who had once stood here might yet return: if not, there might well be others. All futures must now consider this possibility.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2SozOCE6L
Marshall was still musing over those thoughts when his helmet speaker suddenly emitted a piercing electronic shriek, like a hideously overloaded and distorted time signal. Involuntarily, he tried to block his ears with his spacesuited hands; then he recovered and frantically groped for the gain control of his receiver. While he was still fumbling four more of the shrieks blasted out of the ether; then there was a blissful silence.
All around the crater, figures were standing in attitudes of paralyzed astonishment. So it's nothing wrong with my gear, Marshall told himself; everyone heard those piercing electronic screams.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4loX1W5WR7
After three million years of slumber in darkness, AMT-1 had at last greeted the lunar dawn.
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