It’s not exactly like riding a bicycle, but…
“Good afternoon, Mr. Smith,” I said as I plopped my backpack on an extra chair in the Lakewood Retirement Center’s dining room.
The white-haired gentleman looked up from his coffee and riveted his eyes on me like a security guard verifying my identity. I saw by the relaxing of his shoulders that I was recognized, and that he’d read my nametag. “Good to see you, George,” he said. “I wish you wouldn’t call me Mr. Smith. Makes me feel old.” He smiled at his own joke. I didn’t know his exact age, but I guessed he was in his late eighties.
“Okay, Bob,” I said, returning his smile and adding a wink. We went through this same routine every day when I arrived for work as a volunteer caregiver. On one of my earliest visits, he surveyed the dining room as if looking for spies and whispered that Bob Smith was a fake name. He explained that he couldn’t tell me his real name because the press (he never called them news media) might find out. I promised not to reveal his secret. I suspected he was an actor whose family wanted to hide him from the paparazzi. They had done a good job of it—or maybe he’d had plastic surgery? In any case, I hadn’t been able to figure out who he really was. All the staff would tell me was that he had checked in after his wife died in a car crash in the late 2020s. He had some grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even great-great-grandchildren, but I was his only regular visitor. New treatments had slowed down the progression of his Alzheimer’s disease, but I wondered how long it would be before he forgot that Bob Smith wasn’t his real name?
I pulled my laptop out of my backpack, connected the dual hand controllers, and set them on the table in front of Mr. Smith. “Got a new simulator to fly with you,” I said. This one was actually for little kids, but I had found that Mr. Smith enjoyed holding the hand controllers and flying various aircraft. Sometimes we flew against each other, and sometimes as pilot and copilot, me always the copilot. The only time I could out-fly him was in those games where spaceships could jump through wormholes or something that real aircraft could never do. He didn’t like those games. He liked the simulators. I had told Mr. Smith that I was thinking of joining the military so I could become a pilot. That’s when he’d told me he was a pilot, but that I shouldn’t tell anyone because they might figure out who he was. Whether he really had been a pilot or not, I was happy to discover we both had an interest in flying.
“This one is a simulator of the old
Mr. Smith frowned at me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. We beat the Russians to the Moon!” He crossed his arms.
His angry reaction startled me. Obviously this was a touchy subject for him. “Yes, of course you’re right, Mr. Smith. We beat the Russians to the Moon.”
“Darn right!” he said.
“But that was a long time ago. Now lots of people go to the Moon.” I glanced to the lounge area of the dining hall. “Look, there’s a scene from the Moon on the TV right now.”
He stared at the big screen like it was the first time he’d seen it. “I remember that movie.”
Now I was confused. “What movie?”
“That movie about
I saw the “CBN LIVE” label in the corner. “No, sir, that’s a live broadcast.” I read the captions and summarized for him. “There’s been an accident at an old
Mr. Smith looked down at his age-spotted hands. “I’m a little rusty, but I could do it,” he said.
“You could? Where did you learn how to fly a lunar module?” Maybe he hada part in that
Mr. Smith ignored my questions and continued to watch the screen. He nodded. “Yes, I can do it,” he decided. He scooted his chair back and stood looking around the room. “We’re in the cafeteria,” he stated. I nodded. “I have to get to Building 30,” he said.
I didn’t know they numbered the buildings at Lakewood. “Where is that?”
He gave my nametag a puzzled look. “What kind of badge is that? Are you a reporter?”
“No, sir. I’m George, remember? I was about to show you how to fly the new lunar simulator.”
“Oh. A training instructor. Okay, then. We’d better get moving if we’re going to save that crew. Can’t let the Russians get there first.” He shuffled toward the exit somewhat bent over, but amazingly fast for someone his age. I caught the eye of the receptionist and nodded toward my game setup. She would watch it for me until I lured Mr. Smith back. She didn’t need to remind me that Mr. Smith wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds. My job was to redirect him somehow.
“Mr. Smith, I think we should take a different way to Building 30.”
He stopped. “Why? Is there a media circus out there already?”
“No, no,” I assured him quickly. “We just need to use the elevator to avoid all those stairs.”
“I like the stairs. Keeps me in shape,” he said.
“Yes, of course, Mr. Smith, but you had surgery on your knee a few months ago, remember?” He’d fallen trying to take the stairs two at a time—something he must have done a lot in his younger days. If he were an actor, he probably did his own stunts.
Mr. Smith stopped and looked down at his knees and feet. “I can’t wear these slippers outside. Mother will yell at me.” He paused, deep in thought. “Before I go, I need to call her. She always worries when I travel. Is there a phone in this building?”
He’d obviously forgotten that he no longer had a mother, and that everyone used cell phones now. He had an old phone in his room, though. It was hooked up to the front desk. The staff was great at explaining that mothers and wives and other deceased loved ones were not home for one reason or another. But often, by the time we got to his room, he’d have forgotten he wanted to call someone. “There’s a phone upstairs, sir,” I said.
“All right,” he said. After he got his shoes on, I’d take him for a walk in the garden. We both enjoyed watching the birds.
We got into the elevator. I waited for him to select the floor. If he had forgotten, then I’d remind him, but it was important to give him a chance to remember. He stared at the buttons. “This isn’t the cafeteria,” he said. “Only Building 1 has nine floors.” He pressed the OPEN DOOR button and walked back out of the elevator.
He scanned the hallways in both directions, I assumed checking for reporters. He said softly, “We’re going to get those folks in Mission Control to set up a simulator run. We’ll create the trajectory for the crew to get off the Moon.”
“Oh, I should have thought of this earlier,” I said. “We don’t need to go to Building 30. I can connect to Mission Control from here.”
“You can?”
“Yes, this building has a wireless node in the lounge, where the big screen is.” Once I got him playing on the simulator, he’d probably forget all about the mysterious Building 30, and his mother too.
Mr. Smith nodded. “Okay, then. But we had better hurry. We don’t want the Russians to get there first.”
“Right.” I took his arm and walked with him past the reception desk and back toward the dining area. The receptionist looked up as we went by, and I winked at her. Yvonne was a year older than me, a high school senior who worked here weekdays after school. She smiled and came around the desk with my laptop and hand controllers that she must have retrieved while we were in the elevator.
“Hey, Flyboy,” she said to Mr. Smith after handing me my stuff. I had told her previously that he claimed to have been a pilot. Though he protested (the reporters might overhear), his face always lit up when she called him that. Then again, I couldn’t think of too many men, myself included, that wouldn’t enjoy some attention from a pretty girl like her. “Going to do some fancy flying today?”
Mr. Smith straightened up and met her gaze with a shy smile. “I can neither confirm nor deny that statement, young lady. But maybe we can have a drink later in the lounge, and I can show you some moves!”
“I just might take you up on that,” Yvonne said with a wide grin and twinkling eyes. She pecked him on the cheek and did a little swirl as she moved back behind the desk. The scent of her lingered pleasantly in the air as I stuffed my gear into my backpack again.
In a whisper, Mr. Smith said, “Women love pilots, you know. Got to watch out, though. Reporters have eyes everywhere, even in nice hotels like this one.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. Had he been involved in a scandal with a famous actress? Maybe he had been a stunt pilot? I steered him back to the dining area. The tables were filling with early diners. I decided we’d be more comfortable in the lounge. The TV was still on the news channel, and still showing scenes from the Moon. Someone had turned the sound up to hear over the diners in the background.
“We have an update on the crisis on the Moon,” the anchor said. “The privately-funded Apollo Restoration Project is working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to see if it is possible for their stranded crew to use their
“Well, that’s good news,” I said.
“Shhh,” Mr. Smith said. I shut up.
“The team is working against the clock. The spacesuits have only seven hours of battery power remaining.”
“That’s not good,” I said. Mr. Smith glared at me. “Sorry,” I whispered.
“The
Mr. Smith stared at the screen. “No flight experience! What kind of stunt are the Russians trying to pull by putting that woman up there?”
“She’s American,” I noted.
He ignored me and kept on talking. “Newbies always overcontrol, and that thing is as fragile as tissue paper. Get it tumbling, and it might fly apart.”
“Well, how about flying it remotely?” I suggested. “That reporter said NASA’s going to fly the cargo ship remotely.”
Mr. Smith smiled weakly. “Remote control requires a computer interface. The computer on that thing is dumber than an adding machine.”
“Oh,” I said, wondering what an adding machine was.
“No,” Mr. Smith continued, “they need to come up with a preplanned set of maneuvers and then have an experienced pilot walk that woman through them.” He nodded to himself. “I’d better warn my wife.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t want her home when the press start snooping around.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” I said quickly. He always got most upset when he couldn’t reach his wife. “She’s visiting her mother.” It was the truth, if you believe in heaven.
“That’s good,” he said. “Then I’d better call Houston right away.” He stood up. “Where did you say the phone is?”
There was no way he was going to really call NASA in Houston. But some small voice inside me insisted that it was important to let him play out this fantasy. Not wanting to repeat the elevator fiasco, I said, “There’s a phone at the front desk.” I pointed toward the doorway that led to the reception area. I grabbed my backpack and hurried after him.
“Excuse me, miss,” he said upon reaching the front desk.
Yvonne looked up and smiled. “Back so soon, Flyboy?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes. I need to use the phone to make a long-distance call. It’s an emergency.”
Yvonne glanced at me, and I shrugged.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Smith, but the phones are for staff use only,” she said.
Mr. Smith began breathing heavily. His long fingers curled into fists.
“But this is an emergency,” he repeated. “I have to check in with Houston!” His face was flushed, and that worried me.
“Yvonne, you’d better call Dr. Winkler,” I said.
“I don’t need a doctor. I need to call Houston!” Mr. Smith shouted.
“It’s okay, Bob,” I said in a soft voice, steering him by the elbow to a bench. “The doctor has to check you before you can go.”
“A flight physical now? There’s no time for that!” He was panting.
“No, no,” I said. “Not a complete physical. Just a quick check to make sure it’s okay for you to fly.” I needed to calm him down. “Take a deep breath and count to ten as you let it out. You don’t want the doctor to ground you, do you?”
“Certainly not!” he said. I was happy to see his long fingers uncurl and spread out over his boney knees.
A lean bearded man rushed over to where we sat, and squatted down in front of Mr. Smith. “Good afternoon, Mr. Smith,” he said in a soothing voice. “I’m Dr. Winkler.” He placed a small disk on Mr. Smith’s wrist and asked, “What seems to be the problem?”
“There’s no problem with me,” Mr. Smith said, a bit breathlessly. “I just need to call Houston, and they won’t let me use the phone.”
“I see,” Dr. Winkler responded. “Pulse is elevated. Blood pressure a little high, but otherwise you seem fine.” I sighed with relief. “Would you like me to make that call for you?” Dr. Winkler offered.
“Yes, please!” Mr. Smith said.
“Okay, then, come with me to my office.”
I assumed this was Dr. Winkler’s way of getting Mr. Smith to a place where he could examine him better and make sure he calmed down. We each took one of Mr. Smith’s arms and helped him down the hall to Dr. Winkler’s office. While we walked, I summarized what we’d seen on the television and explained that Mr. Smith seemed to think he could help the stranded historian learn to fly the lunar module.
Dr. Winkler listened silently. We entered his office and he asked us both to take a seat. While he shut the door, I saw that the newsfeed on his computer was following the lunar crisis. So, he already knew what was going on.
“Mr. Smith, please tell me how you think you can help those people on the Moon.”
Mr. Smith repeated that he could fly the simulator and create the program they needed. Dr. Winkler had Mr. Smith drink some pink liquid and then asked him some technical questions using terms I recognized from some of the flight simulations we’d played. I wondered if Dr. Winkler was also a pilot. I don’t know if it was the pink liquid or the joy of sharing a favorite memory, but when the doctor asked a number of questions about the Moon, Mr. Smith’s answers were surprisingly detailed. The only thing he was confused about was what the Russians had to do with an American woman on the Moon.
“I’ll have to notify your family,” Dr. Winkler said. Mr. Smith nodded.
Dr. Winkler then moved to the computer and tapped away at the keys. I got Mr. Smith a cup of water from the little sink in the corner and sat down again.
Dr. Winkler looked up at Mr. Smith. “I’ve got permission to release your records to NASA. Do you trust George, or do you want me to ask him to leave during the call?”
Mr. Smith gave me the security guard look again. “He’s okay. He’s a training instructor.”
Dr. Winkler raised an eyebrow at that. “We take turns flying simulators,” I explained.
“I know,” Dr. Winkler responded.
“And I know that his time with you has helped him retain some memories that are important not only to him, but perhaps to those people on the Moon right now.”
“Seriously?” I blurted.
Dr. Winkler smiled. “Yes, seriously. Now, George, Mr. Smith has agreed that it’s okay for you to be here during this call. I don’t know what you’ll overhear, but he’s trusting you to keep your mouth shut about it. Can you promise to do that?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Is Bob Smith really a fake name?”
Dr. Winkler didn’t have time to answer before the screen changed to an image of a serious-looking young man. “This is flight director Keegan Taylor at Johnson Space Center. I understand you have an old
“Can he hear me?” Mr. Smith asked.
“Yes,” Dr. Winkler answered. “I have two-way voice, but one-way video. I know how you hate cameras, Mr. Smith.”
“Yes, thank you,” Mr. Smith said. “You know who I am?” he asked.
“Your name is blocked out in the file I received, but I was told that you worked on
My grandfather had told me about
Mr. Smith cleared his throat. “I know how to fly the lunar module,” he declared. “I’m one of the astronauts who walked on the Moon.
I stared dumbfounded at Dr. Winkler. Why would he let Mr. Smith call NASA with a story like that?
Mr. Taylor frowned. “I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t have time for crank calls. The last
Dr. Winkler interrupted, “One hundred and three. Excuse me, Mr. Taylor, but please read the complete file I sent you. It will explain why you were led to believe that he had died.”
And I had doubted he was even a real pilot.
The flight director’s eyes grew round as he scanned the file Dr. Winkler had sent. “Oh, I see,” he said. “But considering his condition, Doctor, can we trust what he will tell us?”
“Memories associated with intense emotions and skills that were trained to the point of instinct are the last to be affected by the disease. He has also been refreshing those memories through flight simulations thanks to his young friend George here.”
I looked down at my sneakers in embarrassment. I was just having fun sharing a love of flying with Mr. Smith. I had no idea I was flying copilot with one of the most famous pilots in history!
“Then let’s get started,” the flight director said. “We have photos and technical drawings that the Apollo Restoration Project sent us of the cockpit. These were made from an old NASA mockup that unfortunately was destroyed in a hurricane a few years ago. The computer switches and displays are all exactly as in the original, but the museum installed modern computers and communications. So we have the ability to create an autopilot. What we don’t have are any records of the actual flight-handling characteristics of the module. The best we have to offer is a children’s educational game developed by some engineering students at Texas A&M. It’s called
“That’s the one I brought with me!” I said. I dragged my laptop and hand controllers out of my backpack. “I’ve got it right here.” I flipped the screen open and started the boot process.
“I didn’t come here to play games,” Mr. Smith said.
“You don’t understand,” Mr. Taylor said. “It is not a game, it’s a simulator. The students used very sophisticated software to model the flight characteristics. What I’d suggest is that we set up the sim from here and have you fly a rendezvous with the cargo ship, noting any differences between the original and the simulator. Can you do that, Mr. Smith?”
“Sure,” he said simply. “Piece of cake.”
I wondered what cake had to do with anything? I glanced at Dr. Winkler. He smiled and whispered to me, “An old expression meaning something is easy.”
“Thanks,” I whispered back.
Dr. Winkler cleared off his desk for the computer, but Mr. Smith shook his head.
“I have to fly it standing up,” he said.
Mr. Taylor nodded. “He’s right. No seats in the lunar module. And Ms. Phillips will be wearing a spacesuit because we aren’t going to pressurize the module. Do you want gloves, Mr. Smith?”
“No, my hands are stiff enough without them!” he quipped.
Dr. Winkler and I laughed. I lifted a stool onto the desk and set the laptop on it to project against a white board on the wall. Mr. Smith placed the hand controllers at waist height on a book on the desk. He asked Dr. Winkler to close the window blinds and turn off the lights. I took care of the lights while Dr. Winkler closed the shades. It wasn’t really dark, but it would help Mr. Smith focus.
“Young man, come stand to my right,” Mr. Smith said. “I’m the commander, and you’re the pilot.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. I decided he’d forgotten my name again.
“Mr. Smith,” Mr. Taylor interrupted. “We think the other crewmember has a concussion and other injuries and is in and out of consciousness. Ms. Phillips will have to fly it solo.”
“I understand,” Mr. Smith said. “That’s not a problem. But I need a body next to me to judge what panels and displays may be blocked.”
“Right,” I said. At least I was good for something!
We hooked up my laptop projector to Dr. Winkler’s computer, so it would output whatever NASA sent through. The screen showed two triangular windows looking out over a gray landscape with a black sky beyond. No stars were visible. The cockpit was crowded with gauges and switches.
“We’ve activated the link. We’ve got one of our lunar pilots in a simulator here to fly the cargo ship.”
“Roger,” Mr. Smith said. “Fuel tank pressure low.”
“Yes, we think there’s a slow leak in the helium tank,” Mr. Taylor explained. “The batteries are also not fully charged, but should last long enough to reach the cargo ship.”
“Understood,” Mr. Smith said. “T minus 5. Engine arm. Pilot should hit PROCEED, but because he’s unconscious, I must reach over him and do it.”
“Noted,” Taylor said.
“I should hear the bang of the bolts releasing the lander and then feel like I’m riding in a high-speed elevator as the engine kicks in.”
“Roger that,” Taylor said.
I could hardly believe this was happening to me.
“No, that’s not right,” Mr. Smith said.
“What’s not right, Mr. Smith?” Mr. Taylor asked.
“The LM didn’t have a barbecue mode. We had to fire the jets manually to start the ship spinning.”
“Noted.”
“But the flight is so short, you don’t need to worry about overheating. It might be best to just let it coast. It will also be one less thing for the pilot to worry about.”
“Yes, sir,” Mr. Taylor said. “The cargo pilot has a lock on you.”
Mr. Smith looked at the ceiling. “The upper window is blocked. Can’t see target.”
“That’s okay,” Mr. Taylor said. “You don’t have to line up and dock. The cargo ship is going to match rates and take you into its hold.”
“It’s big enough for that?” Smith said.
Mr. Taylor smiled. “Yes, sir. It’s a fuel tanker.”
On the computer screen, I saw the curve of the Moon’s horizon below us. “Look at the crescent Earth!” I blurted out in excitement. Mr. Smith ignored me. At least I could verify that this part of the simulation was correct. The Moon I’d seen last night was just past full, and the Earth and Moon were always in opposite phases. I wondered if I’d ever see the Earth from the Moon for real? I hoped so.
As the ship arced around to the far side of the Moon, the Earth sank below the horizon. Long sunrise shadows spread across rough crater floors below us.
“Got you,” Mr. Taylor said. The simulation stopped.
“We going into blackout now?” Mr. Smith asked.
“No sir, we have almost continual communications thanks to lunar orbiting relay satellites.”
Mr. Smith raised an eyebrow even though Mr. Taylor could not see him.
“It still takes 1.3 seconds for light to travel one way from the Moon, 2.6 seconds roundtrip. But with your help, we’ll have the computer programmed to handle most problems.”
“Yeah,” Mr. Smith agreed. “Pings works pretty good.”
I mouthed “Pings?” at Dr. Winkler.
He whispered back, “Sounds like an acronym for the navigation program.”
I nodded and mouthed “Thanks” back at him.
“Need to run it again with some failures?” Mr. Smith asked.
“Yes, that would be very helpful,” Mr. Taylor said. “But first let’s take a break and see what questions the pilot and guidance team have for you.”
Dr. Winkler helped Mr. Smith to the sofa on the side of the office, and I sat down too. I don’t know which one of us was more dazed. “Can I call my wife now?” Mr. Smith asked. “She’ll probably worry.”
Dr. Winkler smiled. “She’s fine. She’s with her mother.”
“Oh, right,” Mr. Smith said. He looked down at his slippers. “Mother is going to be mad.”
It was the strangest afternoon and evening I had ever spent in my life. I stood by Mr. Smith while he flew one simulation after another, with jets failed, with computer problems, with navigation errors, with popped circuit breakers. As I watched, I realized that even with his Alzheimer’s, Mr. Smith still knew more about spaceflight than most people alive today. I felt incredibly lucky to have the chance to learn even a tiny bit of what he could teach me.
During breaks we ate snacks and drank decaf coffee and followed the progress of the crew on the Moon. Ms. Phillips had gotten the injured historian strapped into the module.
Dr. Winkler called my mother and asked if I could stay for dinner and into the evening. He said he had recruited me to help with a memory experiment involving one of the patients, and it would mean a lot if I were there until the patient went to bed. He’d get me a cab home. My mother fully supported my activities here, and after verifying with me that I had done my homework in study hall as usual, agreed I could stay as late as ten.
A nurse brought us dinner, and we ate there in Dr. Winkler’s office. Mr. Smith fell asleep on the sofa soon afterward. I moved the simulation equipment out to the lounge and connected the big television to the NASA feed. Then I returned to Dr. Winkler’ office.
The flight team was discussing possibly changing the rendezvous sequence. Because the batteries in the spacesuits had only a few hours left, the initial decision was to fly something called a direct ascent. But Mr. Smith had advised against it, saying that direct ascent was too risky for
One of the tiger team members confirmed that direct ascent wasn’t used for
“Couldn’t the command module have changed course and rescued the LM?” the flight director asked.
“In some cases,” the man replied. “But course changes require fuel, and its fuel was very limited.”
“I assume that the computer and fuel issues do not apply in our case?”
“That’s correct,” the man responded.
“Flight, Lunar Ops,” a woman’s voice called.
“Go ahead, Lunar Ops,” the flight director said.
A short pause ensued. “Thank you, sir. My main concern is time. No offense to the guidance team, but they were still making changes to the software half an hour ago. There’s a reasonable chance that we will need Ms. Phillips to take manual control. I understand she has walked through the procedures in the cockpit, but that’s no substitute for flight experience—especially with an untested vehicle! She needs time to adjust to the actual vehicle and environment. The coelliptic sequence gives her a whole lunar orbit to do that—and also makes my job as cargo pilot easier if I have to rescue her.”
“Flight, Surgeon.”
“Go ahead, Surgeon.”
“Sir, I understand Lunar Ops’ concern, but an extra hour trapped in that spacesuit may mean the difference between life and death for the injured historian, Dr. Canterbury. We’re also concerned about Ms. Phillips’ state of mind. She was severely traumatized by the death of the pilot and is barely able to follow simple directions. The sooner both of them get out of those suits, the better their chances for survival.”
Guidance assured the flight director that the new software would support direct ascent, especially after the simulations with Mr. Smith. The flight director decided to stick with direct ascent.
“Flight, Lunar Ops.”
“Go ahead, Lunar Ops.”
Another short delay followed that I now understood was because of the distance the signal had to travel. “I understand and will do my best to support the direct ascent. But I have a request. No offense to the guidance team, but speaking as a pilot, I’d feel a lot better if we have that
“You mean have Mr. Smith input the commands to the autopilot program? I’m not sure he’ll be up to it. Doctor Winkler, what do you think?”
“Sir, I’m sorry,” Dr. Winkler said. “But I don’t know what state he will be in when he wakes up from his rest. I have some medication I can give him that should help, and George and I will do our best to remind him of the circumstances. But I suggest that you go with your original plan to have one of your astronauts run the autopilot and talk Ms. Phillips through any problems.”
“Excuse me, Flight,” the flight surgeon interjected. “How about if we have Mr. Smith serve as a coach for Ms. Phillips? Being a historian, having an
“That’s an excellent idea,” Lunar Ops said.
“Doctor Winkler?’
He glanced over at me. “George, you know how he usually behaves after his afternoon naps. Think he can do it?”
I gulped. The fate of two people might depend on my decision. I looked at Mr. Smith sleeping peacefully. Usually, a nap “reset” his memory. But given the right “props,” I could probably get him back into his astronaut mindset in time for the launch, now only forty-five minutes away. I took a deep breath and nodded yes. I hoped I wouldn’t regret this!
Doctor Winkler and the capcom, who was a current astronaut with lunar experience, agreed to do a voice check and let Mr. Smith talk to Ms. Phillips before the launch. At that time, we’d decide if he could continue on the live loop and be given command authority to the autopilot.
I stood up. “Dr. Winkler, I’m going to get Mr. Smith’s shoes—his slippers remind him of his mother.”
The doctor nodded in understanding. “While you’re up there, see if he has a white shirt. And bring a belt too. People used to dress up back then.”
“Roger!” I said, and dashed out for the elevator.
When I returned, the liftoff was only a half hour away. Dr. Winkler was talking on his cell—something about a security team. He disconnected when he saw me and said, “Time to wake our famous moonwalker.”
Dr. Winkler set a wind-up alarm clock (no voice controls!) next to Mr. Smith and let it ring. Mr. Smith immediately nabbed it and shut it off. He blinked and stared at Dr. Winkler, who had donned his white lab coat. “Do I know you?” he asked. Dr. Winkler explained that he was a NASA flight surgeon. He regretted waking him, but Mission Control needed Mr. Smith’s assistance.
“There’s a mission on?” he asked, straightening up.
“Yes, and they’re in trouble,” Dr. Winkler said as he handed him the white golf shirt I’d brought. The doctor explained what had happened to Ms. Phillips, and that Mission Control wanted him to talk her through a lunar ascent and rendezvous. Mr. Smith looked confused. “We beat the Russians, and quit flying to the Moon,” he insisted.
“Yes, we did,” the doctor agreed. “But then we went back to the Moon as partners. Ms. Phillips was visiting the Moon when the accident happened.”
I cringed. I wish he hadn’t used the word “accident.” It might evoke memories of Mr. Smith’s wife. But Mr. Smith was more focused on the first part of the sentence. “Partners? With the Russians? Like
“That’s right,” Dr. Winkler said. “Like
“Okay,” Mr. Smith said. “And they got in trouble?”
“Yes,” Dr. Winkler repeated. I helped Mr. Smith with his shoes and then his belt. I combed his thin white hair. He suddenly noticed me and stared at my badge. “What kind of badge is that? Are you press? Reporters aren’t allowed in here.”
“I’m not a reporter, Mr. Smith. I’m George. I’m uh, a member of the guidance team,” I said quickly in an attempt to use an appropriate term. I thought of adding that I was in charge of the “manual” system, but stopped myself.
“Then don’t call me Mr. Smith,” he barked. “Makes me feel old.”
“Okay, Bob,” I said with a wink.
Dr. Winkler handed him a cup of coffee spiked with some of that pink medicine. Mr. Smith sipped it gratefully. “Ready?” Dr. Winkler asked.
“Where are we going?” Mr. Smith asked.
“To the hotel lobby—we’ve set up a direct link to Mission Control. We’re going to help a young woman take off from the Moon.”
“Better call my wife,” he said. “She’ll be worried.”
“She’s visiting her mother,” Dr. Winkler explained.
“Oh? That’s good,” he said.
I heard a thumping sound as we approached the double doors at the front of the building. “Whoa,” I said. “There’s a helicopter in the parking lot!”
“Darn press,” mumbled Mr. Smith. His hands curled into fists.
“No, sir, that’s Homeland Se—I mean the Air Force,” Dr. Winkler said.
“Oh, of course,” Mr. Smith said, his hands relaxing again.
A man in a black suit with a security bud in his ear was asking Yvonne a question. With her eyes as large as saucers, she pointed in our direction. The man turned toward us. I thought he looked like one of those guys who guard the president.
Would she guess who Mr. Smith was now? Even if she did, I realized that I would not be able to confirm her suspicions without breaking my word. I’d always thought of security as keeping bad guys out, not good guys in!
Is that why DHS was here? To make sure no one tried to kidnap Mr. Smith? Age and Alzheimer’s had kind of done that already. Or were they here to keep the media out in case someone leaked that one of the original moonwalkers was alive and helping them? Or both?
At the doorway to the lounge, another man in black stopped us. Mr. Smith waited patiently while he asked me to raise my arms and ran a metal detector over me like they do at airports. He confiscated my phone, saying no recordings or photos were allowed. Did I understand?
I didn’t know if this was an act for Mr. Smith’s benefit or not, but I quickly replied, “Yes sir!” Lakewood did not to allow the taking of photos or videos of the residents by non-family members, anyway. Now I understand just how important that rule was to someone like Mr. Smith.
A nicely dressed middle-aged woman stood up as we shuffled Mr. Smith into the darkened lounge. She pecked Mr. Smith on the cheek. “Good to see you again, Flyboy!” she said. With an exaggerated wink, she added, “Name’s Ruth, in case you forgot.”
Mr. Smith didn’t show any signs of recognizing this woman, but he returned her wink and said, “I never forget a beautiful woman!”
Dr. Winkler explained that Ruth Pressa was the relative who had granted permission to contact Mission Control. She shook my hand warmly and whispered in my ear, “Thank you for being such a good friend to my great-grandfather. It means a lot to our family.”
While Dr. Winkler escorted Mr. Smith to a chair, Ms. Pressa handed me an old-fashioned wired headset and a speaker box. “This is a Mission Control headset and speaker box from the Apollo Restoration Project. I rigged up an interface so you can plug these into your laptop.” She pointed to a rocker switch on the cord. “This is the push-to-talk button that he’ll use to talk to Ms. Phillips. If he starts spouting nonsense, just unplug him from the laptop—he’ll hear a click. Tell him we lost the signal.” I nodded, hoping I’d not need to do that.
She continued. “The speaker box is set to broadcast and receive. The flight director and all the team will hear everything said in this room, so be careful to always call him Mr. Smith.”
“I understand,” I said. I decided not to tell her I didn’t know his real name anyway.
“Okay then, I’ll let you get to work.” She settled into a chair next to Dr. Winkler.
I motioned Mr. Smith to join me standing behind the simulator. Our interface to Mission Control was the same set-up I’d used earlier, except that I’d added some bar stools in case our feet got tired. Also, I’d left the projector off since we had live images from Mission Control. The view from Ms. Phillips’ helmet cam was in the center of the screen. On the right was a graph of data from the spacesuits showing power and carbon dioxide levels and stuff like that. On the left was a plot of the planned trajectory of the direct ascent rendezvous. It looked pretty simple; an arc from the surface that intersected a dotted circle around the Moon. The cargo ship was marked by a yellow Pac-Man that was slowly eating its way around the dotted circle. I smiled. Someone on the flight control team had a sense of humor.
“I saw that movie,” Mr. Smith said, looking at the TV. “Isn’t that the one with Tom Hanks in it?”
“No,” I said. “This is a live image from the Moon. There’s a woman who needs to fly to lunar orbit.”
“What’s a woman doing on the Moon? Is this some Russian stunt?”
“No, she’s an American,” I replied patiently.
Mr. Smith frowned. “She’ll never make it.”
“Not on her own, she won’t,” I said. “That’s why we need you. NASA has set up the computer to fly the ascent automatically—you know, like ‘pings’?” I hoped I had the term right.
He nodded. “Pings works great,” he said.
I continued. “Yes, and pings was recently updated so that it can do all the calculations really fast. But it can’t fly like the best LM pilot alive.”
“I can do that,” Mr. Smith said, placing his large hand on the stick, just like he’d done hours earlier. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
I looked over at Dr. Winkler who gave me a thumbs-up sign. Mr. Smith donned the old-fashioned headset like he wore one every day. I plugged it into my laptop. If Mr. Smith got confused, I’d be responsible for literally pulling the plug.
“Houston would like to do a voice check of their secure line,” I said.
“Hello, Mr. Smith, this is Houston Capcom. How do you read?”
“Roger, Houston, read you five by,” Mr. Smith answered.
“Good. The flight director would like to speak to you.”
“Go ahead,” Mr. Smith said.
“Hello, Mr. Smith. I’m Flight Director Keegan Taylor,” he said. “We appreciate you helping us in this emergency. Time is short, so let me fill you in on a few details.”
Mr. Smith listened intently as the flight director explained that they were going to do a direct ascent, and that they might need him to take over manually.
“Understood,” Mr. Smith said.
“Oh, and if you’re willing, we’d like you to talk to Ms. Phillips, tell her what to expect before it happens—keeping in mind the 1.3-second signal delay, so she’ll stay calm. Can you do that?”
“Sure,” Mr. Smith replied simply.
“Good. Then I’ll have Capcom patch you through to Ms. Phillips. Her first name is Clara.”
The capcom’s voice came over the speaker, “Clara, this is Houston on Private Channel Alpha, do you copy?”
A second later, she responded, “Yes, Houston, I hear you. My hands are shaking so badly, I’m afraid I’ll press the wrong buttons!”
“Clara, you will do fine,” the capcom assured her. “You just press PROCEED at T-5, and the computer will take it from there.”
“But this LM was never tested under real conditions, and I’m not a pilot!”
“We know that, Clara. But that engine worked on every
A second later, she said, “But that’s impossible! The last one died in a car crash with his wife. I went to their funeral!”
“Apparently, only the wife actually died in that crash. Mr. Smith was sent to a secret location to spend his last years free of media scrutiny.”
“The tabloids were actually right!” Ms. Phillips laughed. “Oh my, that was insensitive of me. Is Mr., uh, Smith listening? Please tell him I didn’t mean to make light of his loss. I’m sure it must have been very hard.”
“Yes,” Mr. Smith said. “I miss my wife.”
He stared at the panel seen through Ms. Phillips’ helmet camera. “The LM fuel tank pressure is low. Must have a leak. Better take off soon.”
The capcom was talking to Ms. Phillips, I supposed answering a question about how Mr. Smith had gotten involved in this rescue. “Mr. Smith heard about your situation on the news and contacted us to see if he could help. We had him fly a simulator and update the model for use in the autopilot. He’s standing by to speak with you.”
“I can’t believe this!” Ms. Phillips said. “I must be out of my mind or talking to a ghost.”
“I’m not a ghost,” Mr. Smith said. “And you won’t be either, as long as you stay calm and follow directions.” He paused in thought. I kept my finger on the plug just in case he changed subjects. “Once you reach orbit,” Mr. Smith said, “You’ll just coast right to where the command module can get you.”
“Command module?” Ms. Phillips repeated.
“He means the cargo ship,” the capcom said.
“Oh, of course. I understand,” Ms. Phillips said.
They went through some preflight checks of switch positions and reviewed the procedures. Mr. Smith seemed calm and in control, every bit the old
The liftoff was right on time. Ms. Phillips yelped when the engine fired, but Mr. Smith soothingly told her that was nominal (a word he used instead of “normal”). “You’ll go straight up for about ten seconds,” he reminded her. “Then you’ll pitch over and move horizontally with respect to the lunar surface. You should have a great view out the window.”
The image of the cockpit on the TV jiggled up and down in response to the engine. No sound penetrated through the airless cockpit. The view out the window changed from black sky to lunar gray as the ship nosed down.
“Guidance, report,” the flight director demanded.
“Flight, cg shifted at pitch over.”
A second later we heard Ms. Phillips shout, “Dr. Canterbury!” The pitch over had thrown the injured man out of his harness. One arm smacked Ms. Phillips across her faceplate.
I involuntarily winced and sucked in a breath, though she was perfectly fine inside her helmet.
Mr. Smith spoke softly. “Ms. Phillips, grab his wrist. When the ascent engine shuts down, he’ll float right to you.”
“Flight, engine shutdown.”
“Trajectory report,” the flight director ordered.
“The computer didn’t fully compensate for the cg shift. We’ll need a correction from the RCS.”
“Mr. Smith, stand by for remote ops.”
“Roger, Flight,” Mr. Smith said.
We saw Ms. Phillips pull on Dr. Canterbury’s wrist, rotating him so that he was facing her. She reached to pull the harness around him.
Dr. Canterbury’s eyes opened. He jerked and hit the hand controller. The two historians tumbled. Out the window, the gray lunar surface was replaced by darkness and then surface again in rapid succession.
Mr. Smith pulled the hand controller to one side and released it. After a short delay, I noted that the view rotated more slowly.
“Flight, Guidance. LM is in stable BBQ mode.”
“Nice flying, Mr. Smith,” the capcom said. “My guy in the simulator says you used about half the fuel he would have.”
“She’s not out of the woods yet,” he said. “Look at the disk key.”
Mr. Smith continued talking. “Apo loon is…”
“Sorry, I think we’ve lost our link to the spacecraft,” I said, looking at Dr. Winkler. He in turn was looking at Ms. Pressa.
Ms. Pressa was texting quietly on her phone. “Communications restored,” she declared.
I took the hint and plugged Mr. Smith back in. A text message appeared on my laptop saying, “ ‘Not out of the woods’ means ‘not out of trouble.’ ‘DSKY’ is a display in the LM.”
The guidance team reported that they had the orbital correction calculated, including the additional jet firings. The flight director gave them the go to have the automatic system command the jets to make the necessary corrections. “Capcom, warn Ms. Phillips that there will be jet firings.”
Ms. Phillips got Dr. Canterbury secured in his harness and tightened her own. His eyes had closed again. Surgeon feared that the acceleration, though gentle compared to an Earth launch, might have acerbated his injuries.
After the maneuver, the trajectory plot showed that the LM and “Pac-Man” cargo ship would rendezvous on schedule. Capcom informed a relieved Ms. Phillips that all was well.
“Except she’s going to crash,” Mr. Smith said.
“Mr. Smith, Flight speaking. The trajectory looks good to us. Why do you think she is going to crash?”
“I told you, look at the DSKY. You only raised apolune from 40.1 to 40.6. That’s too low for the CSM.”
A text appeared on my laptop saying, “Apolune is the highest point in a lunar orbit. CSM = command and service module.” I looked up at Ms. Pressa and nodded to let her know I understood. I pulled my hand away from the connection.
Mr. Smith continued. “You need forty-two nautical miles or the CSM can’t get to her in time.”
“Nautical miles? What kind of dumb unit is that?” I blurted, and then covered my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that outloud for the whole team to hear! Ms. Pressa frowned, I assumed at my outburst, and texted furiously. Nothing showed up on my laptop, though.
“Break, break,” Capcom interrupted. “Lunar Ops reports the LM is out of range by about ten kilometers!”
“Guidance, Flight, we’ve uncovered the problem. The LM software uses nautical miles and the corrections we made assumed statute miles. We’re off by a factor of 1.15.”
Ms. Pressa rose from her seat and paced back and forth.
“Guidance, get me the right numbers for Mr. Smith to fly to. Capcom, inform Ms. Phillips we’ll be doing another maneuver.”
Precious time ticked by while the LM rapidly approached the point of no return. The trajectory map refreshed with a new image showing the LM arcing up but not quite reaching the intersect point with the cargo ship. Unless it changed course fast, the historians were doomed. If I hadn’t cut off Mr. Smith’s comments earlier, would they have discovered the problem sooner? Was this all my fault? Maybe I didn’t have the right stuff to be a pilot after all.
Lunar Ops reported that she had moved the cargo ship to a slighter lower orbit that would help close the gap. But it also increased her speed. That seemed counterproductive to me until I saw on the plot that the intersection point was farther around the Moon than predicted earlier. Orbital mechanics was confusing!
Finally Guidance reported they had the commands ready. The flight director said to execute them. If anything went wrong, we would know in a few minutes. If so, we might need Mr. Smith to fly to the numbers manually.
Ms. Pressa approached and held up her phone. I heard the shutter sound of a camera snapping a photo.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Mr. Smith shouted. Ms. Pressa looked puzzled. “Just taking your picture, Grandpa,” she explained.
“Grandpa! You didn’t think I was too old at the bar the other night!” He squinted at her badge. “P… R… E… S… S… You’re a reporter! Get out!” He pushed her back with the heel of his big left hand. Her phone clattered across the floor, and she fell back into a chair.
The security guard from the door seemed to appear out of thin air, “Director, are you okay?” he asked, lifting her to her feet.
“I’m okay, Harry,” Ms. Pressa insisted, smoothing her suit jacket. “There’s just been a misunderstanding.” Dr. Winkler handed her phone to Harry. “Escort me to the door, please.”
“Whatever you say, ma’am,” the big guy replied, glaring at Mr. Smith.
“Paparazzi,” Mr. Smith cursed.
Dr. Winkler poured Mr. Smith a glass of water from a pitcher on a nearby table. He handed it to him and assured him that everything was under control. I’d never seen the doctor so rattled. Having a patient almost flatten his great-granddaughter was rather upsetting!
The doctor met my eyes and then darted his glance to and from the water glass. I understood that he had added something to the water. Then he said, “Sir, I suggest that you rest your feet while we wait for communications to come back.”
“Are they in blackout?” Mr. Smith asked.
“Yes,” I agreed, holding the plugs to his headset and the speaker out of view. All of Mission Control had heard his outburst at Ms. Pressa. I hoped they didn’t realize that she really was his great-granddaughter. Even though Pressa was probably her married name, some enterprising person could use it to figure out Mr. Smith’s identity.
Mr. Smith gulped the water like he was taking a shot of scotch. He settled onto the stool, glancing down at his feet. “Man, I hate these stiff military shoes. When I retire, I’m only going to wear slippers!”
“Your mother won’t like that,” I quipped.
He smiled. “No, she won’t!” he agreed. “And that’s another reason I’m going to wear slippers!” He laughed.
I was dying to know what was going on with Ms. Phillips. The trajectory display on the TV was blinking. In all the commotion, the maneuver had come and gone. He couldn’t do any harm now.
“We’re getting the signal back,” I said, and plugged Mr. Smith and the speaker back in. Guidance reported that he was waiting for Lunar Ops to confirm target acquisition.
Mr. Smith surprised me when he calmly said, “Ms. Phillips, quit worrying about the trajectory for a minute. Look out the window. You owe it to yourself.”
I wasn’t sure if Mission Control had let this message through until Ms. Phillips said, “Seeing the Earth above the desolate Moon reminds me of just how precious life is. I’ll never forget this moment.”
“Me either,” Mr. Smith said.
“Me either,” I whispered.
Lunar Ops reported target acquired! I sagged onto my stool, suddenly realizing how tired I was. Some fancy remote flying on the part of Lunar Ops completed the rendezvous. The cargo ship scooped the LM into its wide bay, and cheers erupted in Mission Control. I gave Mr. Smith a high five, and Dr. Winkler patted him firmly on the back. “Where are the cigars?” Mr. Smith asked.
“Sorry, but this is a no-smoking area,” Dr. Winkler said.
“Oh,” Mr. Smith said, obviously disappointed.
A text appeared on my laptop. “Good call on the nautical miles—you saved two lives. Sorry about the photo. Forgot blackmail incident still upsets him. I’ll be in touch. Thanks again.” She signed it, “R. E. Pressa, Director of Knowledge Capture, Department of Homeland Security.
After the cargo hold was pressurized, Ms. Phillips was able to take off her spacesuit and help Dr. Canterbury out of his. The flight surgeon did a remote exam. Turned out that Dr. Canterbury didn’t have a concussion. His suit had been damaged and he was suffering from carbon-dioxide poisoning. If they hadn’t done the direct ascent, he would have died. Ms. Phillips hooked him up to oxygen and settled in to wait for the Russian rescue ship to rendezvous with them. Mr. Smith’s advice no longer needed, Mission Control cut our connection. We were now in listen-only mode.
Dr. Winkler escorted a sleepy Mr. Smith to the men’s room while I moved the chairs back to their proper places in the lounge.
Just before I unplugged the speaker box, I heard Ms. Phillips thank the team in Houston for sending the cargo ship and especially for recruiting Mr. Smith to help her. “I have dedicated my life to preserving the history of space,” she said. “Yet today when I was faced with having to recreate that history, I realized just how little I actually know. I now have a new level of understanding and respect for the courage and skill of the
I knew that wasn’t going to happen. By the time she got back, he’d already have forgotten all about this day.
But I wouldn’t. I would remember for him. And tomorrow, I’d check out every e-book and disk I could find at the library and read all about the