THE MOON
- CHAPTER 2
- THE PLACE
Chapter 2 of 9. It holds 2 scenes on the way in, 5 named figures with something to say, 4 finds that fill in the rest and 3 things he says only to himself. Every word of it is the game's own, and every word of it is a spoiler, so the whole chapter is covered until you ask for it.
What happens here
Intro. Ada's tracker went quiet near the old Apollo flag, so that is where the hero heads. Something is moving out in the dust of a place that is supposed to be empty. He knows this landing site from the old mission charts — every crater — and the fastest line runs straight to the flag.
The dead walk the regolith here: the horde is wisps and moon ghosts and wraiths, laced through with the SUCCESSOR robots GOODCO shipped up as a garrison. Four ghosts with unfinished business line the walk to the flag. The MISSION SPECIALIST reveals there is a wrecked ship under the Sea of Tranquility, older than the dust — the flag was planted on a grave. THE PROSPECTOR dug GOODCO's secret tunnels at Site T on the far side and quit when the crates coming up started breathing. The QUARANTINE MEDIC reveals the first man on the moon had two identical medical charts — a copy was grown in a tank on the ride home, waved at the parades, while the real one stayed up here. THE CARTOGRAPHER saw Ada's beacon cross his grid moving fast, then go straight down into the wreck under the flag, where everything goes and nothing comes back.
The boss is THE FLAGBEARER, the giant astronaut ghost guarding the flag — the real first man on the moon, who never went home. He explains that GOODCO heard the wreck under his boots singing and plugged their machines straight into it; that was their great mistake, because the singing opened the graves, and now the company crates up everything and runs to Mars. He confirms Ada was put in a crate for that Mars run — kicking and biting — and, judging the hero worthy, yields "the watch" and a MACHETE on his death. He fights it the way a watchman would: he opens his hollow eyes and burns a line across the regolith — the ground he has stared at for fifty years, and which stays alight behind the sweep — and, when the night is at its worst, drives his flag back into the grave he planted it on so the grave answers him. The moon's found lore (an Apollo mission log, the Site T blueprints, the Second Man dossier) corroborates the wreck, the plugged-in moonbase, and the clone. THE MERCHANT reappears as a stranded salvage-run trader in a patched 70s suit. Ada's Trail continues near the flag: one of her sneakers lost in the regolith, and an A scratched into the dust pointing straight down into the wreck — she is marking the way for whoever follows.
Side errands in the dust. THE RADIO OPERATOR, the ghost of a mission-control relay man who never got his handover, is still calling a Houston that stopped answering; he needs cells to power the relay, the wraiths off his band, and finally somebody to end the watch of another man out on the grid who never signed off either. BENNY KOVACS, a living salvage hand off the same stranded run as the trader, carries two air tanks because once he did not and watched a friend run out — he wants his crew's bottles back off the garrison units, and a small, very faint ghost walked up to the flag.
How he gets there
The scenes that play before the level does, tapped through one frame at a time.
THE LAUNCH
The garage at night. The stolen part is in, and the ship the hero built over ten years of weekends stands on the lawn. He gathers "engine, fuel, duct tape, and the part they said I couldn't have," boards, and lights the engine — first flight, no test runs — as house and ground fall away and only stars remain.
TEN YEARS OF WEEKENDS IN THE GARAGE. SHE ONLY EVER NEEDED ONE MORE PART.
THE HEROENGINE. FUEL. DUCT TAPE. AND THE PART THEY SAID I COULDN'T HAVE.
FIRST FLIGHT. NO TEST RUNS. ADA WOULD CALL IT ROMANTIC.
THE VOYAGE, LEG ONE
Deep space toward the moon. Earth shrinks fast behind him. Alone in the hull he built, the hero fights nausea and keeps his bearing on Ada's tracker, which pings from the moon — a place, he notes, nobody goes to for chips and soda.
EARTH GOT SMALL FAST.
THE HEROTHE THING I BUILT IN MY GARAGE IS IN SPACE. DON'T THROW UP.
THE HEROHER TRACKER PINGS FROM THE MOON. SHE WENT OUT FOR CHIPS AND SODA.
NOBODY GOES TO THE MOON FOR CHIPS AND SODA.
What he says on arriving
The monologue over the black screen, before a single shot.
THE HEROADA'S TRACKER WENT QUIET SOMEWHERE NEAR THE OLD APOLLO FLAG. THAT'S WHERE I'M HEADED.
AND SOMETHING IS MOVING OUT THERE IN THE DUST. THIS PLACE IS SUPPOSED TO BE EMPTY.
I KNOW THIS LANDING SITE FROM THE OLD MISSION CHARTS. EVERY CRATER. THE FASTEST LINE RUNS TO THAT FLAG.
KEEP MOVING. I'M COMING, ADA.
What stops him mid-run
The run halts for these: something on this map is worth him saying out loud. Most fire on their own and once only. Usually there is nobody to say it to — and on the few where there is, they answer back. The ones pinned to a door are his answer to you trying it, and they keep answering for as long as the road stays shut.
The first one he sees — WISP
THE HEROIT CAME OUT OF THE DUST. NO SUIT. NO SHIP. NO FOOTPRINTS.
NOBODY EVER SAID THE MOON HAD DEAD PEOPLE ON IT. SOMEBODY MUST HAVE KNOWN.
The first one he kills — WISP
THE HEROOKAY. THEY GO DOWN LIKE ANYTHING ELSE. THAT'LL HAVE TO DO.
The first one he kills — SUCCESSOR
THE HEROA GOODCO UNIT. UP HERE. SAME TIN MAN FROM THE NIGHT SHIFT, WALKING THE DUST.
THEY DIDN'T JUST SHIP HER UP. THEY BUILT A STAFF TO MEET HER. COMPANY METAL GUARDS THE PIT.
OKAY. ONE BOLT AT A TIME. KEEP MOVING. FIND ADA.
Who speaks here
Every named figure on this map talks, and the fight waits while they do. The hero answers back — the arrival scenes are exchanges, not speeches.
THE FLAGBEARER
THE FLAGBEARERYOU SMELL LIKE EARTH. RAIN AND CUT GRASS AND TELEVISION. GO HOME.
THE HERONOT WITHOUT ADA. YOU'RE HIM, AREN'T YOU? FIRST BOOTS IN THIS DUST. NEVER WENT HOME.
THE FLAGBEARERI PLANTED THIS FLAG. FIRST BOOTS DOWN. THEN A WRECK TURNED UP UNDER THEM. ALL THEATER.
THE FLAGBEARERTHEY GREW A SMILING COPY OF ME. HE SHOOK HANDS, CUT RIBBONS AND DIED IN BED. LUCKY HIM.
THE HEROAND YOU'VE BEEN UP HERE ALONE EVER SINCE? FIFTY YEARS? GUARDING WHAT?
THE FLAGBEARERTHE THING IN THE WRECK SINGS, YOU KNOW. GOODCO HEARD IT TOO - AND PLUGGED THEIR MACHINES IN.
THE FLAGBEARERTHAT WAS THEIR GREAT MISTAKE. IT SANG, AND THE GRAVES OPENED. NOW THEY CRATE UP FOR MARS.
THE HEROMARS? THEN THE CRATES - THEY CARRIED A GIRL THROUGH HERE LAST NIGHT. DID YOU SEE HER?
THE FLAGBEARERSNEAKERS. LOUD. SHE BIT TWO OF THEM. THEY CRATED HER FOR THE MARS RUN WITH ALL THEY OWN.
THE FLAGBEARERYOU WANT TO FOLLOW? THEN TAKE THE WATCH FROM ME, EARTHLING. I ONLY EVER LOSE TO THE WORTHY.
As he falls:
THE FLAGBEARERTHE WATCH... HHH... IT'S... YOURS... NOW...
MISSION SPECIALIST
MISSION SPECIALISTA LIVE ONE. BREATHING AND EVERYTHING. WE STOPPED THAT HABIT DECADES AGO.
THE HEROYOU'RE A DEAD ASTRONAUT. HOW ARE THERE DEAD MEN UP HERE? NOBODY EVER DIED ON THE MOON.
MISSION SPECIALISTTHAT'S WHAT THE BROADCAST SAID. ONE SMALL STEP - ONTO WHAT? A WRECK LIES UNDER THE DUST, KID.
THE HEROA WRECK? UNDER THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY? IT WAS NEVER IN ANY FOOTAGE I EVER SAW.
MISSION SPECIALISTIT'S OLDER THAN THE DUST. WE PLANTED THE FLAG ON A GRAVE, SMILED. THE SMILE'S OVER.
As he falls:
MISSION SPECIALISTONE SMALL... STEP... ONTO A... GRAVE... HHK
QUARANTINE MEDIC
QUARANTINE MEDICHOLD STILL. ROUTINE SCREENING. HEARTBEAT... PRESENT. UNUSUAL. YOU'LL WANT THAT LOOKED AT.
THE HEROI'LL RISK IT. YOU WERE THE CREW DOCTOR? BACK IN '69?
QUARANTINE MEDICI RAN EVERY PHYSICAL. THE FIRST MAN HAD TWO CHARTS, IDENTICAL. ONLY ONE EVER FLEW HOME.
THE HEROTWO CHARTS... YOU'RE SAYING THERE WERE TWO OF HIM. THEN WHICH ONE CAME BACK TO EARTH?
QUARANTINE MEDICTHE COPY, GROWN IN A TANK ON THE RIDE HOME. THE REAL ONE'S STILL HERE. HE'S JUST AHEAD.
As he falls:
QUARANTINE MEDICTWO CHARTS... HHH... ONE STILL... BEAT...
THE CARTOGRAPHER
THE CARTOGRAPHERSHH. I'M CHARTING. THE MAP KEEPS CHANGING UNDERNEATH. TUNNELS WHERE NONE WERE.
THE HEROMAYBE YOU'VE SEEN IT TOO. A SMALL, WARM SIGNAL. A BEACON IN A GIRL'S JACKET, GONE QUIET.
THE CARTOGRAPHERIT CROSSED MY GRID LAST NIGHT, FAST. THEN STRAIGHT DOWN - INTO THE WRECK UNDER THE FLAG.
THE HERODOWN INTO THE WRECK? THEN THAT'S WHERE I'M GOING. HOW DO I FOLLOW HER?
THE CARTOGRAPHERYOU DON'T, FRIEND. EVERYTHING GOES BELOW. NOTHING COMES BACK UP. NOBODY MAPS BELOW.
As he falls:
THE CARTOGRAPHERSHE WENT... STRAIGHT... ...DOWN... OFF MY MAP...
THE PROSPECTOR
THE PROSPECTORCLAIM'S TAKEN. WHOLE ROCK'S TAKEN. STAMPED, FILED, AND PAID FOR BY GOODCO.
THE HEROGOODCO OWNS THE MOON? SINCE WHEN? WHAT ARE THEY EVEN DOING UP HERE?
THE PROSPECTORBUILDING. I DUG THEIR TUNNELS AT SITE T, ON THE FAR SIDE. SECRET FREIGHT, NEVER TRACKED.
THE HEROFREIGHT. WOULD THAT FREIGHT EVER INCLUDE PEOPLE?
THE PROSPECTORLAST MONTH THE MANIFESTS CHANGED. THE CRATES STARTED BREATHING. I QUIT. BADLY.
As he falls:
THE PROSPECTORTHE CLAIM'S... URGH... ...YOURS NOW, KID...
What he finds
The conspiracy is told in pieces you pick up off the floor, one find at a time. These are the ones this chapter holds.
ADA'S SNEAKER
Left lying where somebody dropped it.
ONE OF HER SNEAKERS, HALF SUNK IN THE REGOLITH BY THE FLAG. SHE KICKED HARD.
AND AN 'A' SCRATCHED IN THE DUST, POINTING STRAIGHT DOWN. SHE'S LEAVING ME A TRAIL.
APOLLO MISSION LOG
Off MISSION SPECIALIST.
A FLIGHT LOG, VACUUM-CRISP. JULY 1969. HALF THE LINES ARE BLACKED OUT WITH GREASE PENCIL.
'...THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY IS NOT EMPTY. STRUCTURE UNDER THE DUST. IT WAS HERE FIRST.'
'HOUSTON SAYS PLANT THE FLAG ON TOP OF IT AND SMILE.'
SECOND MAN DOSSIER
Off QUARANTINE MEDIC.
A FILE: 'PROJECT SECOND MAN'. CHARTS FOR THE FIRST CREWMAN. TWO SETS. IDENTICAL. ALMOST.
'ORIGINAL DECLINED TO RETURN. REPLACEMENT GREW NICELY IN TRANSIT. WAVED ON CUE.'
THE MAN ON EVERY POSTER BACK HOME WAS THE COPY. THE REAL ONE IS STILL UP HERE. GUARDING.
GOODCO BLUEPRINTS
Off THE PROSPECTOR.
BLUEPRINTS: 'SITE T - FAR SIDE LOGISTICS'. A WHOLE MOONBASE, STAMPED GOODCO, DATED YEARS AGO.
EVERY CORRIDOR DRAINS INTO THE OLD WRECK. THE BASE ISN'T ON THE MOON. IT'S PLUGGED IN.
The place itself
Everything this chapter happens in — what it fields on each rung, who is waiting, what it pays out and the map of it — is on the THE MOON mission page.