Going to the Moon - Scratch That

Going to the moon, or not, ought to be a decision made by more than one person. There is something in all of us, as we struggle day to day, that makes us want to reach out beyond all the mess to something that might be more amazing.

When I thought of the president cutting funds for the program, I thought of the westward push of early pioneers. There was a lot of pain along the way and some of it should not have been done, i.e. the Indians, but we forged ahead into the unknown. It was a spirit of adventure and a realization of a need that drove people to leave security to establish something daring and new.

The government played a part in backing the railroads but that was after others had marked the way west. Maybe it will not be government that takes us into space. We all know they seem to do everything the most expensive way. I am sure that after private enterprise cuts a trail back to the moon and beyond, the government will have a moon-tax and a Mars-tax to support their regulations of the venture.

I think Obama made a mistake. Beyond that, I think it is near-sighted when it comes to why our space program exist. It sets us apart from most of the world. There is something to be said for doing it first. It seems a shame that once we figure out how to do it that we just lay everything aside. There must surely be resources there that we can use. The moon would make a great place to launch other missions. What's the deal? I know they talk about money but while they talk about saving it, they are looking for ways to spend it.

It comes down to taking away the dream. Humanity has been reaching out since we got here. Like those before me, I too have a dream. I dream of when going into the rest of our solar system is no more unusual than reading about our forefathers coming across the ocean in ships or going across the continent in covered wagons. One president will not stop that but he can delay it while he is in power. It is sad.

SUMER by Milton Southerland

Although Sumer was an old civilization, this book goes from there to the future and space travel. It explores the possibility of space travel before the flood that destroyed the world. I know that is a fantasy. It is true that men lived to be near a thousand years old. I wondered what they must have learned in such a long life time. They could have gained much knowledge and discussed it with generations before they died. Their minds were fresh and unpolluted. Suppose they discovered an entirely different way to leave earth and explore space. We use massive machines and massive amounts of fuel. Suppose they, instead, discovered a way to use the forces of nature to propel themselves at great speeds without the use of machines that would leave a trace of their efforts. True, we have discovered nothing to indicate that they left earth but are we smarter than they.

So, I wrote a novel that discusses in a fictional way how they are perhaps looking on as we fight and build devices to destroy each other and at our efforts to leave the planet. Suppose they found us so destructive that our venture into space would destroy their peaceful civilization. Would they not try to stop us as we would try to stop a virus from spreading? That is the jest of Sumer - Galactic Information Control Center, available as a download or hard copy here.

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