Space Center Employee: On behalf of the Space Center, we really wanted to thank you for your service these past years, Madam Lucy.
Space Center Employee: I brought you a few brochures for you to look over with some great vacation spots. Sunny beaches, high-class resorts—you'll have lots of things to do.
She accepts the offered papers gracefully, but there is no real joy in it for her. A holiday resort is no different to her from a quiet office with an adequate power supply.
Space Center Employee: Oh, and I included the schedule for the moon landing broadcast. Didn't want you to miss it.
Lucy: Would you ring the Bay Shore High School for me? I need to talk to Ms. Joanna.
Lucy: I am sure she will be in her office now.
Space Center Employee: O-okay.
...
???: Hello.
Lucy: Hello, Ms. Joanna. I am letting you know I will arrive later today, before ...
She looks up at the clock.
Lucy: Shortly before dusk. Yes, see you later.
Joanna: Okay. I'll wait for you here.
Lucy hangs up without another word. Never one for formalities.
Lucy: I will need a ride to Bay Shore.
Space Center Employee: Sure. I'll arrange for a car to pick you up outside the center.
Lucy: How long will it take to get there?
Space Center Employee: Less than an hour, if the traffic isn't too bad.
Space Center Employee: And that shouldn't be a worry. The military has arranged a cordon all around the center.
Lucy: Good. I am glad to see that the Space Center remains as efficient as ever.
Lucy: You have prepared for everything with more than adequate redundancies. I am looking forward to witnessing this historic moment.
Lucy: I will also need my luggage and equipment brought to the car before I leave. If that will not be too much trouble.
Adolescents, even of the older variety, have always confused Lucy. The patterns of their behavior unpredictable and frequently irrational.
As she arrives, she is instantly reminded of that discomfort. The students begin flocking to her.
Student I: Woah, a robot! Hey Jack, Annie, come check it out! A real-live robot!
Lucy: Please allow me through.
Lucy: Please.
The mechanical woman is surrounded by students, forming an impenetrable wall of questions.
???: Give her some space.
???: Is that how any of you would treat a guest?
Lucy: Oh, Joanna. You look healthy. Have you improved your diet and exercise regime?
Joanna: Is that robot for: "good to see you?" Well, I'm glad you haven't changed too much from hanging around with all those brainiacs without me.
Lucy: A healthy body and a clear mind will improve performance in humans. And even I need regular maintenance.
Lucy: Without it, I might experience unnecessary component failures—Or, sorry, I mean to say, it is good to see you, too.
Joanna: Alright then, as for all of you, I'm sure you are eager to hit the beach. Grab your things and get going.
Joanna: I need a moment to speak to our guest. Off you go.
Joanna: These are their trophies. I know it's not as glamorous as working for the Space Center, but teaching has rewards of its own.
The trophies are not inconsiderable, and by the reaction of her students, she has most certainly achieved her own kind of success.
Lucy: I am glad to see that you have found something meaningful to do after you left.
Joanna: And I'm happy to see you finally taking a break.
Joanna: I was beginning to think you'd be working until your wiring melted.
Lucy: Hmm? As long as my power supply is stable, there should be no risk of damage to my wiring.
As if matching her statement, the lights begin to flicker in the building.
Joanna: Probably just the generator. Don't worry your pretty metal head over it.
Lucy: Oh no! You should—
Joanna: Relax, Lucy. We've all gotten used to it.
Joanna: That Space Center of yours is a bit of a power suck. But a few flickering bulbs aren't a bad price to pay for the moon.
Joanna: It shouldn't affect the broadcast. But we'll just have to hope the system can hold up until then.
Joanna: But, that's why we always have a plan B, right?
Lucy: Agreed. People underestimate their value. But in an emergency, redundancies always prove their worth.
Lucy: But best not to leave it to chance.
...
Joanna: Found it.
Joanna: Remember this?
They unfold a tattered old draft. A gift for Joanna to celebrate her retirement. One of the few human rituals she has come to value.
Lucy: I am happy that our modern advances in aviation have, at last, made this project viable.
Lucy: But, with my other work, I have not had any time to work on it. I am glad you have been able to make use of it.
Joanna: Ah, well I had the time you didn't, but you're the one that's really driven this project forward.
Lucy: Attending your experiments and record-keeping are far from significant contributions.
Lucy: And it has been a long time since I have done even that.
Lucy: What is your current progress?
Joanna: Not as far as your rocket, for certain. But we're making real progress.
Lucy: Invention takes time. I cannot fault you for lacking the same resources I have access to at the Space Center.
Lucy: It is remarkable just how much progress we have made even in the last decade.
Lucy: And it has been an international effort, even despite our differences. It is remarkable how much we have learned from the Soviet Space Program.
Joanna: The competition starts as soon as someone takes the lead.
Joanna: The Baikonur Cosmodrome sent the first satellite above the stratosphere, and we sent the second one.
Joanna: Then they launched a manned rocket into space. We had to catch up with them, so we made our own.
Joanna: Now they're aiming at the moon, Mars, and maybe the galaxy is next.
Joanna: But we're not going to be left watching their exhaust this time. Now we're going to take the lead.
A prideful smile stretches over her face.
Lucy: I appreciate your competitiveness.
Lucy: It makes us work faster, think smarter, run farther.
Lucy: Once we leave those first footsteps there, in the dust of another world,
Lucy: there is no telling how far humanity will run.
Lucy: There will be new footprints, new detectors, new astronauts, new bases, and then settlers. The Space Center has made plans for all of it.
Her friend has turned back to the trophy case.
Joanna: Jack and Peter are always competing with each other. They've pushed themselves so hard, and each time they fly a little higher and a little longer than the last time.
Joanna: I think near half of these are Jack's, and most of the rest are Peter's. I doubt they'd have gotten this far if the other wasn't there to push them another step.
Their awards tell the story as well as she could, small incremental gains, iteration over iteration. But each victory was a badge of honor.
Lucy: So, you have them working on the project too?
Joanna: I brought them on board as soon as they showed interest. Their work is largely based on your designs.
Joanna: That prototype you sent us served as an excellent model.
Lucy: Is that so? It had been shelved for a long time.
Lucy: Every once in a while, I would take it out again, whenever I found a new technology or material that could be incorporated into the design.
Lucy: It has been the work of decades, centuries almost. I am very glad to hear you have made progress on it.
Joanna: Only because you never gave up on it.
Lucy: A project should not be idly abandoned, not until all avenues of success have been exhausted.
Lucy: And that is a rare case.
Lucy: In fact, perhaps I am optimistic, but I think that such a case almost never happens.
Lucy: The only real challenge is in what projects deserve our time and resources. There is no way to juggle everything. Sometimes other work must take precedent.
Joanna: That's why we share these ideas. What was it you always said? "Like an ember passed from hand to hand?"
Joanna: C'mon, Lucy. Let me show you what we've done with that ember.
It was an uplifting invitation.
Joanna: After two years, we're finally seeing the sparks take flame. Though it isn't much now. Just something for them to play around with.
Lucy: You mean, you have actually made something of my designs?
Lucy: How did you overcome the issues with fuel capacity?
Lucy: Were you able to find a rigid material capable of withstanding the drag force? One that is still flexible enough to allow the pilot to pivot in the air?
How long had she kept that ember? How many before them had thrown it away? But now, it seems that it is burning once more.
Joanna: ...
Joanna: Ha-ha-ha-ha!
Joanna: Oh, Lucy, I'm sure you have a million questions. But let's just go see our pilots in action.