INTRODUCTION
Imagine being on the Moon. Every day you see the beautiful coloured Earth fixed in a black sky amongst the stars. The Sun is dazzling the sky for two hot weeks then gone for two weeks throughout a bitterly cold night. No clouds, no wind and no sound.
Imagine being in a community of passionate people enjoying every moment and seeing their children having fun exploring the low gravity world. They decide to put on a Lunar Olympics event in the year 2112 to challenge and entertain all those heavy Earth dwellers. Those lucky enough to get tickets arrive and really love playing tennis, skiing and just have fun. And then the Moon gets a visit from a group of aliens…
This story is about how a team of people produce extraordinary results by creating a new way of thinking for the human civilization. It’s about seeing that anything can be made possible with complete communication, love and affinity.
Space Flight
Seeing the Earth shrinking in the sky made me feel uncomfortable. Of course, I knew this was a normal reaction not being very accustomed to space trips. I looked ahead and saw the half-shadowed Moon much smaller than Earth but slowing becoming larger in the sky. For the first time in my life I felt a connection with the Earth, some kind of relationship with that beautiful blue and white object. Maybe I could start a new relationship with the less attractive looking Moon I was about to meet.
“Hey Andy,” I called on my communicator, “that’s going to be our home for the next few days.”
“Yes, they say it’s very peaceful up there. So quiet and such a slow pace of life. Each day lasts a whole month and the Earth looks down at you all the time.” Andy had been working for 3 years on Lunar Olympics 2112 but this was my first visit to the Moon.
“That’s true and there’ll be no clouds even to hide it. I’m going to check out the weather conditions.” The Olympic village was situated 5km west of Tranquillity Base named by Neil Armstrong on his Apollo 11 landing in 1969. The Sun would be about 45 degrees high the day we land and by the end of the week it will have almost set. The surface temperature will plummet as soon as it gets dark. Then the Sun won’t return again for two weeks.
I decided to call Pauline, my partner in Auckland, New Zealand. “Hi Pauline, I’m going to get some sleep now, still 24 hours to go before landing.”
“Ok. Have a fantastic trip, I’m thinking of you up there,” replied Pauline.
“They are letting visitors use the ski slopes tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it,” I said.
I saw Pauline on my screen. She smiled and blew me a kiss. Then I watched her send a message “I’m going to miss you. I can’t stop thinking what might happen to you up there. Not sure I like you going on Moon trips.”
Pauline knew I love space trips. She suspected I would like to live on the Moon for ever and set up home there.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful. It’s hard to hurt yourself up here with such low gravity. Speak tomorrow, good night,” I replied.
Andy has been my friend for many years. Before working on Lunar Olympics he was the owner of Green Stations, a company set up by his father years before. He owned a fleet of service stations for electric cars. They were powered by renewable energy and customers could replace their car batteries and stop there for leisure breaks. The business started to take off at the time of the air flight ban and Green Stations became a kind of cult thing. All over the world people used it as a way of networking and a great way to meet between trips. Car trips started becoming popular again.
After a few years in the business Andy was ready for his next project and that’s when he was asked to project manage Lunar Olympics 2112. The idea came from the first lunar settlers. Back in 2090 there was a party on the Moon to celebrate the birth of the first settler. The party guest list was huge and a stadium was donated as a present to celebrate the achievements of lunar settlers. The party was of course a huge reality event for people back on Earth and everything that happened was watched by billions of people. What the guests seemed to enjoy most about going to the Moon was the low gravity. Everyone had an excuse to play and explore and be kids again. Many ideas for games and activities were thought up and the Moon was seen as a huge wonderful leisure park.
Ideas later came from the settler children themselves who grew up in low gravity. They wanted to use the stadium to host a games event and asked if it would be feasible for them to host an Olympic Games. Andy was asked to project manage the event and the first one was scheduled for 2112. Now the day had come and he had two days to make final preparations before the opening ceremony.
When I woke up I couldn’t believe my eyes. We were only a few miles from the lunar surface and soon about to land. We floated over two large overlapping craters, Cyrillus and Theophilus, then towards the much flatter Sea of Tranquillity. Just to the west of this double crater I saw the perfectly bowl shaped Schmidt crater where the ski dome had been constructed.
“Thanks for not waking me earlier. Must have needed the sleep I guess,” I said to Andy.
“That’s ok. I’ll show you the landing room,” he said.
I slowly got up and followed Andy to a room designed like a padded cell to protect passengers when landing and taking off. I put on my spacesuit and helmet, and watched the descent on a screen inside it. We were about to land on a short runway towards the north edge of the Sea of Tranquillity. I started to make out the main stadium surrounded by large domes interconnected by transparent tubes. There were other buildings and towers, all part of a colourful glittering village.
The landing was quick and smooth. We had a short walk in our spacesuits to a tunnel entrance. Then we walked to a changing room where we changed into clothes we were carrying in our backpacks. It was nice to breathe air again without spacesuits. We followed signs for the hotel where Andy and I were sharing a twin room. I was getting excited about the week to come. Once in our room I read the itinerary.
Day 1 | Welcome presentation Science film Evening party |
Day 2 | Village tour and observatory visit Moon skiing trip |
Day 3 | Opening ceremony |
Day 4 | Competition heats |
Day 5 | Complete heats and award ceremony |
Day 6 | Rest day |
“I’m looking forward to Moon skiing. I’ve heard it’s quite fun. How about you?” I asked as he passed me some fruit for our breakfast.
“Me too. I’m also looking forward to trying out those slopes. Just watching the athletes run will be interesting. The settlers have come up with their own style of running on all fours!” said Andy. “This is going to be such an amazing event Richard, not the same as the others.”
Andy recalled some of the many events he had been asked to lead. They were usually over an entire weekend for groups of between 100 and 200 people. He told me the earlier ones were on climate change and how to live happier, greener lives. Recently they were to do with values and beliefs and what motivates societies to grow and shift away from material desires. “What I like about these events is they all have the same structure but all turn out different!”
“Because people are different?” I said.
“Yes, and groups are even more different,” said Andy laughing as he opened a second cereal bar. They all start with my prep-talk to the crew assistants running the event.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing your creation meeting. Do they really always have the same structure?” I asked.
“Yes, kind of. I start with ground rules until all the assistants get it. Then go over what works and what doesn’t work. Then we talk about service and about being fully on purpose and available to the guests.” He said events set up by children are a real privilege to run. “As soon as they see that the event is not about them but about the guests they really go for it. They run smoother than ones with adult assistants.”
As one of the crew members, I was looking forward to the prep-talk. My job was ‘meet and greet’ but it sounded like there was more to it than I had imagined.
“I’m looking forward to Moon skiing. I’ve heard it’s quite fun. How about you?” I asked as he passed me some fruit for our breakfast.
“Me too. I’m also looking forward to trying out those slopes. Just watching the athletes run will be interesting. The settlers have come up with their own style of running on all fours!” said Andy. “This is going to be such an amazing event Richard, not the same as the others.”
Andy recalled some of the many events he had been asked to lead. They were usually over an entire weekend for groups of between 100 and 200 people. He told me the earlier ones were on climate change and how to live happier, greener lives. Recently they were to do with values and beliefs and what motivates societies to grow and shift away from material desires. “What I like about these events is they all have the same structure but all turn out different!”
“Because people are different?” I said.
“Yes, and groups are even more different,” said Andy laughing as he opened a second cereal bar. They all start with my prep-talk to the crew assistants running the event.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing your creation meeting. Do they really always have the same structure?” I asked.
“Yes, kind of. I start with ground rules until all the assistants get it. Then go over what works and what doesn’t work. Then we talk about service and about being fully on purpose and available to the guests.” He said events set up by children are a real privilege to run. “As soon as they see that the event is not about them but about the guests they really go for it. They run smoother than ones with adult assistants.”
As one of the crew members, I was looking forward to the prep-talk. My job was ‘meet and greet’ but it sounded like there was more to it than I had imagined....
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