Talk to nice sleep.

Year 2135.

Location.

Luna, the far side.

The lander crunches down on the surface, and Reed Knowles double-checks the instruments,

making sure the gear is solid and the lander is stable.

Looking good, he says.

Copy that.

Chase Puford replies from the other side of the small cockpit.

Same here.

Pressurizing the drop hatch now.

We can exit and start the survey in five minutes.

Five minutes can be an eternity out here, Reid says, peering out of the cockpit window

at the endless expanse of darkness that covers the moon's far side surface.

The dark side of the moon.

Beyond the surface, though, are wonders of reflected light.

Clouds of dust particles pick up the sun's ever-present rays

and turn the open space around the moon into a kaleidoscope of swirling hues,

reds, oranges, greens and purples.

Reed watches as the solar winds turn the clouds of dust into a spectacle as dynamic as the

northern lights.

A sight he watched endlessly as a young boy back in Petaluma.

...