Monday, August 4th 2008:
With the idea that some people might want to write something to their families before they leave, we were all allowed to send one thing to anybody. Be it a letter, be it something we want somebody else to have,... you name it. I only got one thing to send away, by mail that is, but I already got to say what I wanted to say to anyone, so I'm already covered. So anyway, I got to send "Ten Haunted Nights in Ten Haunted Houses" away before leaving, so I'm a few ounces lighter now to go to the moon.
From what I understand, this shuttle won't take me there directly. Rather, it would go to a space-station, where we're to take a so-called spaceplane, that would bring us to the moon. Altogether, it may take some time to get there. I guess this would give me some time to read that bible that I've got.
A few minutes ago, the shuttle launched itself into outer space. I can tell you that's a weird experience. It's one thing to take off in an airplane, but to be literally shot into space... that's an entirely different matter. Now I understand why some of these gravitational tests were needed, as I thought that they were exaggerating at times. Also, it's not so easy to be writing here, what with the lack of gravity in outer space and all. It wasn't easy to at all even take this journal and pen out, as other things I had in my bag would fly out as well. Once I put one thing back, two others came hovering out. They should have told me that I shouldn't try to take anything out while in space.
I got warned by the stewardess to put away my journal, and to wait until we arrive at the space-station, which I did. But I still thought I should at least be reading something while on route to the moon, so I still took out the bible. You wouldn't believe the reactions I got from some people aboard here. They see me reading "Thé Bible", and suddenly I'm a devout christian. They wouldn't even stop talking about how they feel about how godless some people were, or how bad it is that god is banned from the schools, for which they blame the school-violence that's been going on these past years. Normally, I'd think this is bullshit, when you think about it logically, but after what I've seen, I'm not so sure anymore. Still, if that's what people believe, that their god wouldn't protect those schools, even if there are still some christians at that school, it means that he's sacrificing his own people. What kind of a loving god is that?
In case you wonder, nothing happened after I even thought that. Doesn't surprise me, though. He's supposed to be watching people on Earth, and I'm in outer space, so he can't monitor any of my steps. This means that God isn't as all-seeing or all-knowing as people credit him to be. I guess he should give himself eyes on his back, so he can see beyond the Earth as well.
I've been on the moon for hours by now, and I must say, it's an even stranger experience to be here than anywhere else that I can imagine. The gravity here is so low, I can pick up objects that I wouldn't be able to on Earth. Also, taking one step here would count for eight (or more) steps on Earth. It takes some getting used to to even walk here.
Ana Free's concert is in half an hour, so I've got to write all this very quickly.
Seeing Earth from the moon... well, I thought it would be the same as seeing the moon from Earth, but it's not. For one, Earth is bigger, for another,... well I cannot really describe it. Imagine you're gone to some country, you don't expect to be able to see your own house from where you stand. Here, that's a little different. Okay, I can't actually see my house, but I can see the very lands where I live. It really gives me a weird feeling, knowing just that.
I also got confirmation that, indeed, you can see the Great Wall of China and the Truman-Studios from here.
If you're to listen to some of the employees here, you'd hear stranger tales. They say that every once in a while, they see something which they describe only as giants. At one point, it were two giant beetle-looking robots (one green, one yellow) who fought each other. At another time, there were three spaceships, of which one carried a white robot, that combined with one of the other two, to fight another giant, which they can't seem to identify. Other stories include seeing two things coming out of Earth's atmosphere, the one changes into a gun and destroys the other, then goes back. Not to mention that some claimed to have seen either some kind of a dragon which carried five other machines, or some kind of spaceship that carried four other ones inside it. In other words, it looked like Japan, USA, France and Great-Britain weren't the only places that had to deal with giant monsters.
I also came across this room, to which access from tourists was forbidden. When I asked some people, they were acting very weird about it. I remember to have heard something about a virus having run rampant here, some seven years ago. But that idea has been refuted by many people. It makes you wonder what they're doing here, for real.