The First Men in the Moon Page #5

No. All them folk pressed together

like barrels on a dray?

Chichester's furthest I ever got.

My late husband and me,

we went to see one of them shows.

Oh, yes? In a theatre!

And what did you make of it?

Well, there was a fella and a girl,

just the two of 'em, yarning.

Weren't even a true story,

it were just made up.

Didn't see the point of it myself.

Not been anywhere else?

No. I'm not the gadabout sort.

What would you say

to a trip to the moon?

Oh, never did hold with them

balloonies.

Ooh, no. You wouldn't get me up in

one of them, not for ever so.

Cavor? Cavor!

Cavor, I'm coming with you.

Of course I am.

I'm sorry about before. I got myself

into a blue funk. I'm fine now.

Splendid!

You could not have returned

at a better time.

Shall we?

How are we doing?

Er, shutter temperature's

cooling...fast.

Capital! Storage hatches?

Er, luggage in and locked.

This is it, old man.

Strap yourself in.

What have you got there?

Well, haven't you brought

anything to read?

Good Lord, no!

But the voyage may take an age.

It doesn't matter.

Surely the grandeur of the journey...

Have you never been to sea?

The sight of the ocean

soon palls, believe me.

Space doesn't even

have fish to look at.

My dear Bedford, you will be

bored to tears. Quickly, quickly.

Good Lord! Bedford! Hurry!

Air filtration system working

splendidly. Check.

Any luck?

Um, a copy of Tit-Bits.

Ah, well. Outside temperature?

Hmm - superlative.

Quick test of the shutters.

Excellent.

All right, then, Bedford, old man,

cabin lights should be dimmed

for takeoff, don't you think?

Er, yes, I suppose so, yes.

There. Any, um...

Any... Last requests?

No.

Anything you'd like to say?

We should say something.

Don't you think?

A momentous occasion,

the first time in history...

Christ, what was that?

I'm a fool. I'm a ruddy fool.

I want to get out. You can't.

What do you mean?

It's too risky. I'm not coming.

Didn't you feel that?

We're off.

Ah, well, we're committed.

Uh...yes, we're committed.

Or we should be, to an asylum.

Don't move.

Try and keep your muscles quite lax,

as if you were in bed.

That's it.

We are in a little universe

of our own.

Look at that!

Marvellous, isn't it?

Marvellous...

Magnetised, you see?

Same principle as

lead weights for divers.

Should keep our feet on the ground,

so to speak.

What's our direction, then?

How are we pointing?

We're flying away from the Earth

at a tangent.

It's all worked out,

barring accidents. Probably.

Do you think...?

Might we have a peek?

Why not?

What a sight.

We're the first, Cavor.

The very first to see it.

Apart from God, I suppose.

What?

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