26: He Who Watches The Heavens
TITLE: He Who Watches The Heavens
AUTHOR: memories_child
SPOILERS: None
RATING: PG
CHARACTER/PAIRING: Mulder/Scully/The Lone Gunmen
WORD COUNT: 601
DISCLAIMER: I'm not making any money off these.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is drabble number 26 based on the prompt 'Arguing with the insane'. Originally written for and posted at Inkstains Plus.
_______________
"Bill Kaysing believed, in 1959, that there was just a .0014 chance of landing man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. This took into account the effects of radiation, solar flares and micro meteorites. But just ten years later man set foot on the moon."
Mulder, Langly and Byers cluster around the monitor as Frohike plays with the contrast.
"Or so the US government would have you believe."
He sits back as the screen fills with a blurred, grainy image. Scully crosses her arms and frowns at the monitor.
"And what, exactly, are we supposed to be seeing?"
Four heads swivel round and four sets of eyes look at her incredulously.
"Proof that the US government faked the moon landings." Langly replies, as if it should be obvious to everyone in the room. "One of the most seminal events in human history was nothing but a tawdry display of American dominance in a world rocked by the war in Vietnam -"
"Which is another story altogether," Byers interjects.
"The war in Vietnam, and the threat from Russia in the East." Langly finishes, scowling at Byers'.
"You can't seriously be suggesting that President Kennedy faked the moon landings to, to keep prove that America had the biggest dick?"
"That's exactly what I'm suggesting."
"Kennedy used space exploration as a symbol of national prestige," Byers supplies. "He warned of a "missile gap" between the two nations, pledging to make the U.S. not 'first but, first and, first if, but first period.'"
"American superiority at its best."
Frohike swivels his chair round to face her and steeples his fingers, resting his chin on his pointed hands.
"If you examine the still photographs and the video footage supposedly taken on the surface of the moon you will find some very interesting anomalies. Firstly, the shadows you see appear to be cast in several different directions, even when the objects creating them are mere feet apart."
He stops and looks at her, his point made. She bristles and rises, walking to the computer.
"Shadows on the Moon are complicated because there are several light sources: the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon itself." She points at the screen. "Light from these sources is scattered by lunar dust in many different directions, including into shadows."
Frohike glares at her response while Langly and Byers look on, excited at the prospect of a stand off. She sees Mulder suppress a smirk in her peripheral vision.
"Additionally, the Moon's surface is not flat and shadows falling into craters and hills appear longer, shorter and more distorted."
"The quality of the photographs is implausibly high." He continues.
"Astronauts were trained in the use of their gear, and shots and poses were planned in advance as part of the mission. NASA selected only the best photographs for release to the public."
"Moon dust was really terrestrial in origin, collected from the Nevada desert and dyed grey to match the colour of the moon."
"Experiments have confirmed the age and origin of the rocks as lunar and were used to identify lunar meteorites subsequently collected from Antarctica."
"The letter C is visible in several of the photographs shot on the lunar surface. The use of the letter C on film props is well known and is used to show where the centre of the scene should be."
She stops and stares open mouthed at the four men sitting before her.
"The use of the letter C on film props is well known?"
Frohike nods.
"Jesus," she mutters, rolling her eyes. "Arguing with you is like arguing with the insane."
Previous drabble | Next drabble
AUTHOR: memories_child
SPOILERS: None
RATING: PG
CHARACTER/PAIRING: Mulder/Scully/The Lone Gunmen
WORD COUNT: 601
DISCLAIMER: I'm not making any money off these.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is drabble number 26 based on the prompt 'Arguing with the insane'. Originally written for and posted at Inkstains Plus.
_______________
"Bill Kaysing believed, in 1959, that there was just a .0014 chance of landing man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. This took into account the effects of radiation, solar flares and micro meteorites. But just ten years later man set foot on the moon."
Mulder, Langly and Byers cluster around the monitor as Frohike plays with the contrast.
"Or so the US government would have you believe."
He sits back as the screen fills with a blurred, grainy image. Scully crosses her arms and frowns at the monitor.
"And what, exactly, are we supposed to be seeing?"
Four heads swivel round and four sets of eyes look at her incredulously.
"Proof that the US government faked the moon landings." Langly replies, as if it should be obvious to everyone in the room. "One of the most seminal events in human history was nothing but a tawdry display of American dominance in a world rocked by the war in Vietnam -"
"Which is another story altogether," Byers interjects.
"The war in Vietnam, and the threat from Russia in the East." Langly finishes, scowling at Byers'.
"You can't seriously be suggesting that President Kennedy faked the moon landings to, to keep prove that America had the biggest dick?"
"That's exactly what I'm suggesting."
"Kennedy used space exploration as a symbol of national prestige," Byers supplies. "He warned of a "missile gap" between the two nations, pledging to make the U.S. not 'first but, first and, first if, but first period.'"
"American superiority at its best."
Frohike swivels his chair round to face her and steeples his fingers, resting his chin on his pointed hands.
"If you examine the still photographs and the video footage supposedly taken on the surface of the moon you will find some very interesting anomalies. Firstly, the shadows you see appear to be cast in several different directions, even when the objects creating them are mere feet apart."
He stops and looks at her, his point made. She bristles and rises, walking to the computer.
"Shadows on the Moon are complicated because there are several light sources: the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon itself." She points at the screen. "Light from these sources is scattered by lunar dust in many different directions, including into shadows."
Frohike glares at her response while Langly and Byers look on, excited at the prospect of a stand off. She sees Mulder suppress a smirk in her peripheral vision.
"Additionally, the Moon's surface is not flat and shadows falling into craters and hills appear longer, shorter and more distorted."
"The quality of the photographs is implausibly high." He continues.
"Astronauts were trained in the use of their gear, and shots and poses were planned in advance as part of the mission. NASA selected only the best photographs for release to the public."
"Moon dust was really terrestrial in origin, collected from the Nevada desert and dyed grey to match the colour of the moon."
"Experiments have confirmed the age and origin of the rocks as lunar and were used to identify lunar meteorites subsequently collected from Antarctica."
"The letter C is visible in several of the photographs shot on the lunar surface. The use of the letter C on film props is well known and is used to show where the centre of the scene should be."
She stops and stares open mouthed at the four men sitting before her.
"The use of the letter C on film props is well known?"
Frohike nods.
"Jesus," she mutters, rolling her eyes. "Arguing with you is like arguing with the insane."
Previous drabble | Next drabble