Space: 1999 "The Carrier" Short story Space: 1999 #2 B&W comic magazine published by Charlton Publications Writer unknown January 1976

The runaway Moon crosses paths with an asteroid that decides to follow it.

 

NOTES FROM THE SPACE: 1999 CHRONOLOGY

 

In this story, Commander Koenig remarks on the Moon's speed in its journey through the cosmos, saying the Moon is travelling through space at close to the speed of sound due to the thermonuclear explosions that blasted it out of Earth orbit (see my comments below about this "speed"). The fact that he is attributing the Moon's current speed to the blast that blew it out of Earth orbit would tend to suggest this story takes place before the Moon was warped to the far reaches of space through a black hole in "Black Sun" since the black hole would have significantly altered the Moon's velocity. 

 

CHARACTERS APPEARING OR MENTIONED IN THIS STORY

 

Commander Koenig

Dr. Russell

Flight Officer Shahudu Nishi

Dr. Andrew Haislip (lost and presumed soon deceased after this story)

Lt. Igor Balinkov

Lt. Tala Yurum 

 

DIDJA NOTICE?

On page 1 of the story, Main Mission is called Central Control instead. Perhaps this scene is meant to take place in the underground Command Center (first seen on TV in Season 2), using an alternate name? This same designation is used in the Charlton short stories "Live Warhead", "Space Traitor", and "Space Emperor".

    Commander Koenig states that the Moon is travelling through space at close to the speed of sound due to the thermonuclear explosions that blasted it out of Earth orbit. But this does not really make sense, as sound waves cannot travel through outer space! Sound is a wave of vibration that requires an elastic medium to travel through, such as air, water, or other molecules, of which outer space is largely devoid. You know, "In space, no one can hear you scream." Even in an elastic medium, the speed of sound varies depending on many factors, such as the medium itself, the medium's density, temperature, etc.

    Did he mean "close to the speed of light"?  Even that is essentially impossible under the Moon's circumstances, unless we are assuming the "mysterious unknown force", which seems to be responsible for Alpha's cosmic journey, is at work. 

On page 1 of the story, it is said that there is a Defense System station in Central Control.

Flight Officer Shahudu Nishi is said to be Japanese.

Dr. Haislip is said to be an Englishman and one of the outstanding brains of Moonbase Alpha.

Lt. Igor Balinkov is said to be Ukrainian.

Lt. Tala Yurum is said to be Thai.

It is stated on page 1 of the story that Lt. Yurum has had many a rap session with Nishi about whether it would be wise to marry and have children in the bleak, trackless space into which the runaway Moon was taking them. "Many a rap session" would seem to suggest that the Moon has been on its runaway course for a fair amount of time at the point of this story.

Page 1 of the story implies that an Eagle transporter's engines are nuclear-powered pulsators. It is generally accepted that the four engines at the back of an Eagle (not the landing rockets underneath) are nuclear fusion rockets.

Page 2 of the story states that Dr. Haislip's spacesuit has body-jets to allow for maneuvering in space. This is not seen in any of the TV episodes, but it may be supposed that he is wearing a special harness on his spacesuit that provides such functionality for this mission to investigate the clouded asteroid.