Tag: Cleveland Indians

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 1: Moonbeam

Full Moon over the ocean

Lucas Aldrich was already sipping his margarita at the Mexican restaurant when his daughter arrived.

“Hey Dad! Sorry I’m late. Clients sometimes forget that one needs to have lunch.”

“Don’t worry about it Moonbeam.”

Moonbeam was Lucas’ nickname for his daughter Vega. The moniker’s inspiration was a TV interview he had seen of Astronaut Gene Cernan’s daughter in the early 70’s in which she claimed her father had promised to bring her a moonbeam from his trip to the Moon. One day, many years ago, while playing with her daughter, Lucas tied a beach towel around his neck and called himself Rocket Man. Little Vega wanted to be a superhero too, and he suggested the name so they could become the space adventurers Rocket Man and Moonbeam. She loved it and the nicknames evolved into terms of endearment between them. The fact that Vega developed a keen interest in her father’s two favorite hobbies – baseball and the 1960’s space race, helped perpetuate their special sobriquets.

But that was a long time ago and now she was a very busy professional woman so a while ago they had started a tradition of having lunch together, just the two of them every Wednesday rain or shine. Nice father/daughter quality time. This time it was at their favorite Mexican restaurant.

“Hey Rocket Man, easy on the tequila, you’re not so young anymore.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” he said.

“I didn’t say old, I said not so young.”

“Leave it to lawyers to nitpick about the language.”

“Hey you’re in communications. You’re the one who taught me to be meticulous about the words I choose to express an idea.”

A waiter briefly interrupted the conversation to ask Vega what she wanted to drink. She ordered a frozen margarita and asked for a minute to decide on an appetizer. They went with their usual chihuahuas with jalapeños.

“So, how’s everything? How did it go with Dalia’s aunt?” Vega asked her father.

A couple of weeks ago Vega had introduced Lucas to her colleague Dalia’s aunt, a pretty attractive divorcée that she thought would be a good match for her widowed father. They seemed to hit it off, and during their last lunch together Lucas mentioned they were going out on a date that following Friday.

“It was OK,” said Lucas matter-of-factly, “she’s a very smart woman…”

“Buuuuut…” said Vega waiting for the perennial ‘but’ that her father had her accustomed to.

“I don’t know, it’s hard to describe. I just couldn’t find a meaningful connection.”

“Dad, Mom died ten years ago.  I know her absence still hurts but It’s time to move on. No one will be like her, but you must give yourself a chance to experience a meaningful relationship with someone different.”

“I guess I’m just not ready yet Moonbeam. Not ready,” said Lucas looking at his margarita.

“Sorry Dad, I didn’t mean… I just want you to be happy.”

Vega’s frozen margarita arrived with the spicy chihuahuas and before they both dug in they ordered lunch. Again, no surprises there, a Swiss burrito for Lucas and chicken fajitas for Vega.

“Did you watch the game last night?” she asked changing the topic.

“You bet I did, the Indians came from behind in the ninth inning. Sorry about your Yankees,” said Lucas.

“This is the year… right,” said Vega smiling.

Lucas was a Cleveland Indians fan, a major league franchise that hadn’t won a championship since 1948. But being a fan of such a hard luck team wasn’t always the case for him. In the 70’s Lucas was a hardcore fan of the Cincinnati Reds – the fabled Big Red Machine. And in his hometown he cheered for a local team called the Lions. Both enjoyed several championship runs when he was a kid. Then in the 1990’s he saw a movie called Major League and he became infatuated with the then hapless Indians.

“This is the year,” said Lucas smiling and winking at his daughter.

“Are you playing fantasy baseball this year?” asked Vega.

“Oh yeah, the Red Lions are at it again and we are off to a good start. We play the Kitty Hawks tonight.”

“Kitty Hawks as in the Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh nothing, just found it curious. The manager must be either an aviation enthusiast or a space race buff like you.”

Vega, like her father, knew that Neil Armstrong, the man famous for being the first man to step on the Moon, had carried during his Apollo 11 mission, a piece of fabric and a piece of wood from the flyer the Wright brothers had successfully tested at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.

“Yeah, he must be…” said Lucas suddenly deep in thought.

 

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 2: A First Step

Old notebook with image of astronaut on the Moon overimposed

After having lunch with his daughter Vega, Lucas went back to his studio and spent the afternoon working on a client’s website. It was 2008 and the site looked like it was done in the early days of the World Wide Web. It needed a revamping badly. He tried to focus on the task at hand but for some strange reason he couldn’t shake off Vega’s comment about the Kitty Hawks’ manager possibly being a Space Race buff. After a while, curiosity got the best of him and he pulled out a battered notebook from a special section in his studio’s bookshelves.

It was filled with notes he had written through the years about different things associated with the Space Race. Some referred to aspects he found odd and others pointed out things that he thought needed a better explanation. Chief among them was, of course, why we haven’t gone back? But that was not what he was looking for that time. He flipped the pages until he got to the topic of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. His notes included a comment that simply stated, “Did they???”

Lucas was not a conspiracy enthusiast. He believed the claim that the U.S. never made it to the Moon was ludicrous. The fact that proponents of that idea were the ones that got the most airtime made him think that the extremely outlandish conspiracy theories were promoted by NASA itself to somewhat discredit the more reasonable ones. After all, there were some valid theories about the Apollo 11 Moon landing being faked. The extremely poor quality of the video has being one of the most compelling arguments, but to Lucas, Armstrong’s relative silence after being the first freaking human to step on the Moon was the proverbial smoking gun. The fact that after becoming a historical figure as the first man on the Moon he spent the rest of his life not as immersed in the limelight as one would expect, always felt odd to Lucas.

A wild thought crossed his mind and immediately went over to his computer to Google Neil Armstrong. He found nothing that would infer the former astronaut was a baseball fan, but something curious appeared in his search. In 1994, the Major League’s Houston Astros distributed a special baseball commemorating the 25th anniversary of man’s first Moon landing. It featured the team’s logo as well as the signatures of both Armstrong and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Although Lucas didn’t find what he was looking for, a little voice kept telling him to dig further. Old Houston Astros CapFeeling stumped he decided to go to his fantasy baseball website to check on that day’s matchup with the Kitty Hawks. The pairing came up on the screen and what jumped right straight at him was the Hawks’ team logo, something he hadn’t paid attention to before. They were using a Houston Astros vintage cap logo – the one with a capital H in front of a star.

He went back to Googling Armstrong. Armstrong and Houston Astros. Armstrong and baseball. Since the man was from Ohio he Googled Armstrong and Cincinnati Reds, just in case he had ever mentioned he was a fan of that team. Nothing.

He gave up Googling and opted for a different approach – he wrote to the Kitty Hawks’ manager through the fantasy baseball website system.

“Good luck tonight. By the way, I like your logo,” he wrote trying to start a conversation.

He wasn’t expecting an immediate reply so he went back to his client’s website design.

After a couple of hours he got a message back.

“Same to you.  Are you from Ohio?”

The question referred to Lucas’ choice of the Cleveland Indians’ logo for his Red Lions fantasy team. Chief Wahoo, the character in the emblem, was a controversial issue and Lucas was in favor of phasing it out. Nevertheless he had chosen it because, besides being his beloved Indians logo, he felt that Red Lion sounded like a Native American name.

“Thanks. Big Indians fan but not from Ohio. Just wondering, why the Kitty Hawks?”

“I grew up near Dayton.”

“?”

“The Wright brothers lived and worked in Dayton, Ohio. They chose to test their flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina because of the wind patterns there. For that reason some people refer to their original flyer as the Kitty Hawk. I know that it is not the correct name but I like the sound of it.”

“It has a nice ring to it. Interesting, isn’t it, that flight in the U.S. was first accomplished in a place called Kitty Hawk?”

“Yes it is. Well, good luck tonight” and just like that the Kitty Hawks’ manager signed off.

Lucas reviewed the conversation a couple of times and then made a quick Google map inquiry. Neil Armstrong was born and raised in Wapakoneta, Ohio, which, as it turned out, was less than an hour away from Dayton…

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 10: Click… click… click…

Edwin Moon and Moonbeam

Vega was going through her morning ritual of checking email when David knocked on her office door.

“Hey, how’re you doing?” he said.

“Hi Dave, glad you stopped by. I noticed you were pretty quiet after meeting the new prospects last night. I didn’t want to ask you in front of the others but, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure, just more stuff to do. Like I had a lot of spare time left. What did bother me was that I missed whatever juicy story was being told regarding your father going out with Dalia’s aunt.”

“Oh, nothing juicy about it. I think my father enjoys baseball more than dating.”

David couldn’t believe his good luck. Just like that Vega had taken him to the topic he wanted to get to.

“Big baseball fan, huh.”

“Oh my God, yes. Even Spring Training gets him excited.”

“Really? What’s his favorite team?”

“The Cleveland Indians, a hard to understand fascination with a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1948. It’s a sentimental thing that has to do with my Mom.”

“Sorry… I didn’t want to…” said David awkwardly.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay.”

“I’m more of a casual baseball fan,” said David trying to steer the conversation back to his topic of interest. “I once participated in one of those fantasy leagues but, not being a hardcore follower, I didn’t do too well. Which marked the beginning and end of my career as a fantasy baseball manager.

“Dad’s a veteran in those endeavors. Every year, since I don’t know when.”

Click. The door to talk about Lucas Aldrich’s involvement with fantasy baseball was now open. From that point on, what he needed to do was all about timing.

Lucas’ meeting was brief and to the point. Once back in his studio, he opened a message from the Kitty Hawks’ manager that had been waiting in his inbox since early that morning. It read:

“Good morning Lucas, sorry I didn’t give you my name yesterday when you asked me to call you Lucas. Just an oversight from an absent-minded person. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Edwin Moon…”

Lucas felt his enthusiasm about the identity of this person die with that revelation, but he kept reading.

“…and I’m getting into a venture that requires professional communications efforts. Could you send me some information about your company or guide me to a website where I can find it? Also, the job might involve traveling to meet in person. Would that be okay with you?”

Click. This was the opportunity Lucas was looking for.

The man whose identity he wanted to corroborate had just opened the door to a face-to-face meeting, thought Lucas before the reality check dawned on him. Oh wait, his name is Edwin Moon.

Before answering that email Lucas googled the man’s name. As it’s usually the case, there were several persons with the same name, so he dug deeper to see if he could make an educated guess as to which Edwin Moon was talking to him. He wasn’t ready for the information he got. The search engine brought him to a page with a list of aviation pioneers. As he scrolled down the list he found an Edwin Moon entry.

Edwin Moon
June 8, 1886 – April 29, 1920
Country of birth: England
Achievements: Designed, constructed, and flew a monoplane named “Moonbeam” during early to mid 1910

Click. The search had taken him to an entry of a long dead aviation pioneer who named his plane with the same moniker he had chosen as nickname for his daughter.

Lucas took it as a sign and smiled.  

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 14: The Letter

Picking up letter from mailbox. Reflection of person writing letter in mailbox walls.

Carol sat on the library’s computer and navigated the browser to Lucas Aldrich’s website. Good, he lists his postal address, she thought while scrolling the ‘Contact Us’ section.

She wrote it down on a small piece of paper and took it home to her husband.

Three days later…

The day’s mail had a special surprise for Lucas. After his conversation with Vega, he had decided to wait for the Kitty Hawks’ manager to make a move before deciding what to do next. Getting an old-fashioned handwritten letter from the man was definitely outside his realm of expectations. It was postmarked in Cincinnati, Ohio and the return address was a postal office box. He tore open the envelope on one end and pulled out a trifolded single sheet of paper.

Dear Mr. Aldrich:

I hope this letter finds you well, although I’m willing to bet that my choice of communication channel has startled you. Allow me to explain.

It has come to my attention that there are some people who don’t want us to keep talking to each other. Just the other day I got a strange email that, from its content, I could tell was not really originated by the person subscribing it. The message was an advice for me to be careful with a scam going on in the baseball fantasy leagues. The description of the shady deal sounded very similar to what I had told you regarding the job I needed help with.

If my theory is correct, I suspect people who want to steer us away from each other had monitored our earlier exchanges. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if you had gotten a similar email. So, I figured that it would be best if we continued our conversations through the good old postal service.

Allow me to put my suspicions in context. I’ve got information that will shed some new light on NASA’s Moon landings during the so-called Space Race. The people I suspect were monitoring our exchanges know this, and it seems like they might have read an intention on my part to share with you something they want to keep secret.

I must admit they are not too far from the truth. The job I need your help with does entail sharing some of that information. However, its sensitive nature combined with the likely monitoring of our electronic channels, has left us with only one briefing option – we need to meet in person. For such a purpose I’m including a ticket for you to attend the May 18 Indians/Reds game in Cincinnati. I’ll be joining you in one of the luxury suites. So even though it’s a public place, privacy will not be an issue.

A word of advice regarding your travel plans. I suggest you don’t fly directly to Cincinnati. I fear it could raise some flags within our monitoring friends. It would be better to book a flight to another city like Detroit or Chicago and drive the rest of the way. Choose one you have other reasons to visit. I’ll reimburse your travel expenses at the game.

As for our electronic communications I suggest continuing with them, but as a tool to make them think we have stopped talking about the NASA stuff. No more conversations about a job or anything other than baseball. Although on that regard we should say something along the lines that there’s no longer a need for your services. If we do it right, it’ll give them the impression that we both took the bait.

Please confirm through regular mail and don’t talk about this through any electronic channel.

Sincerely yours,

Edwin Moon

Lucas looked back into the envelope and pulled out the game ticket he hadn’t noticed earlier.  The content of the letter was overwhelming. First of all, he thought, the email mentioned in it sounded like the one Vega had forwarded him. In addition, the apparent monitoring of their communications would explain the mysterious car that seemed to be watching him. Plus, he was being hired to do a job that would  get him new information regarding the Moon landings. And if that wasn’t enough, he had in his hands a ticket to go watch an Indians’ game in a luxury suit! Wow buster…

Despite his excitement, Lucas followed his instinct and decided to wait for Vega to take a look at the letter before committing himself to a specific course of action.  

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 15: Pregame Jitters

Margarita cocktail for the pregame jitters related to the letter

Vega met her father at their favorite Mexican restaurant right after work. The letter was definitely an astonishing development and just holding it in her hands was spellbinding.

“You said you went to a client’s office and checked the handwriting using one of their computers?”

“That’s right,” said Lucas, “if my computer is being monitored, then using it for that would have compromised the whole thing. I’m no expert and, like everybody else’s, his handwriting evolves through the years, but this letter looks like it was written by the same person who wrote these other notes.”

Vega looked at the printouts of about a dozen different handwritten notes and nodded in agreement.

“So what’re you going to do?”

“My first reaction is to go,” said Lucas, “but I wanted to know what your gut tells you after reading the letter.”

“My mind tells me to be very careful,” said Vega, “but, oddly, my gut feels the man’s legit. It’s hard to explain, it’s like the letter itself has some kind of positive energy.”

“I know, I felt it too. So, it’s settled then, I’m going to Cincinnati.”

“We… are going to Cincinnati,” said Vega emphasizing the word we. “I’m not gonna let you go alone. My mind is still telling me to be careful.”

“Ok, so we are going… Shit I’m nervous. You know pregame jitters. I mean we’re gonna meet a historical figure. What if I screw it up?”

“Dad, you know more about the subject you’ll be discussing with him than the average person. Besides, he wouldn’t have invited you if he hadn’t noticed something special about you in the conversations. Plus I’m sure that after more than 40 years he must be used to people stuttering or going gaga when meeting him. Just do your homework and prepare well for the meeting. As for your current jitters, your lawyer advises a large Margarita.”

“Whatever you say counselor,” said Lucas while signaling for the waiter.

Two hours later at Lucas place…

Ok, showtime, thought Lucas as he sat on his computer.

He signed into the fantasy league chat room and wrote a message to the manager of the Kitty Hawks.

“Hey Ed, hope you’re well. I’ve been out for a few days and haven’t been checking my messages here. Listen, regarding the job you talked to me about, something has come up that will make it impossible for me to travel. Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause. Anyway, Godspeed in your venture.”

He had discussed the content of this message with Vega over Swiss enchiladas and they agreed that using the can’t travel excuse would help mask their real intentions later on when they did buy air tickets.

Over in Ohio, the old man read the message and smiled. He still had to wait a couple of days to get a confirmation by regular mail, but he was confident that the electronic message was part of the ruse he had proposed. He answered promptly:

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe some other time. By the way, it looks like we are leading our league. Would you be interested in a trade?” And just like that their conversations turned to pure baseball.    

 

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 16: Plans, Planes and Playball!

Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati

Time passed excruciatingly slow for Lucas during the following month. First he had to wait a couple of weeks before buying the plane tickets to avoid raising red flags to the people monitoring his moves.

During that time Vega came to the conclusion that, for those same reasons, it was better for both of them if she didn’t accompany him to Cincinnati. She wasn’t absolutely sure whether David or Mr. Martin at the office were in on it or not, but thought it was better to play it safe to avoid arising suspicions from them.

Lucas had a lot of time to ponder his travel options and finally settled for Chicago. He had been there for business before so he knew the city well and most importantly, had a history to back up his new trip there in the eyes of those tracking his moves. Also, he thought it would mask his true destination better than Detroit because, although the distances were quite similar, Chicago was in a different time zone and had the whole state of Indiana between itself and Cincinnati.

Before the self-imposed two-week waiting period had expired, Lucas got another letter from Edwin Moon acknowledging receipt of his response and confirming their meeting at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on May 18. A few days later he went online and bought himself a round-trip ticket to the Windy City.  He also booked a car rental for two days with return to the same location.

Finding a hotel took a bit longer. Since, in all probability, his every move was being monitored, he needed something that would signal he was going to stay in town while providing him easy access to I-94, the route he had to take out of Chicago towards Indiana on his way to Cincinnati. He didn’t want to add any unnecessary time to the 4½ hour drive. After some patient search, he found what he, and his budget, were looking for at the Crowne Plaza in the West Loop area and made reservations for two nights.

For the next two weeks Lucas and Vega went through all the possible scenarios and planned for each one of them. Lucas felt very confident when he boarded the flight to Chicago that Saturday, May 17, 2008. He was already in his seat when a woman in her mid twenties and an athletic build placed a weekender type bag on the overhead compartment and sat in the seat next to his. He was prepared to face the possibility of him being followed the whole trip and immediately tagged her as an agent of whatever government agency was tracking his actions.

“Business or pleasure?” he asked her.

“Business,” she said courtly.

“Same here, business on a Saturday. I’m in advertising. Clients don’t know the meaning of the word weekend,” said Lucas trying to get her to spill whatever cover she was using.

“I do most of my work during weekends,” she said with a small smile that lighted up her stern face.

“Really, what is it that you do? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m a professional soccer player. I’m on my way to Chicago to join the Red Stars.”

“The Red Stars? I’m not familiar with them.”

“It’s the city’s entry in the new Women’s Professional Soccer League.”

“Wow, I didn’t know about it. Good luck…” Lucas extended his hand to shake hers, “my name is Lucas Adrich, consider me a Red Stars fan from now on.”

“Thanks, but be aware that the first season starts next year. I’m Megan…  Megan Rapinoe by the way.”

If this was a cover it was a pretty risky one; too easy to corroborate whether her information was false, thought Lucas. She must be the real thing. He wondered if she would end up being one of the league stars. He considered asking for her autograph just in case but desisted from the idea.

The flight was uneventful and he arrived at O’Hare Airport in Chicago right on time. He followed the signs to the car rental companies, and 45 minutes later left for the Crowne Plaza Hotel on a silver Toyota Camry.

He was too excited about the next day’s adventure so he hardly slept that night. It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when the alarm clock went off at 5:00 in the morning. After showering he had a hotel bedroom coffee that tasted like dirty water and got on his way. He had to leave no later than 6:30 to make it to the game before the 1:15 start time. There was a one hour difference between Chicago and Cincinnati and leaving at that time would give him an hour to spare for any unforeseen events.

Driving through Indiana got to be extremely boring with flatlands as far as the eye could see, but it was a beautiful day for baseball with clear skies and gorgeous 66° weather. He was already on I-65 heading south when he realized it was already mid-morning and he hadn’t had breakfast. He stopped at the next rest area near Lafayette and got himself an egg and bacon sandwich with some more coffee. After a quick restroom pit stop he was back on the rented Camry approaching Indianapolis at 65 miles per hour.

Two hours later he pulled into one of Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark parking areas, never noticing the car tailing him, a nondescript gray sedan with a middle-aged couple inside that looked like anybody’s next-door neighbors. They watched him step out of the car before following him inside the park.

Once inside the ballpark, Lucas had to ask directions to the suite 110. When he finally got there, the old man was waiting for him outside. To Lucas he resembled the actor that played Batman in the 60’s TV series.

“Ed?” asked Lucas as he approached the man.

“Lucas I presume,” answered the man extending his hand to shake Lucas’.

“Yes Ed, thanks for the invitation. This ballpark is absolutely gorgeous. Like a temple for baseball.”

“Please call me Neil, there’s no need for subterfuge anymore,” said the old man with a smile. “Let’s go in. Would you like a beer?”

Ha! I knew it! You’re Neil Armstrong, thought Lucas but instead said “Love one Neil, thanks.”

“Two Hudys Al”, the old man told the suite attendant as they entered.

“Hudys?” asked Lucas.

“Hudy Delight, Cincinnati’s very own light beer,” said Neil. “Would you prefer something else?”

“No, a Hudy would be perfect.”

“Let’s seat outdoors. The day is too nice to stay inside,” said Neil leading the way.

“We’ll have more privacy out here; don’t wish to be overhead by the suite attendant,” he said once outside. “By the way, great pitching matchup today Volquez versus Lee, the two teams’ aces.”

Once they took their seats the game  started and with it the most fascinating three hours Lucas had ever experienced in his lifetime.

 

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 17: First Inning – The Beginning

Suite at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati

Lucas sat with Neil Armstrong on the suite’s outdoor seats and looked around taking in the grandiosity of the situation while sipping his Hudy Delight.

“Only one loss between the two pitchers… and 12 wins. Both early Cy Young candidates in their leagues. Definitely a pitching banquet ahead of us”, said the old man.

“Ah, oh, yeah,” sputtered Lucas.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m okay, it’s just that I’m a little overwhelmed by this whole… surreal experience,” said Lucas feeling a bit embarrassed.

“It’s only regular season,” said the old man with a smirk.

“Yeah, well, for you maybe, ‘cus you’re not sitting next to a historical figure watching the game.”

“Oh, that. Well, after today, maybe you’ll make history too. And on that note, thanks for accepting the invitation. It took me many years to finally decide on this course of action. Something that I’m sure you’ll understand once you hear what I have to say.”

The man took a long sip of his beer before continuing.

“On your response to my initial letter you asked me several things. Where would you like to start?”

“Why me? What are you looking for?” asked Lucas.

“Well, first things first. You’re a communications professional. I visited your website and liked what I saw. You’re also a knowledgeable person in the topic of the Space Race of the sixties, so you’re better suited to understand the context of what I’m going to tell you. As for what I’m I looking for? I want people to know the truth and I can’t tell them myself.”

“So you want me to tell people? I thought this conversation was supposed to be kept confidential.”

“This conversation never took place. What you do with the information you get is entirely up to you,” said the old man. “But don’t tell that to the people who accompanied you.”

“Who? What people?”

“The two agents following you. I spotted them when you approached me outside the suite. They were walking like 50 feet behind you. A middle-aged couple who looked like John and Jane Midwest. I’m sure they will be talking to you after the game.”

Instinctively, Lucas looked over his shoulder after hearing this, but all he could see through the glass window was Al, the suite attendant who immediately approached them to ask if they needed anything.

Neil Armstrong politely dismissed the courteous attendant who went back inside to wait upon a group of six that had just entered the suite.

“Relax Lucas.”

“It’s just that I had been on the lookout for a tail , and finding out that they fooled me pisses me off.”

“Let’s take one step at a time, they will not cause a scene. That’s why I chose this public venue for our little chat. Al and the six friends I had on standby in case something like this happened are our insurance that the agents won’t come inside the suite.”

Lucas looked back into the suite and a few of the guys waved at him smiling.

“This is so surreal,” said Lucas mostly to himself.

“Well, with that out of the way, what do you think we start at the beginning?” said the old man. “As you know there are a lot of conspiracy theories regarding the Moon landings of the late sixties and early seventies. Some going as far as to state that it was all a fake. Well, the truth, as it usually does, lies somewhere in the middle between what the conspiracy theorists say and NASA’s official version of the events.

“Let’s be clear about one thing Lucas, man did land on the Moon. Whoever claims otherwise is a fool. Where NASA’s official story starts to deviate from the truth is with regards to when the landings took place. On the other hand, conspiracy theorists are closer to the truth when it comes to the tools used by NASA to achieve such deviation.

“You must remember that in the sixties the Cold War was at its peak and beating the Soviets to the Moon was a political endeavor more than a scientific one. So, after the tragedy of Apollo 1 and the calendar setbacks that it entailed, officials at NASA and the government began to seriously worry that Kennedy’s promise would not be fulfilled and that the Soviet Union would beat the U.S. to the Moon. An occurrence that would have dealt a crushing political blow to America’s world leader image and role.

“That’s why shortly after the conclusion of the 1967 congressional hearings on the Apollo 1 accident, a handful of government and NASA top brass got together and laid out the main components of a secondary protocol for all Apollo missions that required it. The operation’s objective was to convey the idea that the U.S. had landed a man on the Moon even if they hadn’t. It was a monumental misinformation endeavor and, as with many other Space Race era plans, it had to go through several stages in order for it to be successful.”

“When was this protocol added to the Apollo program?” asked Lucas.

“After the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in June 6, 1968. While the media attention was centered on that story, President Lyndon B. Johnson gave the order to put the secondary protocol in motion.”

Meanwhile on the playing field…

The Indians started the first inning well, putting men on first and second with no outs but ended in disappointment with a strikeout followed by a double play to end the top half of the frame. The Reds drew first blood by scoring a run in their bottom half of the inning.

 

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 18: Second Inning – Secondary Secrecy

.Grainy image of first man on the Moon video, its production shrouded in secrecy

“Secrecy was of the essence,” said the legendary astronaut. “NASA had to fool a lot of important people for the plan to succeed, so it was a strict need-to-know approach to everything. They had to keep a lot of people in the dark.”  

“I’m sure they had to, but how can you keep such a monumental task secret with so many people involved.”  

“One would ordinarily think that something like that would be more complicated than it really is. But it’s all about compartmentalization of information. Segmentation of labors. No single person had the whole picture. You tell people only what they absolutely need to know in order to do their part, embellish it with a little bit of fiction and everything looks like business as usual. Everybody did what needed to be done under false but believable pretenses. This was done masterfully, and as a result, only a handful of people had the whole picture.”  

“And you were one of them?”  

“As commander of the mission with the most complex and important secondary protocol, I was made aware of much more than the average astronaut. The same applied to Buzz and Michael. Our mission was by far the most extensive and risky with a high-profile dimension upon our return to Earth. Still, I’m sure there were a few things we were not made privy of.  

“See, the secondary protocol was different for every Apollo mission. Each one had to either test or place a component of the whole plan. Only the commanders were aware of the whole picture. They would brief their crews on the details once the previous mission was concluded and it had become official that their own mission needed to implement the secondary protocol. But those briefings were limited to the extent of their mission. They did not include any information regarding the role of other missions.”  

“In November of 1968 America elected Richard Nixon as their new President,” said Lucas. “That must have thrown a curve on the secondary protocol plans. How was that handled?” 

“The powers behind the plan chose not to inform President-elect Nixon for two very important reasons. First, plausible deniability, and second, he was the person that would oversee the landings on the Moon. It was important that he believed everything was for real. That way his actions would convey the highest degree of credibility to the world. Remember, for the governments of the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the space race was more a political endeavor than a scientific one.  

“Anyway, besides the astronauts in the missions that carried out the secondary protocol, nobody knew about it outside a very small group of the highest top brass at NASA, plus LBJ and his most inner circle, and, I suspect, one or two Senators as well.”  

“What about mission control? How would you train for a secondary protocol without the collaboration of someone there?”  

“That’s an example of the compartmentalization of information I mentioned earlier. Over at Mission Control, the people developing simulations worked on scenarios pertaining to the secondary protocol without knowing they were generating the basis for a ruse. Since the secondary protocol was designed around the transmission of false but realistic data to Earth, the creation of such data could be concealed within the regular parameters of the development of regular training exercises. To the people working on simulations these were just more situations we had to train for. Little did they know that those streams of data they were creating were going to be used by the astronauts to transmit false data to the ground during secondary protocol missions.”

“So, does this transmission of false data included the video purportedly showing mankind’s first landing on the Moon?”  

“Yes, it does. A very small team sworn to secrecy worked on the production of the simulated transmissions of us on the Moon. NASA fed them the cover story that they were creating some training films. And that the videos were deemed classified because of the Cold War. They used doubles for the filming which meant that no astronaut ever put a foot on a filming studio. Just like with President Nixon: plausible deniability. I can say under oath that I never participated in the filming of any fake Moon landing video, blah, blah, blah.

“Anyway, to further minimize the probability that the production house could identify their material in the transmissions from the Moon, their videos where heavily edited and the images degenerated using the videotape technology of the era. Someone, I don’t know who, made several generations of the final edit until it reached the grainy look you saw on those transmissions.”  

“So, conspiracy theorists had it right when they said the whole thing had been filmed on a stage…” said Lucas.  

“They did, but they struck out when they took that to mean that we never landed on the Moon,” replied Armstrong.  

Over on the playing field:

The Indians once more started the inning well with a double to center but, just like before, the effort was fruitless. No score for either team in the second inning. Reds leading 1-0 after two.      

 

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 19: Third Inning – Who’s on First?

The third inning started, and Lucas’ list of questions increased with every pitch.  

“Who decided which astronauts were to carry out the secondary protocol missions?”  

“One simple directive guided the selection process: they had to be the ones most likely to keep their mouths shut,” said Armstrong. “Military background was preferred although in my case it was more of a psychological profile thing.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“In August 1968 George Low, Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, had a secret meeting with Bob Gilruth, head of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Chris Kraft, Director of Flight Operations, and Deke Slayton, who as NASA’s Flight Crew Director was the person tasked with making crew assignments. They were Apollo program’s four senior administrators, and by that time had become an unofficial committee that got together often in Gilruth’s office to discuss and make decisions on the future of the program. Not much happened that didn’t originate with them.

“Well, in that August meeting Low convinced the group that the only way to meet Kennedy’s goal was to send Apollo 8 around the Moon on December of that year. It was a Hail Mary pass that would allow NASA to fulfill in one mission many of the program objectives needed to land on the Moon.

“That meant reshuffling the other missions and the crew assignments. The original Apollo 8 mission became Apollo 9 and in the process Buzz, Michael and me, instead of being back-up crew of Apollo 9 became back-up for Apollo 8. Something that meant that our place in the rotation suddenly had us in line for the prime crew of Apollo 11, which was, at the time, scheduled to be the first G-type mission. In other words, the first Moon landing mission.

“At the time I thought that such a realignment of missions had been simply a lucky break for us, but I found out shortly thereafter, that I had been chosen not to be the first man to actually land on the Moon but to be the commander of the mission with the secondary protocol to tell the world that we had landed on the Moon. Very big difference, believe me. And the reason I was selected for that was that Gilruth, Low, Kraft and Deke saw me as a person who did not have a large ego. Chris Kraft wrote about that in 2001 as part of his autobiography.”

“So, in June 6, 1968, LBJ gave the order to put the secondary protocol in motion,” said Lucas, “and in August, the Big Four laid out the whole plan. Right?”

“Pretty much. That Apollo 8’s crew, was the first to train for a secondary protocol. The crews of Apollo 7 and 9 were kept in the dark. Their missions were about testing the spacecrafts on Earth orbit and as such, were of little or no use to the overall plan.

“Only seven astronauts were aware of the whole secondary protocol: Commanders Frank Borman of Apollo 8, Tom Stafford of Apollo 10, Pete Conrad of Apollo 12, Jim Lovell of Apollo 13, Alan Shepard of Apollo 14 and myself on Apollo 11. Nobody else was made aware of the whole plan; it was just us. As a matter of fact Lovell carried out two secondary protocol missions; the only astronaut to do so. We were all members of the New Nine group except for Shepard who, as you know, was one of the Mercury Seven; the first American to go into space way back in 1961.”  

“What about their crews? You said that the commanders would brief their crews only to the extent of their mission and did not include any information regarding the role of other missions. Didn’t they have questions? How was that handled?”  

“There was a total of 10 crew members involved in the secondary protocol missions; all were military men. They knew how to follow orders without questioning them. Plus there was always the ‘that’s classified’ response,” said Armstrong with a smirk. “Actually, two of them, Young and Cernan, did get to walk on the Moon in later missions. And a third one, Dick Gordon was in line to do the same in Apollo 18 until his mission was cancelled due to budget cuts. I’m sure they didn’t need much more motivation to keep their mouths shut.  

“All astronauts involved were given a lifetime mission that transcended the primary mission objectives. Our mission would not be completed until we have taken what we know to our graves. It’s a very heavy burden I’ve come to regard as unjust, not for me, but for the ones who were not given the credit they deserved. Look Lucas,  I’m convinced that it was the right thing to do in the context of the era, but we now live in a different world. It’s time for people to know the truth.”  

Over on the field

The third inning was a testament to the pitching duel in front of us that day with only one hit between the two teams and no runs scored. Reds still leading 1-0 after three.      

 

 

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THE ANTARES SECRET – CHAPTER 20: Fourth Inning – 1968 Overture

Image of Surveyor probe on the surface of the Moon

On the top half of the fourth inning the Indians tied the game on an RBI single by Casey Blake. Lucas pumped his fist in celebration before resuming his conversation with the old astronaut.

“We’ve got ourselves a tie ball-game,” he said.

Armstrong smiled and continued his story.

“You know,” he said, “what prompted President Johnson to green light the secondary protocol in 1968 was the lunar module evaluation done by the Apollo 9 crew.

“Both mission Commander Jim McDivitt and his LMP, Lunar Module Pilot, Rusty Schweickart had been part of the many tests conducted at Grumman’s.”

“Grumman, yes, the company in charge of developing the lunar module,” added Lucas.

“That’s correct. In general terms their assessment was that the extent of things still not working properly on the module was such that it would be impossible to have a 1968 launch.”

“Which would have made it almost impossible to fulfill Kennedy’s promise,” said Lucas.

“Right, so when confronted with that situation in June, 1968 LBJ activated the secondary protocol. It’s no coincidence the LM-2, the designation for the lunar module initially assigned to McDivitt’s mission, was moved to NASA that same month.

“Production of the lunar module was already behind schedule, but when the LM-2 arrived at Cape Canaveral that June, NASA confirmed that the craft still had significant defects and some officials referred to it as a piece of junk. Grumman’s estimate at the time was that the first mission-ready lunar module, meaning LM-3 because LM-2 was beyond fixing, would not be a reality until at least February 1969.”

“And that’s when George Low came up with the idea of the circumlunar mission for Apollo 8,” said Lucas.

“You know your NASA history,” said Armstrong. “Another event added pressure on the Apollo program to make the 1969 landing goal. In September 1968 the Soviet Union’s Zond 5 mission successfully carried Russian tortoises in a cislunar loop around the Moon. This was the second consecutive successful cislunar mission for the Soviets, and NASA was getting antsy.

“The stakes were extremely high, and the pressure was mounting. There was speculation within NASA, that the Soviets were preparing to launch cosmonauts on a circumlunar mission before the end of 1968.

“As matter of fact the Zond 5 mission shocked the hell out of us when voices of cosmonauts were transmitted from the spacecraft,” said Armstrong. “The cosmonauts were apparently reading out telemetry data and computer readings, and even discussing making an attempt to land. It turned out to be a hoax perpetrated by the cosmonauts who were sitting comfortably at their command center in Crimea plugging into the Zond 5 transmitter.

“The official version was that it was a prank, but I always thought they were testing their own version of our secondary protocol. The fact that their transmission was discovered to be a fake so fast taught us a critical lesson: our communication of a Moon landing very probably would have to come from a transmitter on the surface of the Moon and not from the orbiting command module.

“Which brings me to the next point. The one thing that finally convinced President Johnson that the secondary protocol was the way to go,” said Armstrong, “was the fact that there were five Surveyor probes on the surface of the Moon.”

“You mean the probes sent by NASA to test soft-landing capability?”

“Yes, from May 1966 to January 1968 NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory sent seven robotic spacecrafts to the surface of the Moon. One crashed and another one exploded before landing, but five made it to the surface and those could be used to simulate transmissions from the surface of the Moon.

“Of all the Surveyor missions only number 7 at the Tycho crater was not used for the secondary protocol. Surveyors 1 and 3 were in the Ocean of Storms which ended up being Apollo 12’s landing site and one of the alternate landing sites for Apollo 11. Surveyor 5 was on the Sea of Tranquility which ended up being Apollo 11’s landing site. And Surveyor 6 was on Sinus Medii, another one of Apollo 11’s alternate landing sites.

On the bottom half of the fourth inning

The Reds regained the lead on a solo homer by Adam Dunn. 2-1 Reds after four.      

 

 

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