Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number ten:
Theme #10
Independence versus Interdependence on the Moon
The Moon, as some critics have noted, is indeed a harsh mistress — it’s
very short on some of the chemical inventory needed to support
colonists. Mars-advocates in fact, feel this is such a great issue that
it rules out the Moon as a settlement target. But this must be balanced
against its great operational convenience and easy access to space. In
other words, you need interplanetary trade to survive on the Moon, but
then again, it is much easier to do the trading. Our settlers have to
make certain compromises in their understanding of what “independence”
means for colonists on the Moon.
