An All-Dialog Beginning

"So, that's it?"

  "That's it."

"Just like that?"

"Try not to think about it like that. In those terms. You understand how it's been up here, it's not black and white--"

"Apparently not, no. What other terms though? Yesterday I'm here... tomorrow? Enlighten me."

"Come on, Jack, don't--"

"Jackson."

"Jackson--"

"You're grinding my goddamned bones to dust. That's what you're doing, Brian. Everything I've fucking worked for. I pioneered this, in on the ground floor. And for what?"

"For what? You just said for what. We wouldn't be up here, doing what we're doing today, if not for you."

"That supposed to make me feel better? Don't fucking flatter me. What happened? Am I that irrelevant?"

"Of course not. Jackson, you know damn well what happened. You know how it's been up here. There are directions we should've been exploring six months ago. Directions, if I recall correctly, that you were unwilling to entertain."

"Is this the part where I beg for my job? 'I'll come back, I'll be a good boy, I'll do what I'm told, it won't happen again, honest--'"

"No, it's already too late for that."

"What then?"

"You're not honestly worried about finding work, are you?"

"'Course not. Some ozone filtered sun will be a fucking godsend."

"Then what?"

"When's the next shuttle?"

"That's the kicker--"

"This is the kicker? Oh, good. Now that I know this is the kicker, I think I can get my head to touch all the way to my knees."

"Three months."

"Three months?:

"Three months."

"Three fucking goddamned months? What the fuck am I supposed to do up here for three months without a project to work on, without security clearance, without motherfucking pay? We're on the Moon, Brian. You remember the Moon, right?"

"Your severance is good through your time here, plus an additional three."

"How generous of you."

"Think of it as a vacation. You've been up here for four years. There has to be a book you've wanted to read."

"A vacation. Like working at a five-star beach resort and vacationing under the boardwalk on the goddamned Jersey shore. Besides, I fucking hate to read."

"You've got a goddamned mouth on you. That didn't help your case."

"Fuck you, Brian."

"Three months, Jack."

"So, that's it, then."

"That's it."