The Key

In a lunar archaeological expedition, Carl Jennings and his partner Stross found the wreckage of an alien ship and a device that makes it possible to read thoughts, transmit them, and also strengthen one’s own will.
In a lunar archaeological expedition, Carl Jennings and his partner Stross found the wreckage of an alien ship and a device that makes it possible to read thoughts, transmit them, and also strengthen one’s own will.

Carl Jennings knew he was dying. He still had a few hours of life, and there was so much that had to be done.
There would be no reprieve from the death sentence—he was on the Moon, and communications didn’t work.
Even on Earth, there are only a few places where a person will die without functioning radio—and another person’s hand won’t help; the heart of another person won’t pity him, and even another person’s gaze won’t fall on his corpse.
Here, on the Moon, there are hardly any other places.
Of course, Earthlings know he is on the Moon. He is an expedition participant—no, a selenological expedition! It’s strange how an Earth-oriented mind insists on this “geo-”...