Introduction

The year was 1960. There was intensity in the hallways and laboratories of NASA as everyone buzzed around the building, excited to send the first man to the moon. We were so close to being the first country to ever defy the limitations of being on earth, and most importantly, do so before the USSR could. My name is Betty Swain, and at the time I was a prominent mathematician and physicist, assisting on the vital calculations and equipment necessary to get our boys beyond the stratosphere. However, on April 12th, 1960, something went terribly wrong. Something that the United States government doesn’t want you to know. I was called into the rocket, lovingly named Freedom 6,  in order to test an engine. A simple task really, but curiosity got the better of me as I peered into the cabin and wandered in. I carefully sat down in the seat and buckled myself in, grabbing the cool leather of the handle bars, almost to enact the soon-to-be launch itself. I closed my eyes and imagined the view of our green earth from thousands of miles away. Yet, this fantasy was short lived, as I began to feel the cabin shake. I heard the sound of the engines running, their shrieking piercing my ears. Panic and pain overwhelmed me as I was jolted into the sky. The last thing I remember was seeing black all around me and feeling almost as if my limbs had been detached. 

I woke up to a sensation of weightlessness. I slowly opened my eyes only to see my high heels float  past my gaze. Glancing above me, I saw my lipstick and glasses flying overhead. Grabbing the glasses, I placed them in their proper place and that’s when it hit me. Out of the cabin window, I saw a little blue marble, which was surely earth. Remaining eerily calm, I unbuckled myself and began to get accustomed to the lack of gravity. After staring at our planet for some time, I looked around the cabin once more and realized there was a small door I had not seen before the launch. Upon some considerable effort getting to the door, I opened it to hear a booming automated voice speak. 

“Hello, Betty Swain. The year you have received this addition to your cabin is 2020. On April 12th, 1960, you were unintentionally sent to space, and we fully expected to get you back as quickly as we could. However, after the launch, you disappeared off the grid. We now know you were lost in a black hole, and you only reemerged on our tracking devices in 2017. We have tirelessly tried to get you back home, but that proved unsuccessful. Instead, we have provided you with an additional cabin with more room, food and water, as well as modern technology. Please press the antigravity button on your right after shutting this door, and get yourself acquainted with the room as well as the various devices which have instructions on use.”

I could barely process the information, but I knew my life on earth was now over.I wandered towards the window in the new cabin and gazed upon that familiar blue marble. I spent what could have been weeks, disillusioned, thinking of the events that led to me all alone in space. Eventually, I was able to examine and learn to use this modern machinery. But my! How far have we gotten! So much has happened in my absence. Yet, strangely, the articles I found using this google device told nothing of my disappearance into space. It seems as if my journey, my life, my experience, had been cleanly swept away under a rug. The government must have hidden what had happened in order to avoid the embarrassment of admitting that they had lost someone in space. That’s why I’m here. I want to share my story with you, and show you my perspective, even if it’s from thousands of miles away.