Space Case

A core thematic element of literature for young adults and adolescents has to do with when it is appropriate to go against the rules or dominant way of doing things. On Moon Base Alpha, there are many guidelines for behavior and etiquette, which is emphasized by the excerpts from the NASA handbook that precede each chapter. For the children and teens on base, there is also daily school, with its own set of requirements and expectations. In many ways, life prior to Lunar Day 188 would have looked remarkably like a day on Earth for Dash Gibson, and he likely had very little control over his life. Yet when Dr. Holtz is murdered, Dash has to begin making decisions to subvert the rules of the base and the authority figures who govern his life. Dash’s choices to go against the grain are precisely what allow him to solve Dr. Holtz’s murder, and through Dash’s first-person perspective, readers can learn how to weigh this option.

Developing a healthy willingness to question authority helps Dash to build his own understanding of the world and begin doing what he thinks is right, rather than just blindly doing what adults have told him to do. From the beginning, Dash is testing his ability to circumnavigate authority, generally represented by Nina. Shortly after learning that Dr. Holtz has died, Dash rushes to the airlock, and when Nina intervenes, he claims he’s rushing to the bathroom. Though Nina immediately sees through the lie, and Dash “obediently retreat[s]” afterward, the beginnings of Dash’s willingness to question authority are clear. Dash even observes, in the moment, that when Nina claims there’s nothing to see, she is obviously lying. As the novel progresses, Dash takes bolder steps toward working with (on equal footing), working around, manipulating, and even standing up to adults. Dash takes on Zan’s request to investigate the case covertly, despite Nina’s earlier orders. Dash starts to question whether his parents are always telling him the whole truth, wondering if they are “being completely honest” (197). In the course of the investigation, Dash even graduates to tricking the base psychologist into sharing more details about potential suspects.

However, part of learning when to subvert authority entails consideration of risk. Kira has a history of subverting authority by going into areas and locations where she shouldn’t be. She enjoys testing boundaries. But as Dash observes, there are good reasons for the “strict rules” about not going onto the lunar surface alone or unsupervised. This scene is a helpful one for illuminating the subtleties of this theme. There is a certain exhilaration that comes with subverting authorities, and both Dash and Kira feel this buzz as they bound across the moon.

Simultaneously, subverting authority involves taking real risk. The two characters soon find themselves in serious danger, vulnerable to an attack by the murderer. Dash very nearly meets the same fate as Dr. Holtz after his helmet cracks; the scene treats his fear seriously, and it’s only thanks to his quick thinking that they both make it back inside before his helmet shatters entirely.