Lunar Station

In Short

Stationed at the Tycho mercury mines on Earth's moon in the year 2012, young chief engineer Bill Bonwitt notices a violent seismic shift that sets the celestial body spinning. Investigating alongside radio operator Val Crane, Bonwitt discovers that the eccentric movement is linked to a vast inner world within the moon, populated by an ancient race of native Selenites. Dragged into a terrifying power struggle against a corrupt mine superintendent and a vengeful dictator's son, Bonwitt must navigate deep-moon politics to prevent wholesale planetary destruction and forge a peaceful alliance between humanity and the hidden lunar inhabitants.

The Story

Bill Bonwitt and Val Crane experience a strange lunar shift while working at the Tycho crater mines. A mechanic named Andy Pauchek is injured in a toppled drill press accident and mutters warnings about Peterson, the new mine superintendent, before later being found dead with a knife in his throat. Bonwitt and Crane soon discover that Peterson and an accomplice named Gates are transmitting unauthorized radio codes to an unlisted off-wave channel. Determined to uncover the truth, the two engineers follow Peterson's ship across the terminator into the blinding sunlight of the moon's hidden other side, where they discover a massive, ten-mile-wide lake of liquid mercury.

They infiltrate a subterranean cavern beneath the crater Nemesis, where Bonwitt is abruptly ambushed and knocked unconscious. Waking up in a bluish metal chamber, they reunite with Crane and descend via an advanced gravity elevator into a warm, habitable internal world inside the moon. This vast subterranean realm is illuminated by a glowing green-white inner sun and inhabited by thousands of small, native Selenites. Peterson reveals that these native beings survived an ancient planetary cataclysm and now plan a peaceful migration to Earth, utilizing a colossal motor and vertical shaft system designed to turn the moon's shell and convert the mercury lake into a giant concave mirror.

However, Peterson and Gates harbor violently conflicting, treacherous agendas. Gates, revealed as the son of an exiled 20th-century world dictator, intends to use the focused solar beam to incinerate Earth cities and reclaim absolute power. Meanwhile, Peterson plans to use a supersonic wave generator to slaughter the entire native population, eliminate Gates, and blackmail Earth for absolute wealth, lunar title, and space transport monopoly. The tension peaks when Gates murders Crane in the ethertype room. Grief-stricken and enraged, Bonwitt attacks Gates, engaging in a brutal, fatal struggle that ends with him crushing his opponent's skull against the metal floor.

As the final day arrives, the giant motor churns the mercury into rotation, and the moon turns over, exposing its previously unseen face toward Earth. Don Peel, the simpleton ruler or Gosak of the Selenites, operates the final control panel alongside Peterson. As Peterson edges his foot toward a secret floor button to activate the supersonic slaughter, Bonwitt tackles him just as Peel activates the mirror to display a circle of sunlight over New York City. Peel immediately shoots and kills Peterson with a lunar weapon. Acknowledging Bonwitt's loyalty, Peel thanks him, resolving the crisis and setting the stage for peaceful cooperation between humanity and the inner lunar civilization.

How It Unfolds

The unexpected shift Chief engineer Bill Bonwitt and radio operator Val Crane experience a violent seismic jolt that momentarily shifts the moon off its axis by three and a half degrees. Amidst the resulting damage at the Tycho crater workings, an injured mechanic named Andy Pauchek utters a cryptic warning about the abusive new mine superintendent, Peterson, before being found murdered with a knife in his throat. Bonwitt and Crane realize something illicit is underway when they discover Peterson is sending secret codes through an unlisted off-wave channel.

The secret journey Determined to intercept the conspirators, Bonwitt and Crane follow Peterson and his accomplice Gates across the lunar terminator into the blinding sunlight of the moon's far side. They spot a hidden, ten-mile-wide lake of liquid mercury that has never been reported by Earth astronomers. Tracking the men into a dark cavern mouth beneath the crater Nemesis, Bonwitt is abruptly ambushed, knocked unconscious, and stripped of his helmet.

The inner world Waking up in a bluish metal chamber, Bonwitt reunites with Crane and descends via an advanced gravity elevator into a warm, habitable internal world inside the moon. This vast subterranean realm is illuminated by a glowing green-white inner sun and inhabited by thousands of small, native Selenites. Their leader, Don Peel, explains their desire for a peaceful migration to Earth using a colossal motor and shaft system designed to rotate the moon's shell.

The final confrontation As the moon finally turns over to face Earth, Peterson and Gates prepare to execute their competing, murderous plots for global dictatorship and the complete annihilation of the native population. Following the tragic murder of Crane, Bonwitt tackles Peterson just as the superintendent attempts to trigger a hidden supersonic weapon. The Selenite ruler Don Peel intervenes by shooting Peterson with a lunar weapon, ending the threat and securing a peaceful partnership.

The People

Bill Bonwitt is the young chief engineer at the Tycho mercury mines who wants to maintain order and protect his company's interests. Ignorance of the moon's true nature and dangerous conspirators stand in his way, but he ultimately survives the ordeal, successfully foils a mad plot, and earns the trust of the inner lunar leaders. Val Crane is the sharp-witted radio operator who assists Bonwitt in tracking the conspiracy; he wants to expose corruption but tragically ends up murdered by Gates. Peterson is the ruthless, power-hungry mine superintendent who wants to control Earth through blackmail, wealth, and monopoly. His path is blocked by the native Selenites and his rival Gates, leading him to plot mass murder before he is executed by Don Peel. Gates is a sullen relief operator and the son of an exiled world dictator who wants to destroy Earth cities and reclaim absolute power; his violent ambitions end when Bonwitt beats him to death in a fit of grief. Andy Pauchek is a tawny, mysterious mechanic who wants revenge on Peterson for past grievances, but his efforts are cut short when Peterson's faction murders him. Don Peel is the simpleton king or Gosak ofलता the Selenites who wants a peaceful migration for his people to Earth; language barriers and human traitors stand in his way, but he ultimately eliminates the threat and secures a cooperative future.

In Its Own Voice

When the initial seismic anomaly rattles the lunar base and leaves Earth astronomers completely mystified by a sudden axis shift, radio operator Val Crane turns to his colleague and succinctly summarizes the bizarre cosmic situation:

The moon had gone haywire.

While sitting alone in the observation dome pondering the eccentric behavior of the superintendent and trying to make sense of the strict corporate monopoly on resources, young chief engineer Bill Bonwitt reasons out the stark logistical realities of space commerce:

Mercury is something you just can't steal.

Upon crossing the solar terminator into the blinding, high-contrast expanse of the moon's hidden other side, the two intrepid engineers are completely astounded to stumble upon a massive, shimmering, unrecorded geological marvel:

A lake of mercury ten miles across.

What It's Really About

Beyond its thrilling outer-space adventure, the book explores the ethical friction between corporate monopoly, industrial power, and indigenous displacement. The conflict between human exploitation and native survival forms the core thematic dilemma, as greedy human interlopers view the ancient Selenite civilization merely as disposable obstacles or tools for terrestrial conquest. Furthermore, the narrative sharply contrasts the calm, communal existence of the moon's hidden inhabitants with the destructive madness of human imperialism, represented by figures driven by historical grievances, vengeance, and an unbridled hunger for dictatorship. Ultimately, it questions whether humanity's technological expansion into the cosmos will simply export terrestrial corruption or learn to genuinely coexist with newly discovered intelligence.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love classic pulp science fiction filled with bold engineering feats, secret subterranean worlds, and high-stakes interplanetary tension will thoroughly enjoy this vintage adventure. Reading it feels like stepping straight into an imaginative, high-velocity retro universe where operators chatter on ethertype machines, heavy spacesuits brave airless lunar craters, and colossal gravity elevators defy terrestrial physics. The atmosphere crackles with a genuine sense of isolation, heightening the mystery of the moon's eccentric movements and hidden geological wonders.

At the same time, honest readers must acknowledge its period difficulties, including dated idioms, stylized villainy, and occasional period attitudes toward foreign or indigenous characters, such as the initial description of the native ruler. Yet, despite these stylistic limitations of its era, the brisk pacing, deeply inventive planetary mechanics—such as converting a vast crater into a rotating solar mirror—and the thrilling clash between human greed and survival keep the pages turning. It remains an endlessly entertaining, atmospheric snapshot of early speculative imagination that rewards any fan of retro space opera willing to embrace its historical charm.