The Alphanaut and the Moon Rings

Book excerpt: The Alphanaut and the Moon Rings takes place in the year 2165. Then Kip DuParc is a 17-year-old Alphanaut genetically optimized to explore the planets of the star Alpha Centauri to find a place to expand human habitation. He has been raised and trained at the Galactic Academy. A policy of isolation from outside ties intends to avoid emotional separations from family and loved ones when Alphanauts leave on centuries-long missions. The Galactic Academy commandant violates the isolation policy by sending Kip to lecture at a nearby high school. There he meets junior student Ginger Hone. Kip discovers a plan to ease the earth’s overpopulation problem by using moon material to build human habitations in rings around the earth. Kip wants to work on it. The Galactic Academy leaders oppose building the rings because it would make the mission to find a habitable planet near Alpha Centauri unnecessary and try to prevent Kip from working on it. Ginger and Kip together find support for the ring plan from an industrialist and a political leader. Kip and Ginger become kidnap victims when a clan of international gangsters wishing to improve the clan’s bloodline seeks two genetically superior Alphanauts. They finally escape with the help of some friendly space beings and their flying vehicles.