See You in the Cosmos

Alex whispers a late-night recording, describing his arrival at SHARF that evening: “The site here is just really flat desert with wide mountains in the distance, and when I first saw the tents and RVs on our way in, it felt like we were driving toward a colony on Mars […]” (46). He tells how Zed helps to construct his tent. Alex describes how he glues the sections of his rocket together for his launch and goes to chat with Steve and Zed. Steve brought an energy drink product called LOX to sell at SHARF and offers Alex one, who turns it down. Steve argues with his girlfriend on the phone. Once Steve is asleep, Alex and Zed look at the stars. 

Alex describes seeing the sunrise after hearing Zed snore all night. He watches Ken Russell, a rocket supply store owner and event organizer, set up registration tents. Alex helps Ken set up the rocket launch stands, which Alex calls “launchurdles.” Ken registers Alex for the D-class competition and Alex checks his email from Ken’s laptop. An email notification from Ancestry.com about his father confuses Alex: “It says he’s married to some person named Donna but that’s not my mom’s name, and besides, my parents got married in Colorado, not Nevada” (58). Alex assumes it’s another person with the same name—and birthday—as his father. He eagerly takes Carl Sagan to go meet other people.

Alex meets other contestants and rocket enthusiasts, many of whom he recognizes from the forum. Alex admires their rocket models. The bigger teams have corporate sponsors like CivSpace and its owner, the famous Lander Civet. 

Alex records what he thinks will be his final messages to the alien audience. He describes the camaraderie of the rocket enthusiasts at SHARF. As he records, the announcer’s voice lets everyone know that C-class rockets are up next. A boy named Noah and his father launch Noah’s rocket first, and the announcer calls it “a mighty fine start” (66) to the C-class competition. Alex’s rocket is next. He says goodbye to the aliens, places the still-recording Golden iPod in the payload, and prepares to launch the rocket. The recording then picks up the crowd’s countdown and a “rattling” and “clipped thud” (67) as Alex’s rocket fails and falls.

Alex is upset and sniffling as he makes his next recording. He is surprised that the iPod still works after the rocket’s crash landing. The rocket “didn’t even go a hundred feet” (68). He and Carl Sagan cry in Alex’s tent. Alex’s thoughts turn to the Ancestry.com notification, and he wonders if his father is still alive. CivSpace employees Elisa and Scott bring Alex’s broken rocket pieces and encourage him to keep trying. They tell Alex everyone in the rocket industry is bound to fail before they succeed: “Lander told everybody that they knew from the beginning there were going to be failures, this IS rocket science after all […]” (72). Spirits boosted, Alex goes to watch the Civet Prize launches, now intent on not only trying again to create a successful rocket but to go to Las Vegas and find his father, who can help Alex “just like that kid Noah’s dad helped him” (73).

Alex records as most of the festival attendees depart. Steve is angry to lose the Civet Prize. Ken Russell gives Alex an adult XL K&H tee shirt as a prize he calls “Best First Effort.” He also gives Alex his card in case Alex is ever in Taos. Alex uses Ken’s laptop to see the distance between Taos and Las Vegas, then takes action: “And then I was trying to change my Amtrak ticket to go to Las Vegas […]” (76). Alex tells Zed that he (Alex) now wants to get to Las Vegas instead of returning home. Zed wants to see the Ancestry.com notification, so he and Alex go in search of Steve and Steve’s phone. 

On Steve’s phone, Zed finds the name and address of a man in Las Vegas who matches the name on Ancestry.com. He uses the chalkpad to suggest to Steve that they bring Alex with them to Las Vegas, their next destination. Steve’s reaction is negative once he realizes what Zed means: “And Steve said, Forget it, it’s not happening, it’s practically kidnapping, and Zed wrote on his chalkpad, Father Quest, and then Steve said, No, no more quests, I’m sick and tired of your quests!” (80).

Steve wonders what they’ll do with Alex after meeting the man at the address, and Zed’s idea is to take Alex to Ronnie in Los Angeles, which is where they also live. Alex is excited at this offer, but Steve, worried, says Zed will have to supervise Alex while Steve takes care of his “business” in Las Vegas. Steve tells Alex to get permission by phone from his mom and Ronnie. Alex’s mom does not answer, so he leaves her a message. Ronnie, distracted by work, does not really listen and cuts off the call. Alex takes his response as permission: “I know that Ronnie didn’t really say yes. But he didn’t say no either” (84). 

Alex relates how Zed builds a great fire. After rain begins, Alex is awake in his tent until around 5:00am. He mentions looking at a photo he carries of his family and wonders if his father still looks that way. Alex falls asleep as he records.