Space Case

An interesting aspect of Space Case is Gibbs’s portrayal of Dash’s ability to manipulate the adults around him into providing information that they shouldn’t. In multiple scenes, Dash is able to convince adults to share rumors about other people on the base. Sometimes, Dash just asks direct questions, but in other moments, he uses lies to exploit the adult’s weakness and convince them to share a piece of information they were hiding. All of Dash’s inquiries lead to other discoveries, so his manipulation is cast in a positive light as moving Dash toward solving Holtz’s murder. Gibbs’s choice to characterize the protagonist as clever enough to maneuver around adults’ interests in this way is part of what makes Space Case such an intriguing read for adolescents. By positioning the main character as someone who is smart enough to navigate multiple plot points, clues, and other people, Gibbs further incorporates the theme of Finding Creative Solutions to Problems. This theme, in turn, emphasizes that young adults are capable of much more than adults often expect. Additionally, as is pointed out through Kira’s character, young adults are able to gain access to spaces and conversations that adults might not be able to gain access to. People often underestimate young adults’ agency and intelligence, a mistake that young adults like Dash and Kira use to manipulate situations to their advantage.

The ever-increasing list of suspects causes a significant tension as the novel moves toward the climax. This conflict is heightened by the fact that all of the characters are trapped on the moon; Lars’s outburst at the dinner illustrates the difficulty of feeling that one is stuck in a confined space with the other people there. As Dash adds clues and suspicions to his ongoing investigation, Gibbs shows how being isolated in a specific location can affect people’s behavior, both making them more suspect and causing continued outbursts. These Influences That Lead to Corruption form a core theme of the book: Being in a restricted environment alters peoples’ behavior and causes them to change how they might react to stress. This theme, which is consistently (if subtly) reflected in the NASA handbook, is made clear through Dash as he experiences the impact of these new behaviors. Dash watches adults like Nina, Lars, and Dr. Marquez adapt their behaviors to a new set of issues, and as they lie and pivot, Dash forms new conclusions about what might be going on. Dash learns about much more than just Dr. Holtz’s murder; he learns about the ongoing ways that adults are affected by the world around them and how they can be influenced into doing harmful things out of anger.

As characters, both Chang and Dash are portrayed as people who will stand up for what is right even if it comes at a personal cost. In contrast, Lars and Patton Sjoberg are portrayed as angry bullies who will attempt to trample over others in order to fuel their own satisfaction and insecurity. The two pairs—Chang and Lars and Dash and Patton—serve as foils for one another over the course of the book. This contrast is particularly illustrated by the two physical conflicts: Earlier in the novel, Dash and Patton fight, and Dash outsmarts the arrogant Sjoberg brother. In Chapter 12, Chang outsmarts Lars at the height of Lars’s egotism, knocking him out. While Dash received no credit for his clever behavior, when he bears witness to Chang’s actions, they are both held up as popular heroes by the other residents on the moon base. This illustrates an underlying aspect of the characterization of the novel: Gibbs wants readers to feel positively about the people who stand up for others and who deny those who are boastful and rude.