Space Case

An important underlying component of Space Case is Gibbs’s characterization of Dash’s emotional state as he experiences conflict while living on another planet. While life on the moon is portrayed as exciting, especially via the excerpts from the Moon Base guide, Dash’s experience of life on the moon is anything but positive. He finds the day-to-day difficult, and he struggles to keep himself feeling happy amid both the interpersonal conflict and the confined nature of the space. Dash consistently comments on the size of the moon base, especially in regard to the places he does and doesn’t have access to. In the middle of the novel, he reveals the depth of his homesickness as he finally talks on the ComLink with his best friend from home, Riley Bock—albeit only to the reader. Even though Dash knows that Riley would love to be on the moon, he can’t help but feel jealous of her life back on Earth as she heads for a regular day surfing at the beach. Gibbs’s portrayal of how Dash deals with his complex emotions is important: Dash doesn’t reach out to adults, either his parents or the lunar psychologist, to deal with his feelings. In fact, Dash doesn’t speak to anyone about how he feels. The pressure to keep up appearances publicly, as well as resolve Dr. Holtz’s death in secret, keeps Dash from being able to be honest about how he feels.

The mystery of Dr. Holtz’s death continues to escalate in intensity as Dash discovers new possible suspects in Lars Sjoberg and Chang Hi-Tech. One of Dash’s most important skills is his ability to research and catch patterns in order to form hypotheses. He uses this skill to begin developing theories about different motives for Lars and Chang, and then he observes their behaviors to try to see if he is correct on either count. This process expands on the theme of Finding Creative Solutions to Problems, which clearly includes critical thinking. An interesting aspect of the plot of Space Case is that Gibbs portrays Kira and Roddy as equally able to both investigate and form smart conclusions about the possibilities surrounding Dr. Holtz’s death. The adolescents on Moon Base Alpha are characterized as intelligent, analytical, and capable of conducting investigations at an adult level, despite having less experience in years. This portrayal is an empowering aspect of the plot for younger readers and a reminder to adult readers about the potential of adolescents to make sense of the world around them.

A few chapters into Space Case, the excerpts from the resident guide begin including short footnotes that contradict or clarify particular points about the lunar experience. These footnotes can read as almost sarcastic in tone, on the part of the author, since they often provide information that undermines the grandiose claims and chipper tone of the excerpts’ main content. The footnotes help support Dash’s claims that life on the moon is quite drastically different than what the guide itself says it will be. Through the footnotes, Gibbs continues to call attention to the theme of Influences That Lead to Corruption, cautioning readers to take into account that appearances are not always what they seem, given the diverse and sometimes conflicting interests of the many actors involved in any large-scale undertaking. Critically, Dash also reflects about what the government and NASA had told him and his family about when they were preparing for life on the moon and how different these claims are from the reality of life on the moon. The juxtaposition between these claims and the reality is persistently heightened by Dr. Holtz’s death, which is an event that forces Dash to start questioning authority to point he is willing to subvert authority figures entirely.