By Lily Liu
What do you think it is like to be the first people to live on the moon? Here’s what Dashiell Gibson would say:
– Space food is terrible.
– The space-toilets are even worse than space food.
– Life on the moon is dry, dusty, and boring.
– I’d rather go home.
For twelve-year-old Dashiell Gibson, or Dash, life on the moon is a bore. Or not…. One morning, early morning at 2:00 AM, Dash overhears Moon Base Alpha’s doctor, Dr. Holtz, and he’s talking to someone in the men’s bathroom. Dashiell cannot hear the other end of the conversation, so he assumes Dr. Holtz is talking on the phone, but why at 2:00 AM? Well, next thing you know, Dr. Holtz is dead, brain dead. Dash is afraid worst has come to worst, and there is a killer loose on the moon! When he attempts to explain this to the moon base commander, Nina Stack, “Nina the Machina”, she dismisses his idea and thinks otherwise. Then, in the middle of all this chaos, two very helpful things happen. Dash is assigned to welcome new lunarnaut, Kira Howard, the daughter of Dr. Maxwell Howard who is also a new lunarnaut. Second, when he returns to his room, he meets someone from security called Zan Perfonic, who claims to be a good friend of Dr. Holtz. Also, she agrees that he was murdered and will help Dash find out the murderer. Kira, who has overheard Dash, helps too. But who could have done it? For one thing, Dr. Holtz is well liked. For another point, there are 25 people on the moon, could it be Lars Sjoberg, a multimillionaire. He and his family are about the most annoying people, forget on the moon, maybe even on earth. The killer could be Nina the Machina, Daphne Merritt Lars, Sonja, Patton, or Lily! As the story continues they find more clues. Could it be, Dr. Timothy Marquez, Dr. Chang Kowalski, “Chang Hi tech”. Whoever the murderer is, they’d better watch out! Dashiell is on the case no matter what Nina the Machina says. Can Dashiell succeed or will he get murdered as well? And can Dashiell figure out who murdered Dr. Holtz?
We like Space Case, because it is a funny and interesting murder mystery on the lunar surface almost 20 years in the future. It features diverse characters with differing personality.
– Dashiell Gibson: who is sometimes pessimistic and is not the kind who will break too may rules.
– Violet Gibson: Dashiell’s younger sister who is friends with Kamoze and Inez. She is energetic, and she likes eating waffles and blueberries, singing, and watching Squirrel Squad.
– Dr. Rose Harris: mother of Violet Gibson and Dashiell Gibson.
– Dr. Stephen Gibson: Father of Dashiell and Violet Gibson. Dr. Gibson doesn’t get to do much with Dashiell because of the limited space on the moon.
– Kira Howard: who has an enthusiasm trespassing into places she’s not supposed to go, especially when she sees no reason not to go.
– Dr. Maxwell Howard: who is staring into space with a hundred other ideas all the time, so he ignores his daughter a lot.
– Inez Marquez: a seven-year-old who is friends with Violet and Kamoze.
– Rodrigo Marquez: “Roddy” who is a VR addict and will not stop talking about it. Roddy likes playing video games so much that he often hogs the VR.
– Cesar Marquez: oldest child in the Marquez family, who uses his size to threaten his younger brother, though sometimes he needs help from the Sjoberg twins Patton and Lily.
– Dr. Timothy Marquez: who is an incompetent base psychiatrist, so may people in Moon Base Alpha dread their one-on-one meetings with him.
– Dr. Ilina Brahmaputra-Marquez: an Astrophysicist in Space Case, Spaced Out, and Waste Of Space.
– Kamoze Iwanyi: a seven-year-old who is friends with Violet and Inez.
– Dr. Sheri Goldstein: Moon Base Botanist who spends most of her time in the greenhouse caring for plants.
– Dr. Mfuzi Iwanyi: who is an Astronomer and a strict rule-follower.
– Dr. Jennifer Kim: a Geologist who has a very meek and quiet personality, and although she talks at about a regular frequency, it seems like a lot less since she makes everything seem like it’s her fault and usually talks in an apologetic tone.
– Dr. Shenzu Alvarez: water extraction specialist who likes playing practical jokes on people.
– Sjoberg family: a family of multimillionaire jerks: Lily, Patton, Lars, and Sonja Sjoberg.
– Dr. Viktor Balnikov: a Russian Astrophysicist in Moon Base Alpha.
– Dr. Ronald Holtz: base doctor that got murdered in Space Case.
– Dr. Chang Kowalski: a Geochemist that has an IQ matching Albert Einstein’s
– Garth Grisan: maintenance worker that works for the military.
– Nina Stack: base commander who, like Grisan, works for the military. Nina is called “Nina The Machina” by younger children like Violet or Inez.
– Dr. Daphne Merritt: base roboticist whose personality is the opposite from Nina’s. Dr. Merritt a best friend to all the children except Cesar, Lily, and Patton.
– Zan Perfonic: when Dashiell first meets Zan, she says she works for security.