Zone Forty-Two was a blasting zone on the moon Cynda, which orbited the planet Gorse. The dissident miner Skelly tried to convince Moonglow Polychemical and the other mining companies not to conduct blasting past Zone Forty-Two while he conducted a test bombing. Skelly's bombing indicated that Cynda's structure was brittle and that mining operations were endangering the planet's existence. His test-bombing also triggered after-shocks that disrupted mining operations nearby.