Space Affair by Peter Viney. 4. Problems in the Freezer Room.

Дата публикации: Oct 21, 2014 1:9:14 PM

It was the last day of the Beta shift. Gareth was in his room. In half an hour it was going to be time to go to the Freezer Room. Gareth got into the shower. Very carefully he put the earring on the shower tray where he had found it. Then he took a small white flower and put it down next to the earring. He hoped the cleaners would be too lazy to check the shower. They hadn't checked it last month. The small flower was from a lemon tree. If the cleaners found it, there would be trouble. It was forbidden to pick flowers from the garden area. Nobody had seen Gareth when he picked it earlier in the day.

When Gareth got to the Freezer Room the door was closed. A starship policeman was standing outside.

'You'll have to wait for a few minutes,' said the policeman. 'We're having a small problem.'

Gareth could hear screams from inside the room.

'What's wrong?' he said.

'I shouldn't tell you,' said the policeman, 'but it's one of the cooks. He doesn't want to go in the freezer. He's frightened. He says he wants to stay awake until we get to Orelia Five.'

'What's happening?' said Gareth.

'What do you think?' said the policeman. 'We're putting him in the freezer. If he's still making trouble when he wakes up in two weeks, we'll have to ... well, you know what we'll have to do.'

Gareth knew. Five minutes later the door opened. Gareth went in and walked towards the freezers. He climbed into one. Before he started to fall asleep he thought about Alpha 3461. 'I wonder if she uses the same freezer, too?'

Two weeks later, as soon as Gareth left the Freezer Room, he hurried to his room. He closed the door and walked round the room. It looked empty, as usual. He looked in the shower. No earring, nothing. He had his shower. He felt sad. What had he been hoping to find? He didn't really know. He got out of the shower and went over to the sink. He wanted a drink of water. He turned on the tap. Nothing happened for a second, then the water came out suddenly. A piece of paper came out with the water! He picked it up. It was wet. He sat on the bed and looked at it.

Dear Beta 4297,

Thank you for finding my earring. And thank you for the flower. You mustn’t do anything like that again. It’s dangerous for you! I’ve often wondered about you. I don’t know anything about you. I know you are a man. You didn’t clean the sink very well, after you shaved, and the cleaners are not very careful in this area of the ship. Well, we’ll meet on Orelia Five. Until then, good luck!

Best wishes,

Alpha 3461

Gareth read the note several times. It was dangerous for her, too. He should throw the note away, but he couldn't. Now he really wanted to know about Alpha 3461.

He went for dinner. As he walked into the Restaurant Area, he saw the policeman again.

'Hello,' he said. What happened to the cook?'

The policeman looked round quickly. 'Be quiet,' he said. 'I'll be in trouble. It's forbidden for me to talk about it. Let's just say - there was a problem with his freezer. He didn't wake up.'

'You mean ... they killed him,' said Gareth.

'I didn't say that. There was a problem with his freezer. And you should forget this conversation. I'm going to forget it.'

Gareth thought for a long time about the note. On the last day of his shift he sat in his cabin, and wrote to Alpha 3461.

Dear Alpha 3461,

Can I call you 61? Or can I call you by your real name? I'm Gareth Palmer, and I'm a garden technician. I'm 26, and I come from London in the United European District on Earth. This is my first space trip, and I'm going to stay on Orelia Five, so it's probably my last space trip, too. I don't know why I want to know about you, but I do. But I don't want you to do anything dangerous. You know what happens to people who break the rules. Be careful!

Very best wishes,

Gareth

Gareth put the note carefully into the tap. He was smiling as he went to the Freezer Room. He wanted the next two weeks to pass quickly.

Questions:

Why was it forbidden to pick flowers from the garden area?
Why do you think there was a police service in the starship?
Why was Gareth wondering if the Alpha used the same freezer in addition to the same room, the same bed and the same shower cabin?
Do you guess if the Alpha had known that the Beta was a man before the earring interaction? Why did not she want to know more about her roommate?
Who do you think those mysterious they which killed the cook?
Why did Gareth ask the Alpha to call her 61 instead of 3461? Why did he tell about himself in the note?

2. questions

Why was it forbidden to pick flowers from the garden area?
Why do you think there was a police service in the starship?
Why was Gareth wondering if the Alpha used the same freezer in addition to the same room, the same bed and the same shower cabin?
Do you guess if the Alpha had known that the Beta was a man before the earring interaction? Why didn't she want to know more about her roommate?
Who do you think those mysterious "they" which killed the cook?
Why did Gareth ask the Alpha to call her 61 instead of 3461? Why did he tell about himself in the note?