panicking? It wouldn’t do any good. Besides, our world had always been so stable. We could hardly comprehend anything else, especially when our parents remained reassuringly calm. Mum was calm. Dad was calm. (Slightly distracted, but calm.) Out in the tube, there weren’t any disturbances. A few people were walking around in their pressure suits, and even they were perfectly calm – though perhaps a little preoccupied. Everything else seemed normal.
When the next OTV arrived at our junction, I saw that Sloan was inside. He, too, was calm. In fact he appeared more concerned about his ‘little guys’ than he was about anything else. As we sat there, behind Dad and one of the Tekkies from Technical Fault Protection, Sloan muttered something to me about the effects of high-frequency radiation on various bacteria colonies that hadn’t been developed ‘with intensive exposure in mind’.
‘Anything much over seven hundred and fifty terahertz and they’re sizzled,’ he said. ‘Of course, they’re nowhere near the hull, but still . . .’
‘Aren’t you more worried about us?’ I asked him quietly. And he shrugged.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Not really.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Firminus isn’t.’ Sloan crossed his legs, leaning back in his seat. ‘Firminus doesn’t think we’re going to be too badly affected. This ship is built like a fort.’
‘All the same, it might be hard. Just getting through the next few hours, I mean.’
Sloan smiled. He fixed me with an odd look – lazy but intent. Then he leaned over.
‘You won’t feel a thing,’ he murmured.
‘What?’
‘MedLab has it all under control.’ As I stared at him in total confusion, he went on to explain. ‘Any red alert means that they adulterate the air supply. Automatically. Before you seal your pressure suit. Procedure M34a.’
‘Huh?’
‘It means that no one’s going to panic. Won’t be able to. We’ll all be under a form of sedation.’ Watching me, Sloan added, ‘It’s the logical thing to do. We’ll be put down, too, if it gets to the point of hull disintegration. Did you know? There’s some kind of painless neurotoxin release in our ID band -’
‘There is not!’ I pulled away in horror. Dad turned around.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
‘Sloan says -’
‘It’s all right,’ Sloan interrupted. ‘I was teasing. Sorry.
It’s neither the time nor the place.’
For a moment, Dad studied him. Then he studied me. Then he grunted, and returned to his conversation with the Tekkie.
‘We’re not supposed to know about M34a,’ Sloan whispered, putting his mouth to my ear. ‘It’s part of the security protocol. Very hush-hush.’
‘Then why do you know?’ I demanded softly.
‘Because my mother spilled the beans.’ Sloan smiled again. ‘She has such a big mouth.’
I was shocked. It seemed to me that Sadira had been pretty irresponsible. My mother was the head of MedLab, and she’d never told me about Procedure M34a. I was about to say something when we arrived at Navigation, and I had to get out. Dad got out too. But not before addressing a few words to Sloan.
‘If there’s a red alert,’ said Dad, ‘you come straight back here.’
Sloan nodded carelessly.
‘I mean it,’ Dad insisted. ‘Your mother will be here, and so will Firminus.’
‘He told me.’
‘It was all worked out a long time ago, Sloan,’ my father added. He sounded very serious all of a sudden. His voice rumbled in his chest, deep and strong. ‘The day you were born, in fact. There’s only one place for you during a red alert. Is that clear?’
Another nod from Sloan – not so careless, this time. The hatch shut. Then the OTV slid away, leaving Dad and me standing on the platform.
We arrived on the Bridge just after zero-seven-forty.
CHAPTER
FOUR
When I was very small, I didn’t understand why the Bridge was called ‘the Bridge’. I knew about bridges – there was one at the Depot, connecting two gangways – and
When the next OTV arrived at our junction, I saw that Sloan was inside. He, too, was calm. In fact he appeared more concerned about his ‘little guys’ than he was about anything else. As we sat there, behind Dad and one of the Tekkies from Technical Fault Protection, Sloan muttered something to me about the effects of high-frequency radiation on various bacteria colonies that hadn’t been developed ‘with intensive exposure in mind’.
‘Anything much over seven hundred and fifty terahertz and they’re sizzled,’ he said. ‘Of course, they’re nowhere near the hull, but still . . .’
‘Aren’t you more worried about us?’ I asked him quietly. And he shrugged.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Not really.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Firminus isn’t.’ Sloan crossed his legs, leaning back in his seat. ‘Firminus doesn’t think we’re going to be too badly affected. This ship is built like a fort.’
‘All the same, it might be hard. Just getting through the next few hours, I mean.’
Sloan smiled. He fixed me with an odd look – lazy but intent. Then he leaned over.
‘You won’t feel a thing,’ he murmured.
‘What?’
‘MedLab has it all under control.’ As I stared at him in total confusion, he went on to explain. ‘Any red alert means that they adulterate the air supply. Automatically. Before you seal your pressure suit. Procedure M34a.’
‘Huh?’
‘It means that no one’s going to panic. Won’t be able to. We’ll all be under a form of sedation.’ Watching me, Sloan added, ‘It’s the logical thing to do. We’ll be put down, too, if it gets to the point of hull disintegration. Did you know? There’s some kind of painless neurotoxin release in our ID band -’
‘There is not!’ I pulled away in horror. Dad turned around.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
‘Sloan says -’
‘It’s all right,’ Sloan interrupted. ‘I was teasing. Sorry.
It’s neither the time nor the place.’
For a moment, Dad studied him. Then he studied me. Then he grunted, and returned to his conversation with the Tekkie.
‘We’re not supposed to know about M34a,’ Sloan whispered, putting his mouth to my ear. ‘It’s part of the security protocol. Very hush-hush.’
‘Then why do you know?’ I demanded softly.
‘Because my mother spilled the beans.’ Sloan smiled again. ‘She has such a big mouth.’
I was shocked. It seemed to me that Sadira had been pretty irresponsible. My mother was the head of MedLab, and she’d never told me about Procedure M34a. I was about to say something when we arrived at Navigation, and I had to get out. Dad got out too. But not before addressing a few words to Sloan.
‘If there’s a red alert,’ said Dad, ‘you come straight back here.’
Sloan nodded carelessly.
‘I mean it,’ Dad insisted. ‘Your mother will be here, and so will Firminus.’
‘He told me.’
‘It was all worked out a long time ago, Sloan,’ my father added. He sounded very serious all of a sudden. His voice rumbled in his chest, deep and strong. ‘The day you were born, in fact. There’s only one place for you during a red alert. Is that clear?’
Another nod from Sloan – not so careless, this time. The hatch shut. Then the OTV slid away, leaving Dad and me standing on the platform.
We arrived on the Bridge just after zero-seven-forty.
CHAPTER
FOUR
When I was very small, I didn’t understand why the Bridge was called ‘the Bridge’. I knew about bridges – there was one at the Depot, connecting two gangways – and
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