The Lonely Whelk Read Online Free PDF

happened. The problem was
Hawkings. His corpse sat awkwardly in the chair. Although moving
him seemed the best option, she wasn’t sure she had the strength.
Instead, she pressed the button on the side of the chair. It slowly
revolved, taking the body with it. When Hawkings faced away from
the console, she carefully stepped between the back of the chair
and the console, and could now see the screen.
    This would require a few more deep breaths.
News of her son, news of her home, news of the world that danced in
its own track around its own sun — that would need to wait. Right
now, this ship and these people were her responsibility.
    “ Computer,” she said.
“Status report.”
    “ Hello, Holland,” said the
computer.
    Holland cringed. “Hello, Lady Mastin.”
    “ You may call me Computer.”
The console began to hum. Graphs and sensor readings began to
stream past, blue lines penetrating Holland’s mind but somehow
still seeming so far away. “Life support: 100 percent. Power: 98
percent. Engines: full auto. Shielding: 83 percent.”
    “ Why only 83 percent?”
Holland interrupted the computer, frowning. When they left Sagitta,
the shielding was projected to be at 100 percent until they reached
their destination. It had automatic repairing capabilities which
worked on most rocks and asteroids, although it would do little
against weapons or a black hole.
    “ We hit an asteroid belt,”
replied the computer. “Electronics functioning except in Corridor
11.”
    “ Wait, wait, go back,”
Holland said, gesturing at the console screen. The lines froze and
she leaned in to look closer. “There was a power spike about twenty
minutes ago in Corridor 11. What is that? Is that why it isn’t
working?”
    The computer hummed for a moment.
“Unknown.”
    “ What do you mean,
unknown?” Holland’s frown deepened.
    “ Unknown.”
    “ But you’re supposed to
know! You’re supposed to know everything!”
    “ Unknown.”
    “ What about the people in
the Corridor 11 stasis room?”
    “ Life support on secondary
power.”
    “ Well, that’s okay for now.
Finish the report. Tell me about the stasis pods.”
    “ Stasis pods: 57 percent
capacity.”
    “ Wait, what? 57 percent?”
Holland’s breathing became jagged and irregular. Nothing made sense
and she hated it when things were out of control.
    “ 43 percent
drained.”
    “ When we left, Computer, we
were at 100 percent capacity. And if we’re at 57 percent, that
means...” Holland took a deep breath. “Tell me what
happened.”
    “ Power malfunction in
Corridor 3, 5, and 7.”
    “ When?”
    “ One year
previous.”
    Holland gripped the edges of the console
until her knuckles turned white. “One year ago, 57 percent of the
people on this ship died? Are they really dead? Why didn’t Hawkings
wake me up then?”
    “ Affirmative. You must
review the ship’s log.”
    Dead. A coffin room that was really a coffin
room. Dozens of coffin rooms, in fact, that were actually filled
with coffins. When the ship had left Sagitta there had been over
50,000 people sleeping on board. More than enough to colonize the
new planet. Over 28,000 of those people were dead. Dead. On her
ship.
    She cried again as her fingers scrambled to
bring up the ship’s log. As soon as Hawkings’ face appeared, she
hit pause and turned to look at his body.
    “ I should probably move
him,” she said. The computer did not respond.
    She flexed her hands. Moving him very far
was not likely to happen, but at very least she could get him onto
the floor and into a more comfortable-looking position. Reaching
forward, she slid her hands under his armpits and pulled him
forward. His head fell against her shoulder. A shiver ran through
her entire body; goose bumps raised the hair on every inch of her
skin. He was dead, but hadn’t been for very long.
    Sliding his butt forward, she dropped him to
the floor.
    There was a thump. She would never forget
that thump. It didn’t sound like much, but she