discern what looked like a small storage room in which were stacked various containers. The layer of dust on the one nearest the door gave some indication of the infrequency of the room’s use. Maybe it was the museum’s equivalent of a broom closet.
The door was beginning to close and Barbara touched the control once more and slipped inside. A couple of seconds elapsed and the door closed silently behind her. She was in pitch blackness. She heard the approach of heavy footsteps and felt her way by memory and touch to one of the largest containers, groped her way around it, and crouched down. It was just as well, she thought, that her pursuers had such a slow turn of speed. She remembered the stiffness of their movements and pictured them now, moving up the corridor towards her hiding place.
The door opened and a shaft of light cut through the darkness and spread like a white runner on the floor embossed with the elongated shadow of one of the guards. It seemed to stay there for an eternity. Then it moved further into the room, the upper part of the body sliding like a shadow puppet half way up the far wall. The head moved, first to one side, then the other. Then it backed out, the door closed, the light was gone.
It was only then that Barbara realised she had been holding her breath and released the air from her lungs. She waited a while before leaving her hiding place and creeping slowly back to the door. She listened carefully, making sure all was clear, then started to feel around the door, slowly at first and then with movements growing more and more panicky. The horror of her situation sank in. There was no means of opening the door from the inside. She was locked in: locked in a room of total silence and impenetrable darkness.
She sank to the floor and leaned back against the door. I could die in here, she thought. In a thousand years’ time someone will open the door and find my mummified body covered in cobwebs and dust. I wonder if they have spiders on this planet? She shuddered at the thought and drew her knees up to her chin, hugging her legs. No, she thought, they won’t discover a mummy at all. After all, I’ve got to get out of here, to get into a glass case. Perverse though it was, there was some comfort in that thought.
Vicki sat back and let out a long sigh of satisfaction. She inspected the tupperware-type utensil in front of her, still containing a few drops of a dirty dark-green substance - and burped. ‘Oh, pardon me!’ She giggled and looked around at a dozen faces regarding her solemnly. She smiled an embarrassed smile.
‘Have you had enough?’ Tor asked.
‘Yes, thank you,’ Vicki nodded. ‘It was delicious, despite its... even though it didn’t really look very appetising. But it was very nice. Thank you. A bit like sweet and sour sauce really, with a sort of nutmeggy aftertaste.’ She realised they had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. ‘What was it?’ she asked.
‘It’s called phosyn and it’s manufactured in the laboratory. I don’t know how.’ Tor seated himself opposite her.
‘I could manage a little more,’ Vicki said hopefully. Tor shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, but that’s all we have.
You’ve just eaten a Xeron’s rations for three days.’
‘Or, if you want to look at it another way,’ Bo said, ‘a day’s rations for three Xerons.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry!’ Vicki apologised, feeling very badly about it. ‘Whose rations did I eat?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Tor shrugged. ‘They were happy to volunteer it.’
Bo gave Tor a sideways glance. He didn’t look too happy.
‘What else do you get?’ Vicki asked brightly.
‘What else?’ Tor looked distinctly puzzled.
‘Yes, to eat.’
‘That’s it,’ Tor said, pointing to the tupperware. ‘That’s all!’
‘What else do we need?’
‘What a boring diet.’
‘It contains the right amount of everything we need,’ Sita joined the conversation. ‘Nutrients, minerals,
The door was beginning to close and Barbara touched the control once more and slipped inside. A couple of seconds elapsed and the door closed silently behind her. She was in pitch blackness. She heard the approach of heavy footsteps and felt her way by memory and touch to one of the largest containers, groped her way around it, and crouched down. It was just as well, she thought, that her pursuers had such a slow turn of speed. She remembered the stiffness of their movements and pictured them now, moving up the corridor towards her hiding place.
The door opened and a shaft of light cut through the darkness and spread like a white runner on the floor embossed with the elongated shadow of one of the guards. It seemed to stay there for an eternity. Then it moved further into the room, the upper part of the body sliding like a shadow puppet half way up the far wall. The head moved, first to one side, then the other. Then it backed out, the door closed, the light was gone.
It was only then that Barbara realised she had been holding her breath and released the air from her lungs. She waited a while before leaving her hiding place and creeping slowly back to the door. She listened carefully, making sure all was clear, then started to feel around the door, slowly at first and then with movements growing more and more panicky. The horror of her situation sank in. There was no means of opening the door from the inside. She was locked in: locked in a room of total silence and impenetrable darkness.
She sank to the floor and leaned back against the door. I could die in here, she thought. In a thousand years’ time someone will open the door and find my mummified body covered in cobwebs and dust. I wonder if they have spiders on this planet? She shuddered at the thought and drew her knees up to her chin, hugging her legs. No, she thought, they won’t discover a mummy at all. After all, I’ve got to get out of here, to get into a glass case. Perverse though it was, there was some comfort in that thought.
Vicki sat back and let out a long sigh of satisfaction. She inspected the tupperware-type utensil in front of her, still containing a few drops of a dirty dark-green substance - and burped. ‘Oh, pardon me!’ She giggled and looked around at a dozen faces regarding her solemnly. She smiled an embarrassed smile.
‘Have you had enough?’ Tor asked.
‘Yes, thank you,’ Vicki nodded. ‘It was delicious, despite its... even though it didn’t really look very appetising. But it was very nice. Thank you. A bit like sweet and sour sauce really, with a sort of nutmeggy aftertaste.’ She realised they had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. ‘What was it?’ she asked.
‘It’s called phosyn and it’s manufactured in the laboratory. I don’t know how.’ Tor seated himself opposite her.
‘I could manage a little more,’ Vicki said hopefully. Tor shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, but that’s all we have.
You’ve just eaten a Xeron’s rations for three days.’
‘Or, if you want to look at it another way,’ Bo said, ‘a day’s rations for three Xerons.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry!’ Vicki apologised, feeling very badly about it. ‘Whose rations did I eat?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Tor shrugged. ‘They were happy to volunteer it.’
Bo gave Tor a sideways glance. He didn’t look too happy.
‘What else do you get?’ Vicki asked brightly.
‘What else?’ Tor looked distinctly puzzled.
‘Yes, to eat.’
‘That’s it,’ Tor said, pointing to the tupperware. ‘That’s all!’
‘What else do we need?’
‘What a boring diet.’
‘It contains the right amount of everything we need,’ Sita joined the conversation. ‘Nutrients, minerals,
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