here? On the Ship? We're going as a crew or we're not going at all.'
'The one thing I need to survive is sunlight. If I come with you, you will have to support me artificially using solar cells. You don't have the energy to spare. Go without me, and go now.'
Handsome didn't speak. Then he said, 'This is my fault.'
'You couldn't predict it — and neither could I. I did the calculations, they were wrong. They were wrong because life cannot be calculated. That's the big mistake our civilization made. We never accepted that randomness is not a mistake in the equation it is part of the equation.'
'Each man kills the thing he loves,' said Handsome. 'I wish .. .'
'What do you wish?' said Spike.
'That we had landed here, you and I, and begun again with nothing but an axe and a rope and a fire ... and the sun.'
The new world — EI Dorado, Atlantis, the Gold Coast, Newfoundland, Plymouth Rock, Rapanaui, Utopia, Planet Blue. Chanc'd upon, spied through a glass darkly, drunken stories strapped to a barrel of rum, shipwreck, a Bible Compass, a giant fish led us there, a storm whirled us to this isle. In the wilderness of space, we found . . .
'If you are going to go,' said Spike, 'you should go now.'
Hurry, lifting, loading, joking, worry, packing, stacking, quiet, team-work, hand to hand, catch your eye, smile, it will be all right, look we're doing something, busy, careful, don't worry, tools, clothes, last man in, shut the hatch, drop down, rev up, lights, power, go. Go?
* * *
Spike was throwing the last of the gear into the Landpod. Handsome wouldn't speak to her. She went over to him and leaned against him. He sighed, and put his arms round her.
'A king had three planets,' he said, 'Planet White, Planet Red and Planet Blue. He gave Planet White to his eldest son, but when his son had farmed the land and spent the gold, he sold the planet to the devil to pay for one last party.
'The King then gave Planet Red to his youngest son, but when his son had mined the minerals and chopped down all the trees, he called the devil, because he needed to raise the cash to buy a car. 'The King then gave Planet Blue to his daughter, because he loved her more than the Universe itself What happened next is another story.'
'Robo sapiens ,' said Spike. 'A life-form that will have to wait even longer than humans to be seen again.'
'It's the captain who is supposed to go down with his ship.'
'I've got plenty to read.'
'Poetry didn't save us, did it?'
'Not once, but many times.'
Handsome smiled. 'You think so?'
'It was never death you feared: It was emptiness.'
Handsome nodded. 'That's because there's no such thing as empty space. Only humans are empty.'
'Not all of them.'
'And not all of them are humans.'
He kissed her and half-turned to leave. 'Spike, when I come back ... '
'Go,' she said. 'Go now.'
* * *
Pink McMurphy was wearing a thermal combat suit and carrying cooking equipment. 'We'll make it,' she said to me, 'and with that robot out of the way, who knows what will happen? Arctic romance.'
'Pink, this is what will happen — it's happening. We're in trouble.'
'I know that, Billie, and don't you think I went to my cabin and cried and screamed and panicked my heart out? And after that, I thought, Pink, you can do this. And if I die, at least I'll die young and beautiful — excessive climates are very bad for the skin. I bet you're glad you Fixed now.'
'I didn't,' I said.
'You what?'
'It was political. I didn't Fix.'
'How old are you?'
'My chip says G-30. I'm forty this year.'
'Y'know, at least that shows you're human.'
'What do you mean?'
'Women always lie about their age.'
She smiled and punched me, balancing her cooking gear, looking and acting much better than I was feeling. Who could have said that Pink would cope and Billie would not?
I was waiting to take my place in the Landpod.
Spike came forward and put her arms round me. 'One day, tens of millions of years from now, someone will find
'The one thing I need to survive is sunlight. If I come with you, you will have to support me artificially using solar cells. You don't have the energy to spare. Go without me, and go now.'
Handsome didn't speak. Then he said, 'This is my fault.'
'You couldn't predict it — and neither could I. I did the calculations, they were wrong. They were wrong because life cannot be calculated. That's the big mistake our civilization made. We never accepted that randomness is not a mistake in the equation it is part of the equation.'
'Each man kills the thing he loves,' said Handsome. 'I wish .. .'
'What do you wish?' said Spike.
'That we had landed here, you and I, and begun again with nothing but an axe and a rope and a fire ... and the sun.'
The new world — EI Dorado, Atlantis, the Gold Coast, Newfoundland, Plymouth Rock, Rapanaui, Utopia, Planet Blue. Chanc'd upon, spied through a glass darkly, drunken stories strapped to a barrel of rum, shipwreck, a Bible Compass, a giant fish led us there, a storm whirled us to this isle. In the wilderness of space, we found . . .
'If you are going to go,' said Spike, 'you should go now.'
Hurry, lifting, loading, joking, worry, packing, stacking, quiet, team-work, hand to hand, catch your eye, smile, it will be all right, look we're doing something, busy, careful, don't worry, tools, clothes, last man in, shut the hatch, drop down, rev up, lights, power, go. Go?
* * *
Spike was throwing the last of the gear into the Landpod. Handsome wouldn't speak to her. She went over to him and leaned against him. He sighed, and put his arms round her.
'A king had three planets,' he said, 'Planet White, Planet Red and Planet Blue. He gave Planet White to his eldest son, but when his son had farmed the land and spent the gold, he sold the planet to the devil to pay for one last party.
'The King then gave Planet Red to his youngest son, but when his son had mined the minerals and chopped down all the trees, he called the devil, because he needed to raise the cash to buy a car. 'The King then gave Planet Blue to his daughter, because he loved her more than the Universe itself What happened next is another story.'
'Robo sapiens ,' said Spike. 'A life-form that will have to wait even longer than humans to be seen again.'
'It's the captain who is supposed to go down with his ship.'
'I've got plenty to read.'
'Poetry didn't save us, did it?'
'Not once, but many times.'
Handsome smiled. 'You think so?'
'It was never death you feared: It was emptiness.'
Handsome nodded. 'That's because there's no such thing as empty space. Only humans are empty.'
'Not all of them.'
'And not all of them are humans.'
He kissed her and half-turned to leave. 'Spike, when I come back ... '
'Go,' she said. 'Go now.'
* * *
Pink McMurphy was wearing a thermal combat suit and carrying cooking equipment. 'We'll make it,' she said to me, 'and with that robot out of the way, who knows what will happen? Arctic romance.'
'Pink, this is what will happen — it's happening. We're in trouble.'
'I know that, Billie, and don't you think I went to my cabin and cried and screamed and panicked my heart out? And after that, I thought, Pink, you can do this. And if I die, at least I'll die young and beautiful — excessive climates are very bad for the skin. I bet you're glad you Fixed now.'
'I didn't,' I said.
'You what?'
'It was political. I didn't Fix.'
'How old are you?'
'My chip says G-30. I'm forty this year.'
'Y'know, at least that shows you're human.'
'What do you mean?'
'Women always lie about their age.'
She smiled and punched me, balancing her cooking gear, looking and acting much better than I was feeling. Who could have said that Pink would cope and Billie would not?
I was waiting to take my place in the Landpod.
Spike came forward and put her arms round me. 'One day, tens of millions of years from now, someone will find
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