welcomed: as were warm summer days; only the lack of ocean and beach spoiled the feeling of tropical holidays.
It felt good with the jacket off: it had been an act of rebellion: insubordination, but thinking about it the omission of air conditioning seemed to be a gross error of judgment.
Suddenly he realized he was going the wrong way; in his anger he was heading towards his old cabin in the now closed section. He stopped and began to turn but turned back towards the observation deck. The observation deck was inside part of the abandoned array, but it hadn’t been voided of air. It was still breathable but breathable in the way you could breath at high altitude: not for very long. It was a small pod and around it’s central section it was completely transparent. It was lightly referred to as the space walk as standing on the transparent floor and looking up and to the sides through the transparent walls and roof it did indeed feel like you were on an EVA, but the reason it was still accessible was that it was still an ideal way to look outside without the limitations of camera and screen
Matt entered the pod: it was in almost complete darkness, and immediately his eyes were drawn to the immense dull red disk: it shocked him with its size. He knew they were getting closer but now the orb took up the entire of one side.
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
The voice made him jump, and he turned to see a figure. For a moment he wasn’t sure who it was and then as his eyes took in the figure bathed in pale red glow he knew it was a woman. The long black hair gave him the name: Mei Tong. “I was thinking more … scary?”
“Isn’t it part of your duty to reassure your guests?”
“Yes… and also not to mislead them.”
They were both silent as they contemplated his words.
“Are we going to live?” It was an abrupt and direct question, delivered in an unemotional way.
“I have no intention of dying, at least other than by old age.”
It was hard to tell in the dim light but her face wore a faint smile. “Then I’m reassured.”
“There’s no guarantees; we’re going where no one has gone before, but we are not entirely at the mercy of fate. We can predict and we can survive, and once Earth can help they will.” Matt felt buoyed by his own words even though he knew they were a long way from real help. “In a few months…” His words trailed away.
“In a few months what?”
He gave an embarrassed smile. “I was going to say in a few months time all you guys will be on talk shows and making a fortune selling your stories, but you already have a fortune.”
Now she was smiling. “Does that bother you?”
“That your rich? Not entirely… they say that money doesn’t buy you happiness and while I’ve been on the station I’ve met some very unhappy people.”
“But your wrong, money does buy you happiness; its what makes you happy, that makes the difference.”
“There you’ve got me, I’ve never had a million dollars to spend to find out.”
“Believe me it’s relative, it’s no different to you spending fifty dollars helping an orphan to have a life, or me giving a million to help a village survive: we have the same satisfaction.”
“I guess…”
“You don’t sound convinced?”
“Oh I am; I know there are a lot of wealthy people who are charitable, but there are others who prefer to take advantage of those same people.”
“That’s true, but sometimes they are gullible; they want to believe they can be rich too, and ignore common sense.”
“I was thinking more of those who deliberately exploit and ruin peoples lives.”
She looked at him. “You are thinking of anyone in particular?”
Matt shrugged. “Just an observation.”
“Then its nothing to do with the Russian woman you have in your room?’
Matt felt himself flush and was thankful that the suns red glow would cover his. “I take it; it’s common knowledge?”
Mei began to laugh. “You imagined it wouldn’t be?”
“No,” he sighed. “I suppose it was only a matter of time before everyone knew.”
“News like that travels at the speed of light.”
“I guess.”
The smile disappeared from her face. “I would say of all the people here you could not have made a worse choice.”
He hadn’t though she would be judgmental. “You know something about her?”
She didn’t reply but her look told him he was thinking of the wrong person. He looked at her sheepishly. His reply was soft and unsure. “He’s that bad?”
“You have no idea.”
Matt sighed deeply. “It’s a talent; making bad decisions.”
“As long as your decisions are good enough to get us home; I won’t hold that against you.”
“Apparently that’s if I live that long.”
“It’s not just me that needs you alive and making the right decisions.”
“So I do everything I can not to make myself superfluous?”
“The list of people who can make the decisions you can is very small, and none of us know what the future has yet to place in our way, but once Earth is within reach there need only be one to save us all.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.”
“You should…” Mai hesitated. “I want to believe you are the man who can get that done, so trust no one.”
Mathew looked at her curiously. “No one… that makes it sound like I shouldn’t?”
“Just because a situation is bad it doesn’t exclude opportunities. There are those who see ways to benefit in the most desperate of situations. If we all die then nothing is lost, but if we do survive, and things have been manipulated, then it could be that somebody will have a very big smile on their face.”
Matt really now did feel scared. “He’s planning something?”
Mei began to walk towards the hatch. “I cannot read other peoples minds, but what I do know is that control, money, and the urge to live are all very powerful motivators.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“What I’m telling you is to be very careful.” She opened the hatch and stepped through leaving Matt staring at the spot where she had been.
More stories and novels by John Stevenson can be found at…
www.australianstoryteller.com
www.australianstorywriter.com
www.caelin-day.com.
The Zombie Bug Page 4