Hope
Page 3
that can be programmed to suspend animation. Very handy as you will appreciate, if someone is seriously… “.
“Isla,” interrupted Reigel I’m not sure Nicholas’s vocabulary contains a lot of the words we use ‘. He looked at Nicholas. “Sick bay is an infirmary; suspended animation means placing somebody in a deep, enduring sleep.”
Nicholas nodded.
The furthest door opened, and Isla continued. “The galley, strange word but those who named it, named it so. This is where food is prepared, you would think of it as the kitchen. I carry sustenance for a full crew to live without rationing for seven Earth days, and before you ask; yes, the food is several hundred years old, but it is stored in a suspended animation field; so the lettuce will still be as crisp and sweet as it was within hours of it being taken from the ground; long ago. I advise you to accept that I can provide you with an almost unlimited supply of liquids without asking how.”
Before Nicholas could, the middle door opened. There was another short corridor running between the galley and the quarters. At the end was a room that took up the whole width of the craft. Nicholas felt Reigel pushing him forward. The room contained two large machines, one on either side. There were numerous pipes and cables running from these to the rear where there were several large spheres, these in turn had larger pipes leading to the rear wall of the craft. Reigel had an excited expression on his face as Isla spoke.
“If you need a full explanation, I can provide it, but for the present I won’t go into the how's and whys, other than my exterior casing has a coating gluon. By changing the characteristics of this particle, my gravitational properties can be changed. This is how I move and maneuver.
Nicholas was a little surprised that to a point he understood what was being explained
“Power is created from the energy released during the fission of particles...”
Nicholas realized he had been a little hasty in assuming he understood. “Power…” He said tentatively. “This is what makes it... you move?”
“I have enough power to travel the galaxy for many human lifetimes.”
A single lifetime seemed a long enough time, and all Nicholas could compare power to were horses; and with the exception of Prince none in the village could go more than a few hours. “What happens when the power stops?”
Isla’s voice took on a surprised tone. “In such an extremely unlikely event, you should leave; and leave very quickly ".
Reigel was laughing behind him. “Have no fear Nicholas. You will come to terms with all that you need to know. Come I am hungry; we will eat, and then to work.”