Starship Titanic

11

Dan and Lucy were having trouble.

They had both procured their vouchers and had successfully wheedled an upgrade to Second Class out of the Deskbot, but the trickier negotiation re an upgrade to First Class was proving to be a remarkably harrowing experience.

'You have no Credit Card. You are not members of the Sixty Million Miles Club. You are not even registered Frequent Travellers. This whole discussion is pointless. You will find the Second Class facilities on board this Starship more than adequate for your requirements.'

How could even a robot be so unbelievably, unremittingly snotty, wondered Dan.

'Dan!' said Lucy. 'We're wasting our breath in fact, is it my imagination or is it getting harder to breathe?'

Dan sniffed the air. Lucy was right. It was also getting colder. 'Jesus!' he muttered.

'The air and heating are at normal levels,' announced a Doorbot.

'That's bullshit!' snapped Lucy. 'It's getting colder and it's getting more difficult to breathe!'

'I can assure you that the air supply and the temperature are set to maximum for Super Galactic Traveller Class comfort,' said the Doorbot.

'Are you trying to tell us there are different levels of air supply for the different classes of traveller?' exdaimed Dan.

'Not normally, sir, no,' replied the Doorbot. 'However, should the ship be travelling without First or Second Class passengers, the oxygen and heating will - naturally - be lowered to the comfort requirements of Super Galactic Traveller Class passengers.'

'Jesus!' exclaimed Lucy. You guys are the most cynical bunch I have ever come across!'

'I'm going straight to the Travel Association when I get home!' Dan was not messing about any longer. He was now beginning to sweat with panic despite the cold. 'There isn't enough air to breathe!'

'There is ample air and heat for the Super Galactic Traveller decks, sir, but unfortunately it is getting dispersed over the whole ship.'

Lucy, meanwhile, was back at the Deskbot, hammering on the desk.

'I'm sorry, madam,' the Deskbot was saying, 'but it is company policy to supply First and Second Class air and heat only if there are First and Second Class passengers on board.'

'But we are Second Class passengers now!'

'I have no record of any Second Class passengers on board.'

'But you just gave us an upgrade! We had vouchers!'

'I'm afraid vouchers are not processed until the end of the month. Thank you for your enquiry.' The Deskbot suddenly turned itself off.

'All right... All right...' Dan was trying to work himself round to 'Decisive Mode'. 'It's vital we all stick together. Go and get Nettie, while I try and sort this mess out.'

'But if I go and get Nettie, we won't all be sticking together.' Lucy's rational streak tended to obtrude whenever Dan was in 'Decisive Mode'.

'All right! I'll go and get her.'

'That's the same thing! Anyway, why are you so worried about Nettie?'

'I'm not! I just think we all ought to keep together in case one of us needs help.'

'Like what sort of help do we give if we're all running out of air and freezing to death?'

'All right! Don't go and look for Nettie! But what are we going to do?'

Dan sounded so desperate - so forlorn - and yet, oddly, Lucy preferred it to 'Decisive Mode',

'I'll see if I can find a supply of oxygen. You get us up to First Class!'

'But that's still not "sticking together"!' moaned Dan.

'I never said we should stick together. That was your idea,' said Lucy. Then she put her arms round Dan and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. 'Cheer up, Second Class Traveller! I'm sure we're going to be all right!' And with that she had gone, and Dan suddenly felt terribly alone.

So alone... he felt he could pick his loneliness up in his hands and hug it... but even as he felt this, he realized it wasn't the absence of Lucy that made him feel empty inside. There was something else.