Descending Road - OPENING DOORS by Dana W. Paxson

OPENING DOORS

0 NC, Day 0, Hour 13

Drifting out of the lock, Miriam looked back. Their gigantic ship Tompuso hulked; the garish light of the new and whiter sun Pué chiseled the edges of its shadows. The great cylindrical aft end, a half-kilometer-wide disk of steel dulled by its hundred centuries in littered space, carried stipplings of ports and recesses in concentric circles that hinted at Tompuso‘s protective inner structure. Standing out from it were the hexagonally-arranged husks of the gargantuan decelerant mass engines, now empty, blackened and spent.

Miriam remembered the inscription burned in the ship’s damaged area, and felt the arms of her suit for leaks.

“Go, folks,” Arnell called. “We’ve got to get this done in two hours.”

Was something asleep in this tiny thing? Miriam and Elena jetted over to the battered ovoid.

A slight circular depression amidships marked an outer hatch. Miriam, braking, reached out and ran her finger along a hairline crack surrounding the depression. “So how do we open this?”

“Let’s survey the outside.” In ten minutes they quartered the ship’s outer surface, finding only pitting, smeared, hard extrusions that ran the length of the hull, and no orifices at all.

“Now what?” Three times, Miriam knocked the toolkit on her left forearm against the sunken circle on the hull. A shame if they had to go back now.

Abruptly Elena spun away from the ship, flailing her arms, saying, “Hey! My thruster! It’s… wait. It’s fine.” Her tether jerked Miriam away from the hull; for a moment the two of them jetted and stabilized, then they looked back to get their bearings. The small ship’s hatch lay open.

“Under pressure inside,” Miriam said, wondering.

“You two all right?” Arnell‘s voice. “You’ve still got about one forty left.”

“You watching this?” Elena said.

“Yes. See what you can in there.”

Black emptiness. Miriam put her head inside and turned on a small helmet light. “There’s space for two people in this lock, and a lock door inside. But how do we get in without blowing pressure while we’re tethered? And it’s turning slowly, so we might tangle the line.” She took a deep breath. Her blood sang; maybe it was worth a gamble. “We can cut loose for a while and run on cell power and radio.”

“No, don’t cut loose,” Arnell said. “If you do, we can’t get you out. I need you back here.”

“It’s not a good idea, Miriam,” Elena added.

“How else are we going to learn anything?” Recklessness drove Miriam‘s words. “Look, Elena, just stay hooked up, monitor me and fish me out if there’s a problem. That way we won’t blow air except for trouble.”

A pause, then Arnell said, “Just do what you just said.”

“Elena? I’m going to pass the main tether to you. Here.” Elena‘s line now ran to their own vast ship, looming behind them; Miriam was free.

In the lock, her suit lights threw a frosty glow on four blunt metal grips; using them, she sealed the outer hatch. The metal under her hands seemed to soften and harden as she applied force, molding itself to her gloved fingers. She found the inner door’s handle, a long bar bending at one end to penetrate a blank door at a near-seamless joint. Bracing herself, she shoved the free end of the bar through a wide arc. A brief pressure at her front, and the hatch opened a crack. “Going in,” she said.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	OPENING DOORS 0 NC, Day 0, Hour 13 Drifting out of the lock, Miriam looked back. Their gigantic ship Tompuso hulked; the garish light of the new and whiter sun Pué chiseled the edges of its shadows. The great cylindrical aft end, a half-kilometer-wide disk of steel dulled by its hundred centuries in littered space, carried stipplings of ports and recesses in concentric circles that hinted at Tompuso‘s protective inner structure. Standing out from it were the hexagonally-arranged husks of the gargantuan decelerant mass engines, now empty, blackened and spent. Miriam remembered the inscription burned in the ship’s damaged area, and felt the arms of her suit for leaks. “Go, folks,” Arnell called. “We’ve got to get this done in two hours.” Was something asleep in this tiny thing? Miriam and Elena jetted over to the battered ovoid. A slight circular depression amidships marked an outer hatch. Miriam, braking, reached out and ran her finger along a hairline crack surrounding the depression. “So how do we open this?” “Let’s survey the outside.” In ten minutes they quartered the ship’s outer surface, finding only pitting, smeared, hard extrusions that ran the length of the hull, and no orifices at all. “Now what?” Three times, Miriam knocked the toolkit on her left forearm against the sunken circle on the hull. A shame if they had to go back now. Abruptly Elena spun away from the ship, flailing her arms, saying, “Hey! My thruster! It’s… wait. It’s fine.” Her tether jerked Miriam away from the hull; for a moment the two of them jetted and stabilized, then they looked back to get their bearings. The small ship’s hatch lay open. “Under pressure inside,” Miriam said, wondering. “You two all right?” Arnell‘s voice. “You’ve still got about one forty left.” “You watching this?” Elena said. “Yes. See what you can in there.” Black emptiness. Miriam put her head inside and turned on a small helmet light. “There’s space for two people in this lock, and a lock door inside. But how do we get in without blowing pressure while we’re tethered? And it’s turning slowly, so we might tangle the line.” She took a deep breath. Her blood sang; maybe it was worth a gamble. “We can cut loose for a while and run on cell power and radio.” “No, don’t cut loose,” Arnell said. “If you do, we can’t get you out. I need you back here.” “It’s not a good idea, Miriam,” Elena added. “How else are we going to learn anything?” Recklessness drove Miriam‘s words. “Look, Elena, just stay hooked up, monitor me and fish me out if there’s a problem. That way we won’t blow air except for trouble.” A pause, then Arnell said, “Just do what you just said.” “Elena? I’m going to pass the main tether to you. Here.” Elena‘s line now ran to their own vast ship, looming behind them; Miriam was free. In the lock, her suit lights threw a frosty glow on four blunt metal grips; using them, she sealed the outer hatch. The metal under her hands seemed to soften and harden as she applied force, molding itself to her gloved fingers. She found the inner door’s handle, a long bar bending at one end to penetrate a blank door at a near-seamless joint. Bracing herself, she shoved the free end of the bar through a wide arc. A brief pressure at her front, and the hatch opened a crack. “Going in,” she said.