“So. Um. This is fun.”
“Walking in poorly lit, mysteriously crafted tunnels beneath the surface of the island?”
“Uh. Well, when you put it that way --”
“It reminds me of Sub-Level 9, just above the port-side landing craft docks.”
“-- is that a good thing?”
“Well, it could be.”
“Okay.”
“It was a favorite unauthorized sexual contact zone for several of the engineering sub-castes.”
“I – UH --”
“I never went down there, of course.”
“Of course!”
“My department had a much nicer sub-level to neck in.”
"Left. No, the other left."
“I know which way is left.”
“What’s that, Joey?”
“Uh, I said, the next way is left.”
“Look, I’m blinking the damned drone running lights at you. Just follow the blinking lights.”
“Joey, that’s strange.”
“What?”
“I think there’s a light blinking down there.”
“I DON’T SEE ANY LIGHT.”
“Oh. It’s gone now.”
“Huh. Weird. Um … maybe we should go that way. To the left.”
“The wall texture has changed again.”
“Yeah.”
“Before we turned, it was smooth, almost organic.”
“Mm-hmmm.”
“Before that, it was brickwork, like the basement of the Reeves Theater Building.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But this part is large, dressed stone, almost like a temple. Not like one of Kiln’s, but it has that same sort of primitive feeling about it.”
“Yup.”
“Though it appears from different eras, some of the graffiti is consistent. ‘Killbot Was Here’ seems to be a regular, and somewhat disturbing, constant.”
“I think he was a WW2 hero. I wouldn’t worry.”
“You keep looking around, Joey. Are you sure you know where we’re going?”
“Of course I do. And I DON’T NEED THE COLOR COMMENTARY!”
“What?”
“Nothing! It’s, um, an old Earth phrase, probably died out in the future. Uh, it means, um, it’s from a movie. About … uh … colors. That talk. And they make a colorful … map, four-color map problem, but I don’t need a map because I definitely know where I’m going. For your surprise. So … that’s what it means.”
“Are you alright? You keep banging your ear.”
“I think I got a bug in there.”
“Brr. Creepy-crawlies. The maintenance systems on the ship weren’t perfect, but by and large they dealt with flying and crawling insects quite effectively.”
“Must be nice. Well, place like this, gotta expect some strands of YEARGH, AGH, ARGH, GET IT OFF FACE UGH STICKING DAMN HAIR THIS IS STICKY WEB GROSS BLEAH NO NOT THE MOUTH UGH (huff puff huff puff) … Mette?”
“In here, Joey.”
“Sorry about that, cobwebs and hair don’t mix and I gotta lot of it. Are you … all … wow.”
“It’s … a ship!”
“Yes.”
“Beautiful!”
“Yeah, especially when you smile like that.”
“Yes, wait, what?”
“I mean, when you, while, awhile, yes, it’s been awhile like that. Um, down here. Obviously. Cobwebs, all over it. Um … surprise!”
“Thank you!”
“Wow … that’s … a hug!”
“Yes, and now do you know what we’re going to do?”
“Um … what?”
“Go inside!”
“Is that a space-metaphor for --”
“The ship!”
“Right! Yes! THE SHIP! Inside. The ship.”
“Of course! What else?”
“Nothing else, of course! Not unless there’s some other … um … ship going on here. Uh … do you think it’s safe?”
“Don’t worry, I have protection.”
“You --”
“I always have my trusty toolkit. Multi-sensor 9-aleph should spot any security systems before they fire off.”
“Oh, um, right. Still, maybe I should go aboard first, just in case?”
“A woman should always come on a ship first. Science has proven that. Greater staying power.”
“Ooookay.”
“Just a warning, Joey. It might be tight in there.”
“Oh, uh, well --”
“I mean, you being so big and all.”
“I’ll … manage. After you then – WOULD YOU SHUT UP – the hatch, shut up the hatch after we’re inside, Mette, the only person with whom I am talking. So … no spiders get in.”
“Thanks, Joey. And … I’m glad you’re the first.”
“The – first?”
“To board the ship with me. I mean, as a friend, I’m glad we’re both here. But, also, as a good test of how it handles unbalanced weight.”
“Yes. Unbalanced. I HEARD HER. You. I heard you. Yes, good idea.”
“Are you all right, Joey?”
“Just the voices in my head, Mette.”
“Hmmm. Maybe you should talk with your therapist about that.”
“No, no. (knuckles cracking) I have a more direct treatment in mind when we get back topside …”
