The disconnected man
The Earth looked beautiful from up there. A vast, perfect jewel of infinite facets, swirled with clouds but frozen like a photograph. It had been growing for some time, looming large; it filled Kovacs' field of vision now. A few of the billions of stars that they had marvelled at as they entered orbit had not been eclipsed by the Earth, and they loitered on the periphery of his vision, tiny pinholes in an eternal black curtain that would remain drawn forever.
Kovacs was pleased that their primary mission had gone well. Juspeczyk, Dreiberg, Veidt and Blake had all performed admirably, as he'd expected, and the solar panels had been replaced without incident. There had been the matter of the accident to mar an otherwise perfect trip, of course, but luckily nothing had been damaged. The space station would continue to crawl around the Earth as it had done for decades.
He looked down. Far below, a satellite traced its orbit before him, gliding across the earth like an ice-skater. It was probably beaming pictures of him and his team down to Earth right now for the people to gaze at over their dinner. He smiled down at it, imagining that he was smiling to all the people of the world.
It was starting to feel warmer now. Friction caused by the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. Ironic, really; he'd been complaining about the cold when the accident had happened.
There was a click, and a grainy voice coated with static.
"Kovacs? Are you there?" Juspeczyk's voice buzzed in his ear. She was choking down sobs. "I hope you can hear me. Our hearts are with you, you hear? Our...I'm sorry, oh God, I...it's just..."
Another click, then silence.
The crew had been in intermittent radio contact with him since his safety cord had disconnected, all the while he'd been tumbling away from them towards Earth. They'd been talking to him for hours, trying to reassure him. They told him about how proud his family were of him, how good a friend he'd been to each of them, what a good team-mate he was. None of them mentioned the obvious, that in less than an hour the heat of entering the Earth's atmosphere would sear through his suit and burn him to a crisp.
For his part, Kovacs hadn't said anything. He knew that all conversations were recorded.
He hoped they wouldn't record his screams.
Kovacs was pleased that their primary mission had gone well. Juspeczyk, Dreiberg, Veidt and Blake had all performed admirably, as he'd expected, and the solar panels had been replaced without incident. There had been the matter of the accident to mar an otherwise perfect trip, of course, but luckily nothing had been damaged. The space station would continue to crawl around the Earth as it had done for decades.
He looked down. Far below, a satellite traced its orbit before him, gliding across the earth like an ice-skater. It was probably beaming pictures of him and his team down to Earth right now for the people to gaze at over their dinner. He smiled down at it, imagining that he was smiling to all the people of the world.
It was starting to feel warmer now. Friction caused by the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. Ironic, really; he'd been complaining about the cold when the accident had happened.
There was a click, and a grainy voice coated with static.
"Kovacs? Are you there?" Juspeczyk's voice buzzed in his ear. She was choking down sobs. "I hope you can hear me. Our hearts are with you, you hear? Our...I'm sorry, oh God, I...it's just..."
Another click, then silence.
The crew had been in intermittent radio contact with him since his safety cord had disconnected, all the while he'd been tumbling away from them towards Earth. They'd been talking to him for hours, trying to reassure him. They told him about how proud his family were of him, how good a friend he'd been to each of them, what a good team-mate he was. None of them mentioned the obvious, that in less than an hour the heat of entering the Earth's atmosphere would sear through his suit and burn him to a crisp.
For his part, Kovacs hadn't said anything. He knew that all conversations were recorded.
He hoped they wouldn't record his screams.
posted by Ecks Ridgehead at
9/08/2005 02:02:00 pm
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