Like two clumsy helium-filled condoms, we fly into the central compartment. Ahead of us, the airlock door is covered in yellow and black stripes. Two small doors lead outside, separating our microcosm from the vast and cold outer space. Of course, they were not designed to be opened in this mode. We have to turn the wall panels and close the circuit with a screwdriver. I have always been sure that nothing happens by accident in the universe. Everything exists for some purpose. And everything happens as it should. That's why I didn't kill my Friday. That's why she is needed here and now. To be inside the compartment in front of the airlock, to replace the automatic system and open and close the doors in turn so as not to lose our precious atmosphere.
Two barely audible clicks of the door mechanism. The air rushing out of the airlock gives me a noticeable kick in the back and I find myself on the hull. Everything is fine. I show Friday that everything is fine, she closes the door behind me, and I begin to crawl along the surface of the ship towards the tail, where the reactor hangs on steel trusses. It's a pity that the spacesuit is not particularly suited for such trips. The electromagnetic field emitted by the reactor generator, of course, shields me from charged particles, but all the neutrons pierce right through me, turning my spacesuit into a piece of radioactive shit. I hope it's strong enough to repair this tin can. And mine too.
The metal I'm clinging to looks like it's been eaten away. Decades of headwinds made of particles have gradually turned the ship into a sponge. It'll be a miracle if this sieve makes it to its final destination. But while I'm here, while my brain is still working inside my skull, I'll try to make this iron work...
I turn the bolts on the distribution board. Oh... It seems that the insulation and braiding have changed their properties under the influence of neutrons. Now the power cables resemble snakes entwined in ecstasy. It's a pity that the smart guys on the ground didn't think to lay a duplicate branch 20 centimeters to the side... Otherwise, they could have been shorted along their entire length in several places. Even if I work while changing suits, I'll still fry like a sandwich in a microwave. What to do?
The seconds displayed on the helmet's internal display seem to tick in time with my heartbeat and echo in my ears with a dull hum. I pull one tail out of the tangle of snakes and check it with a tester. Zero. I pull another one... Nothing. If only I could find where the current is, then it would be easier... there it is. I turn out the long intestine in which the coveted "phase" rings. And now I need to somehow revive this half-dead monster.
A thought strikes me. The casing! The outer shell. It's a conductor. The computer constantly checks its electrostatic charge. And now the diagnostic program is desperately probing all the circuits for a possible power source in order to rebuild the power supply circuit. If this automation is really so smart and indestructible, it will figure out to take energy from the body. Without thinking twice, I cut open the burnt insulation, clamp the cable under the electrical panel mounting bolt, and tighten it with force.
The moment of truth. I look expectantly at the damn wheel of the passenger compartment. Come on, piece of metal! Think! Think! Where is your vaunted artificial intelligence? It seems that the seconds on the display are counting down several times slower. There is contact! The cunning computer understood my idea. The compartment begins to rotate, gradually picking up speed. The lights of the ion engines light up in the tail.
Damn! I'm as happy as the devil! Look, who's daddy here! I return to the airlock door and slap the armored glass with my clumsy, inflated glove. Knock, knock! Anyone home? Friday, waiting for me in the compartment, reaches for the panel to open the outer door, but for some reason hesitates. She looks at me with a blank stare. Come on! Don't be stupid, girl! Just do the same thing, but in reverse order. No... It seems she understands perfectly well what she's doing. The bitch switches the terminals on the outer armored door, and it slams shut, almost pinching my hand and leaving me outside.