Poisoned Ice part 7
This is the final part of a science fiction short story. The first six segments are earlier in this blog. Anton deGama's spacecraft in the rings of Saturn had been poisoned. He used the bio-engineered plants to signal for help, and is now talking to his friend Kellerman. He has grimly confirmed his ship is dead...
"What are you going to do?"
"I get the reward money and
the majority of my harvest - it'll pay enough to get me back to
Marsport." Anton's voice was dangerously level and emotionless.
Kellerman leaned over and put her
hand over his. "Wouldn't you rather buy a new singleship and
stay out here, Anton?"
He shrugged, not meeting her eye.
"I haven't enough cash; and Ringcredit say I haven't enough
security." He heard his own voice tremble slightly, with anger
or despair.
Kellerman, incredibly, grinned -
his anger flared at her callousness, but she raised her hand to
silence his outburst. "You know I work for DSTV in my spare
time?" Anton nodded blankly. "DSTV want a wire of your
story for syndicating on Earth. I can make sure the story pays you enough
for a new ship."
Anton raised his glass, and haltingly smiled
across at Kellerman, hope rising within him again. Emerald
was dead, and he would mourn for her: but he would be staying in the
rings.
As always, comments
welcomed.
I'm just smiling at the idea of a writer being paid enough to live on...heh.
ReplyDeleteGood snippet.
This is fantasy, obviously! And anyhow, Kellerman writes for Deep Space TV in her spare time - she flies a singleship for her main income.
DeleteA nice turnaround there at the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I usually try for something approaching a happy ending!
DeleteRaises an interesting question aside from the issue of writer's salaries: Are the ships slaves?
ReplyDeleteA very, very good question! I wrote four Anton deGama short stories, of which this was the first - the question of the status of the singleships came centre stage in number 4.
DeleteI like the unexpected entertainment industry tie in. One door closes - another opens. I also like that he'll be staying in "rings" - that's a cool term for where they live, like the 'burbs or the 'hood.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I like to catch the readers by surprise sometimes - I just hope it feels logical.
DeleteI like the twist at the end. Nice to see a happy-ish payoff. I love the idea of organic ships.
ReplyDelete