|
|
| A: |
Uh ... we're making this recording just before re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Our lifeboat has no radio, so we're using the flight log ... just in case anything goes wrong. Not that I expect anything will go wrong, honey. |
| B: | I don't see how anything could go wrong, darling. This craft belongs to your father's company, doesn't it? | A: | Uh ... yeah. But so did the Stellar Queen. |
| B: | Oh, don't be so gloomy, darling. Let's cheer ourselves up and announce our engagement...formally? |
| A: | Well, I would rather wait until we're sure how we both feel. Remember the story I told you, the one about the sailor on the old-time sailing ship who fell in love with the first female face he saw, after a year at sea? Now I know it's only been three months since the Queen blew up ... but, well, you know what I mean. |
| B: | I think three months is quite long enough for two people to get to know each other as well as we do, darling. Don't you? |
| A: | It isn't the same for me. I'm twice as old as you and ... I've never been married before. |
| B: | Not even once? |
| A: | No. |
| B: | Well, I can assure you it's nothing to be afraid of, dearest, I've been married six times ... |
| A: | Look, do you mind if we change the subject? At least while this machine is running. You're making my ears go – |
| B: | Listen! Do you hear that? |
| A: | Oh, that – that's air friction. We're entering the atmosphere. |
| B: |
Oh, don't look so glum, darling. Were almost home! Isn't it exciting! There will be so many things for us to see and do – please don't look so glum. Just think of all the places we can visit ... together. So many places I'm dying to show you, so many wonderful people I want you to meet ... |
| A: | Uh-oh! |
| B: | Uh-oh? |
| A: |
There's... something I forgot to mention. The Stellar Queen had only six lifeboats. All the time I've been wondering if we picked that one. Now I know we did: Those flashing red lights on the control panel prove it. |
| B: | I don't quite understand, darling. |
| A: | Those hot-cold separator thingamies: the ones that stop a ship burning up when it enters the atmosphere... |
| B: | The Maxwell Demons? |
| A |
Yeah, them. This boat doesn't have any. A few days before the explosion I, well, you know, how curious I am about mechanical things – and seeing as how my father's company makes them and all I figured I should try and learn a little more about them. You know how it is. I ... I'm really sorry I got us into this mess, honey. It's my fault that we won't – |
| B: | Why, you stupid bloody fool! You knew all this lime? Why, you feeble-minded, grong-brained – |
| A: | But honey! Look, wait a mo– |
| B: | You moron! It's all your fault. Oh, why did I ever have to get mixed up with you? You fat old – |
| A: | Can it, honey. Hear that buzzing? That's the Demons coming on. The reason the red lights were flashing is because I changed the wiring around a few weeks ago. |
| B: | You...what? |
| A: | Changed the wiring. After all, a guy likes to make sure how his partner really feels before he commits himself to matrimony. If you know what I mean. |
Author's note:
This was my first-ever professionally published story. It is far from anything I
consider my best, but it is the first one to sell, and nothing else I write will ever be my first published story, so I'm stuck with it.
This was one of The Dialogues. Write a story involving two characters, male and female,
and do not use names to identify who is who. After I got to think about it, I rewrote this story,
phrasing the last line so it still did not make clear who was what. Lee used the first version.
(This web page <http://www.geocities.com/twin_spires/queen.html>
is a U.S. echo for one in Australia, at http://home.connexus.net.au/~bruce42/queen.html)
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