Best of British Science Fiction 2022 by unknow
Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NewCon Press
Published: 2023-07-30T00:00:00+00:00
Call of the Void
J.K. Fulton
âWeâre showing less than zero decimal five PSI down here. You are go to open the EV hatch and stow it.â
âEV1 copies.â
I begin the process to unlock and open the hatch, and get ready to move my bulky suit out of the airlock. Itâs a slow and deliberate process. Dave â or EV2 as heâs known on this spacewalk â and I have been in the ISS airlock for nearly an hour already, waiting for the slow depressurisation, so thereâs no rush. Iâve got a full day of work ahead of me replacing batteries on the Port 6 truss.
As I emerge from the airlock, I feel it again.
The French call it lâappel du vide â the call of the void. If youâve ever stood on a tall building, or on the side of a cliff, and had a momentary urge to jump, youâve felt it too. Itâs not a suicidal ideation â in fact, psychologists think itâs the exact opposite, an affirmation of life, rather than a desire for death.
All I know is that whenever Iâm on a spacewalk, the desire to leap off into the void is much stronger than Iâve ever felt on Earth. The laws of physics tell me that Iâm not going to fall. I know Iâll just float around on the same orbit as the ISS. But my monkey brain says that itâs a long way down and Iâm going to make a really big splat when I hit the ground.
âTamsin, you are clear of the hatch.â Anyaâs voice reaches me from Earth. Sheâs an experienced astronaut herself, although sheâs ESA rather than NASA like me. Today sheâs not flying, but is in Houston acting as ground IV Capcom â the primary contact between me and the engineers below. Believe me, it makes a difference when the person ordering you to do things in minute detail has actually been up here and experienced it for herself. âRemember you are live with children all across Houston today.â
âEV1 copies.â I suppress a groan. I hadnât forgotten. Weâre doing a special event with Houston schools, and I drew the short straw. A lot of the work we do up here has nothing to do with engineering or research, but is pure PR. âGood morning, Houston!â
I launch into my prepared statements. No, I didnât get to write them myself. âSafety is so important up here. We have multiple systems that mean the possibility of becoming detached from the ISS is really small. You can see I have my eighty-five-foot safety tether permanently attached to a rail here. Itâs a self-retracting cable that applies a small amount of force â if I become completely detached from the station, itâll slowly reel me back in. Iâve also got a three-foot tether that I can use to hold me in place â thatâs handy when I donât want to fight against the tension of the long safety cable. I keep at least one hand on a rail at
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