Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction
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cutting <strong>the</strong> black thread after <strong>the</strong> tight knot against Chuck's skin,<br />
beside <strong>the</strong> impossibly tiny, meticulous stitches.<br />
* * *<br />
"What really happened? Are you all right?" I listened to <strong>the</strong><br />
faint hiss of <strong>the</strong> open com line, waiting for Jabril to respond. We<br />
hadn't spoken privately in eight days; not since planetfall.<br />
He sounded terse over <strong>the</strong> line, almost cold. "It was a stupid<br />
mistake," he said. "A regrettable lack of judgment on my part. Let's<br />
not speak of it again. Please."<br />
"But--"<br />
"Please, Susan."<br />
He had used those two words so sparingly in <strong>the</strong> past, I had<br />
no response. He had never begged for anything, <strong>and</strong> I could count <strong>the</strong><br />
number of times he'd used my given name on <strong>the</strong> fingers of one h<strong>and</strong>.<br />
The sound of it from his lips caused an involuntary shiver across <strong>the</strong><br />
small of my back.<br />
Liam thought it best to switch partners for <strong>the</strong> last two<br />
planetside shifts, leaving me to spend two consecutive days in <strong>the</strong><br />
Station. I tried not to be annoyed that <strong>the</strong> second one was with<br />
Chuck.<br />
His headphones had reappeared for <strong>the</strong> first time since<br />
planetfall. There was still plenty of work to be done before we<br />
departed, but <strong>the</strong> tinny, hollow sound of secondh<strong>and</strong> music pulsing<br />
through <strong>the</strong> air distracted me. I turned my annoyance on myself in an<br />
effort to spur me to get things finished. I needed to catalogue <strong>and</strong><br />
document <strong>the</strong> progress of every lichen sample in all <strong>the</strong> trays.<br />
Supplies had to be brought over from <strong>the</strong> ship, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> few final<br />
improvements we were scheduled to make on Mars Station had to be<br />
completed in what felt like impossibly few hours.<br />
We all ceased eating <strong>and</strong> sleeping in our mad rush. I thought<br />
of <strong>the</strong> mayfly, struggling to accomplish its entire life's purpose in just<br />
a few hours, <strong>and</strong> of <strong>the</strong> rare orchid which blooms only one day of<br />
every century. Time grew elastic for me, unpredictable in my<br />
overworked, fevered mind; some hours slipped by with a beat of my<br />
heart, while <strong>the</strong> occasional minute took a lifetime to pass.<br />
I was beyond feeling mere exhaustion in <strong>the</strong> crescendo of<br />
desperation to get things done. I recognized strain in my crewmates'<br />
faces. Liam looked paler than ever, with ruddy spots high on his<br />
cheeks <strong>and</strong> bluish circles under his eyes. Chuck's dark skin was<br />
ashen, almost grey. Once or twice, his h<strong>and</strong>s shook as he entered data<br />
into <strong>the</strong> computer, <strong>the</strong> tremors causing him to swear <strong>and</strong> delete <strong>and</strong> reenter.<br />
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