Joe Haldeman SF Gateway Omnibus: Marsbound, Starbound, Earthbound by Joe Haldeman Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Joe Haldeman
moistened with something like rubbing alcohol—one of them for the "pits and naughty bits," as Elspeth said, and the other for your face and the rest of your body. Then a small reusable towel for rubdown. Meanwhile your jumpsuit is rolling around in a waterless washing machine, getting refreshed by hot air, ultrasound, and ultraviolet light. It comes out warm and soft and only smelling slightly of sweat. Not all of it your own, though that could be my imagination.
I fantasized about diving into the deep end of the city pool and holding my breath for as long as I could.
Six hours before we were due at the Hilton, we were asked to stick our heads into the helmets for "orientation," which was more of a sales job than anything else. Why? They already had everybody's money.
The Hilton had a large central area that stayed zero-gee, the "Space Room," with padded walls and a kind of oversized jungle gym. A pair of trampolines on opposite walls, so you could bounce back and forth, spinning, which looked like fun.
People didn't stay there, though; the actual rooms were in two doughnut-shaped structures that spun, for artificial gravity, around the zero-gee area. The two levels were 0.3g and 0.7g.
The orientation didn't mention it, but I knew that about half of the low-gee rooms housed permanent residents, rich old people whose hearts couldn't take Earth gravity anymore. All of the people in the presentation were young and energetic, and vaguely rich-looking in their tailored Hilton jumpsuits, I guess no different from ours except for the tailoring and choice of colors.
We would stop there for four hours, and could explore the hotel for two of them. We were all looking forward to the change of scenery.
"Don't use the Hilton bathrooms unless you absolutely have to," Dr. Porter said. "We want to keep that water in our system. Feel free to drink all of theirs you can hold."
The four hours went by pretty quickly. Basically seeing how rich folks live without too much gravity. Most of them looked pretty awful, cadaverous with bright smiles. We looked at the prices at Conrad's Café, and could see why they might not want to eat too much.
We did play around a bit in the weightless gym area. Elspeth and I played catch with her little sister Davina, who obediently curled into a ball. Spinning her gave us all the giggles, but we had to stop before she got totally dizzy. She looked a little green as she unfolded, but I think was happy for the small adventure and the attention.
I did a few bounces on the pair of trampolines, managing four before I got off-target and hit the wall. Card was good at it, but quit after eight or so, rather than hog it. I suppose two people could use it at once if they were really good. Only once if they weren't. Ouch.
The interesting thing about the jungle gym was gliding through it, rather than climbing on it. Launch yourself from the wall and try to wriggle your way through without touching the bars. The trick is starting slow and planning ahead—a demanding skill that will be oh-so-useful if I ever find myself having to thread through a jungle gym, running from Martians.
Dr. Porter had found a whistle somewhere. She called us to the corridor opening and counted noses, then told us to stay put while she went off in search of a missing couple. They were probably in Conrad's Café guzzling hundred-dollar martinis.
I mentioned that to Card and said there wouldn't be any vodka on Mars—and he bet me a hundred bucks there would be. I decided not to take the bet. Seventy-five engineers would find a way.
The missing duo appeared in the elevator and we crawled back home to wait in line for the john. The carrier seemed cramped.
The John Carter would be about three times as big, but nothing like the Hilton. After that, though, a whole planet to ourselves.
11
Up and Out
The trip from the Hilton out to the end of the tether was more subdued than the first leg. Half as many of us and all of us headed for Mars,
I fantasized about diving into the deep end of the city pool and holding my breath for as long as I could.
Six hours before we were due at the Hilton, we were asked to stick our heads into the helmets for "orientation," which was more of a sales job than anything else. Why? They already had everybody's money.
The Hilton had a large central area that stayed zero-gee, the "Space Room," with padded walls and a kind of oversized jungle gym. A pair of trampolines on opposite walls, so you could bounce back and forth, spinning, which looked like fun.
People didn't stay there, though; the actual rooms were in two doughnut-shaped structures that spun, for artificial gravity, around the zero-gee area. The two levels were 0.3g and 0.7g.
The orientation didn't mention it, but I knew that about half of the low-gee rooms housed permanent residents, rich old people whose hearts couldn't take Earth gravity anymore. All of the people in the presentation were young and energetic, and vaguely rich-looking in their tailored Hilton jumpsuits, I guess no different from ours except for the tailoring and choice of colors.
We would stop there for four hours, and could explore the hotel for two of them. We were all looking forward to the change of scenery.
"Don't use the Hilton bathrooms unless you absolutely have to," Dr. Porter said. "We want to keep that water in our system. Feel free to drink all of theirs you can hold."
The four hours went by pretty quickly. Basically seeing how rich folks live without too much gravity. Most of them looked pretty awful, cadaverous with bright smiles. We looked at the prices at Conrad's Café, and could see why they might not want to eat too much.
We did play around a bit in the weightless gym area. Elspeth and I played catch with her little sister Davina, who obediently curled into a ball. Spinning her gave us all the giggles, but we had to stop before she got totally dizzy. She looked a little green as she unfolded, but I think was happy for the small adventure and the attention.
I did a few bounces on the pair of trampolines, managing four before I got off-target and hit the wall. Card was good at it, but quit after eight or so, rather than hog it. I suppose two people could use it at once if they were really good. Only once if they weren't. Ouch.
The interesting thing about the jungle gym was gliding through it, rather than climbing on it. Launch yourself from the wall and try to wriggle your way through without touching the bars. The trick is starting slow and planning ahead—a demanding skill that will be oh-so-useful if I ever find myself having to thread through a jungle gym, running from Martians.
Dr. Porter had found a whistle somewhere. She called us to the corridor opening and counted noses, then told us to stay put while she went off in search of a missing couple. They were probably in Conrad's Café guzzling hundred-dollar martinis.
I mentioned that to Card and said there wouldn't be any vodka on Mars—and he bet me a hundred bucks there would be. I decided not to take the bet. Seventy-five engineers would find a way.
The missing duo appeared in the elevator and we crawled back home to wait in line for the john. The carrier seemed cramped.
The John Carter would be about three times as big, but nothing like the Hilton. After that, though, a whole planet to ourselves.
11
Up and Out
The trip from the Hilton out to the end of the tether was more subdued than the first leg. Half as many of us and all of us headed for Mars,
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