‘We’ve got coffee and biscuits,’ adds Brian. ‘Come and sit down.’
I sit and take the 3rd of the 4 chairs.
‘Did you bring the cards?’ Brian asks John. ‘Yep,’ he pats his top pocket. They both pull out their chairs and sit down again.
It’s like I’m in a comedy routine. Tweedledum and Tweedledee have come to visit. There is a knock on the door. Brian and John look at each other.
‘Shazza,’ they say, at the same time. Shazza enters, stage right. ‘This is Linda,’ says Brian, as she walks towards me, hand outstretched. ‘I know,’ she says. ‘Pleased to meet you Linda.’
Shazza is tough and bulky, and has tattoos and piercings, but her grin is friendly.
John pulls the cards out of their packet, removes some of the cards and puts them aside, starts to shuffle.
‘500?’ he says.
‘Sure,’ I reply. I decide to play by the script, follow the lead, pretend that this is normal, that we are somewhere ordinary. Brian goes to a wall bank and switches a few switches. A light comes on directly above the table. The background machinery fades into shadow. Blues music takes over from the hum of machines, and the ship seems to settle into a smooth trajectory.
John deals. He is slow, meticulous, scientific even. Brian bounces back to the table. He is fidgety, like a kid with a secret.
‘How’re they hangin’,’ asks Shazza, as she sits down.
Banter. It’s an old language. From my childhood.
‘Well, you know,’ I said, ‘the food’s good, considering.’
Brian laughs. ‘You won’t believe how hard it is to keep it nice!’
John interrupts. ‘Yeah it’s all down to you Brian, and your toxilogical controls. No mention of the chemical enhancer I developed. Triggers your sense memories, from sight to smell to taste. You taste what you expect to taste. That’s why we work so hard to get the visuals right. Coffee?’
I nod and he pours some from the thermos into a tin cup, hands it to me than pours more
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