Then the three women moved into the kitchen and drank alcohol and laughed for some time. The men either weren’t invited or felt they wouldn’t be welcome.

Altogether, a complex display of interactions, which I could not pretend to understand. It will be interesting to record the changes this causes in attitudes and actions.

It’s a pity that we will probably not live to return to Mars and discuss all this. The starship is like a small laboratory, with us nine organisms sealed within. But there’s no scientist to peer at us from outside, and draw conclusions.

Chapter 16 - INJURIES

16

INJURIES

Namir suggested a meeting the morning after, while Moonboy was still under sedation. It was natural for Elza to lead the discussion.

“For me, it could have been a lot worse.” She touched her bruised nose gently. Both eyes were dark, too. One nostril was open, the other packed with gauze. “The break is simple, not ‘displaced.’ So it will heal without surgery. What’s broken inside Moonboy is not so easy to heal.”

“What do you know about his . . . condition?” Paul asked.

“More than I can say, ethically. It does involve anger that’s been suppressed for years, though. Unfortunately, it’s associated with claustrophobia.”

“But this starship is huge,” Snowbird said, gesturing with all four arms.

“Snowbird,” Paul said, “you’ve always lived inside a big room, a cave. Moonboy grew up in Kansas, a large flat state. You could look around and see forty kilometers in any direction.”

“I don’t know that that’s a factor,” Elza said. “This was a very small space, involuntary confinement.

“Anyhow, as well as the sedative, I’ve given him a mild antipsychotic medication. For his protection and ours.”

“Good,” Dustin said.

“I should give you one as well, darling. You have not been a model of rational behavior.”

“He came after me.”

“You could have fought him off with a pillow, not a pool cue. Try to leave your balls on the table next time. So to speak.”

“Yes, Doctor.” Obviously a familiar response.

“So do we have to keep him doped up for the duration?” Paul said. “Do we have enough drugs for that?”

“I can synthesize things that simple. I could keep us all doped to the gills for the whole mission. Which has crossed my mind.”

“That would not be practical,” Fly- in-Amber said. “Would you be able to eat, and drink, and excrete?”

“All in the same place,” Namir said.

“I’ve been to parties like that,” Dustin said.

“They’re kidding,” Elza said to the Martian. “So am I. Meryl, he’s never lost control like this before?”

“Not since we’ve been married; not on Mars.” She hesitated. “He got in trouble when he was a kid. That involved fighting, I remember. At the time, I thought how unlike him that was. But I never asked him for any details.”