WRITER @Large with flash BLOG
Dumb and Dumber! The NEWS? Karr and Jeffs? No kidding! What a couple of losers. Anyone who reads the future Karr book should have to pay double taxes in order to cut court and travel costs he incurred. And Jeffs? He's a joke and a bad one at that. Isn't he the guy in the male enhancement ad? Without glasses? What is he trying to prove? Maybe that white people can out-breed people of color? Dumbest!

My little dog is such a sweetie. He tries to make me go to bed early. He comes and sits by me; then gets up turns around and barks. The he runs to the bedroom and sit in the middle of the bed, expecting me to hop in. No wonder he's tired. He takes long walks with me every day, investigating grass and twigs and new smells.

Flash Sci-Fi
Wc 996
Void Space
By
RD Larson

Matt didn’t care what the survival rate was when he joined IP’s Altitude Support of Mars Extrude 5 Gusher. Desperate, the blonde part-time hologram actor signed on, easily passing the physical. He didn’t think he had contributed much to the world in his 34 years. A bitter divorce left him depressed. His heart slowly healed with the grueling work on International Petroleum Oil support team as Altitude Monkey for Extrude 5, the top rated of wells.

He didn’t think about it but people were burned or frozen to death, depending on what side of Mars that the International Petroleum Support Sky-Ship berthed. A sudden slip or an explosion occurred often. The Sup-Ship carried 40 men living and working together for 14 days before replaced by a new team, which were women for the next 14 days.

Roustabouts and roughnecks, working at the entry level, lived in a bio-sphere a half mile from Extrude 5. They pretty much kept to themselves and left the Extrude 5 Rig Officers alone.

The only women Matt saw were the other crew members as they came on for the women's shift. One crewmember in particular became a friend. Jala, an athletic and pretty New Yorker, had worked for only eight shifts at the IP Skylab Support craft.

When the carrier ship bringing the women to the site arrived, Matt knew they would spend one day when the two teams would exchange data and inspect the grid, before the male crew headed back to Earth. Matt planned to make a future date with Jala. With a 5-day pass on Earth; if Jala could schedule the same period, they could go on a short resort vacation.

Even though the crew maintained the rig, when the new team arrived, there was a twelve-hour overlay, where the new crew worked with the old crew on hot spots on the grid 800 meters above the well. Because of the weight ratio on Mars, the scaffolding had to be bonded Alpha-Titanium and Nano-Carbon Fibers. The beams over the grid that supported the equipment became loose or even swung free after one of the frequent earthquakes. Teams of two, one from the old team and one from the new team, would work together to spot weaknesses. Ten teams of two walked the girders in an 8 kilometers quadrant.

“I’m glad to see you, Jala,” Matt said, hugging Jala in the mess hall. She nodded.

Twenty out of the eighty people were assigned the perimeter grid checking. Matt was not surprised when his name was called. He stood at the back of the room, watching Jala. She smiled at him. Her name was called so she came up to stand by Matt. The grid support team split into partners. Then they walked down the corridor toward the Void Space Bay where the thermo-density suits were stored.

The effort of putting on the heavy insulated suits left them winded and hot. They waited for the cool air to pump in. With the other eighteen people, they rode a flat car out to the rim of the SkyLab Support Ship wall. Matt and Jala stepped into the Void Space Decomp-Chamber #2 that decompressed their body weight to a movable level out of the space ship. Their heart rates dropped significantly. They strapped on the magnetic boots that kept them on the grid. Even with the boots, a safety line of strong fiber tethered them to each other and to the grid with its slipknot loop.

Each time a pair went out to inspect the grid, the risk went up. The spaceship was not susceptible to earthquakes; they caused severe damage on the ground and on the grid above well. Each man and woman knew that they held to life only with boots and a thread. Some loved the danger, but Matt did not.

As they entered Port 814 he took Jala’s hand and said, “Back on Earth, let’s get away to a resort together. Just us.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” Then they turned on their headphones and stepped out on to the grid.

Below them lay the red planet with its crevasses and pitted dust from meteor strikes. To the left the bio-hut village was barely visible. They began the 5 kilometer trek along their route on G814 until G815.

Jala gave a shout, as she seemed to dance ahead of Matt on the steel grid. Earthquake. Matt snagged up the safety line looping it around the H shaped hook welded to the grid beam.

Jala grinned and gave thumbs up as they held for a minute. Just as Matt was loosening the safety line there was a great shake and both of them slid off the beam. Dangling by the thread-like cable, they twirled above the planet floor.

Jala’s smaller size gave her a more violent swing. Then an aftershock. Matt radioed the Medic Team as he began to edge toward her. There was blood on her faceplate.

Matt edged hand over hand along the safety line toward Jala. Then he caught her shoulder and pulled her against him, stopping her spin. He glanced at her face. Her nose was bleeding.
“Hey over here.” Matt shouted into his speaker. “High blood pressure; stress fractures.”


The two medics edged a board out to them and Matt pulled himself up on the grid beam. Holding tight he helped them pull Jala up and strap her to the board. They took her back through the Port Hole just as another quake shook the entire grid. Matt held tight and rode the wave.

As he entered Port Hole 814, he saw the medic start an IV on Jala. He went to her.

“You saved my life,” she whispered.

“You’ve got to come away with me, then,” he whispered back.

They grinned and Jala was carried to the medical center.

This is my last tour of service on the Mars Grid for Extrude 5, Matt decided.