A Love Affair in the Starship Learn English through story level 2
one
vita4297
[Music]
gareth climbed out of the freezer
he knocked a few small pieces of ice
from his clothes
and stood up
he shook his head
a freezer technician was standing next
to him
she was wearing a silver metal suit
name
gareth
gareth palmer
number
beta 4297
job
garden technician class four
what are six threes
eighteen
and nine fours
nine fours are 36.
where are you
on the new adventurer
where are we
going
to the star aurelia
planet five
the freezer technician put down her pen
she turned to the doctor
he’s all right
no problems
she turned back to gareth
you’re okay beta4297
you can go to your room
dinner will be in 40 minutes
report for work at 1800 hours
gareth walked out of the freezer room
he was always
a little nervous
it didn’t happen very often
but every two or three months
someone didn’t wake up
or they did wake up
but they couldn’t remember who they were
or what they were doing
he thought about philip
philip was a garden technician too
when he woke up last year
he was like a baby
he couldn’t speak
or feed himself
they put him in the hospital for tests
but there was nothing they could do
they had to kill him
there was no room on a starship for
passengers
gareth hurried to his room
he wanted a shower
that was always the first thing you
wanted after two weeks in the freezer
he found his room
stopped
and looked at the sign on the door
room 543
alpha 3461
beta
4297
he opened the door and went in
[Music]
the room as usual was empty
he took his key from his pocket and
opened his cupboard
he took out a work suit and laid it on
the bed
and then he took off the metal freezer
suit
and put it in the cupboard
he got in the shower
and turned on the hot water
he felt better immediately
he stood in the shower for two minutes
then the shower turned itself off
two minutes was the longest time you
could have in the shower
then
he saw something in the bottom of the
shower tray
a little piece of gold metal
he picked it up
it was an earring
a small
gold earring
alpha 3 4 6 1.
he said to himself
alpha3461
is a woman
he smiled
he had never met
alpha3461 of course
she was in the freezer now
she was going to be there for two weeks
then gareth had to go to the freezer and
alpha 3461
could come back to the room for her two
weeks
alpha and beta workers
never met
there were a lot of rules
you couldn’t leave anything in the room
everything had to go in your cupboard
nobody ever asked about the other
workers
it was easier
gareth put on his work suit
he put the earring on the table
two
the new adventurer
the new adventurer was a type 7d
starship
all type 7 starships worked on a two
system
there were two shifts of workers
and each shift spent two weeks in the
freezer
then two weeks at work
during the time in the freezer
you didn’t get older
so that after a 10-year journey through
space
you were only five years older
the journey to aurelia 5 took 10 years
each way
most of the people on the starship would
stay on aurelia five
but you could return to earth if you
wanted to
without the freezers people would be
more than 20 years older when they got
back
the freezers cut this time in half
scientists on earth were working on
faster starships and they were working
on better freezes too
two weeks was the longest safe time in
the type 7 freezer
in the 10-year journey to aurelia 5
about one percent of the starship’s crew
would die in the freezes
when the scientists tried four weeks
more than 30 percent died
at six weeks
it was one hundred percent
so they used two shifts
alpha workers were awake for weeks one
and two
beta workers were awake for weeks three
and four
a few of the crew
the two captains the most important
officers and the freezer technicians
worked a different shift they were awake
either for weeks two and three
or four weeks one and four
the biggest problem was the time in
space
everyone knew about the first type 1
starship
it left the earth in 2235
on a 75-year journey to the centauri
star system
but when it arrived in 2310
it found thousands of earth people
were already there
the first starship that arrived on
centauri
was a type 4
which left earth in
2281
and arrived on centauri in 2289.
between
2235 and 2281
scientists discovered the hyperdrive
engine
which was much faster than the old type
1 and type 2 starships
the second ship to arrive on centauri
was a type 3
which left earth in 2275
then a type 2 which left in 2250
last of all was the type 1
from 2235
you didn’t know what was going to happen
because it was impossible for hyperdrive
starships to communicate with the earth
perhaps when gareth’s type 7 starship
arrived on aurelia 5
they would find that a type 8 or 9 was
already there
three
who is alpha three four six one
gareth reported for work in the gardens
at 1800 hours
the gardens were one of the most
important parts of the starship
they had plants from earth for the new
colonies on aurelia 5
and they also produced food for the
starship
the plants cleaned the air on the
spaceship
and produced oxygen
gareth walked over to his control desk
gareth controlled the oranges and lemons
he looked at the computer terminal
everything was all right
alpha6558 had done a good job during his
two weeks
he thought about alpha 3461.
didn’t know what her job was
he pushed some buttons on the computer
a list of garden technicians appeared
he read it quickly
so
she wasn’t a garden technician then
he couldn’t get information about any
other jobs
he walked over to the orange farming
area
the trees were very small
less than two meters high
but each tree had more than a hundred
oranges on it
gardening and farming
were two of the most important sciences
there were millions of people in the
star colonies
and food had to be produced very quickly
in small
areas gareth looked at the water pipes
they were all right
he was still thinking about alpha 3 4 6
he wanted to know more about her
gareth finished work at 0-400 hours
on earth o 400 was night time
in space
it wasn’t important
he went back to his room and changed his
clothes
it was time for a meal
restaurant area number three was nearly
full when gareth arrived
he took a tray
and went to sit at a table with some
friends
mohammed and hiroshi
they were starship hyperdrive
technicians
hi
he said
i’m happy to see you’re both awake again
it was a good day
said hiroshi
everybody woke up
how do you know
asked gareth
when there was an accident in the
freezer room
it was usually a secret
i’ve got a girlfriend in the freezer
room
said hiroshi
she told me
they finished their meal and went to the
sports area
there was a football match at 0-600
between area 3 and area 9.
they all wanted to watch it
they sat down next to a tall woman
they didn’t know her
but she was wearing a freezer
technician’s uniform
area 3 won the match easily
12-1
that’s the best score i’ve ever seen
said mohammed
the tall woman smiled
you weren’t here last week
she said
the alpha team from area 4 scored 15
gareth thought for a moment
of course
the officers and freezer technicians
worked different shifts from everyone
else
so they met people from the alpha shift
and the beta shift
he turned to the woman
uh
you don’t know alpha3461
do you
he said
she laughed
there are nine thousand people on each
shift
she said
anyway
i can never remember numbers
what’s his name
uh
alpha3461
is a woman
he said
okay
what’s her name
said the woman
i
don’t know
said gareth
he felt stupid
what does she look like
i don’t know
said gareth again
i don’t know anything about her
the woman looked at gareth
then why are you asking about her
you shouldn’t ask about people on the
alpha shift you know
muhammad got up
come on gareth
let’s go and have a coffee
he said
they sat down in one of the coffee rooms
near the sports area
muhammad looked at gareth for a moment
who’s the mystery woman he said
oh
she’s the one that has the same room as
me
said gareth
how do you know that she’s a woman
said muhammad
gareth told him about the earring
muhammad looked worried
gareth
you know you shouldn’t ask questions
about her
if that freezer technician reports your
conversation
you’ll be in trouble
why
said gareth
oh come on gareth
you know the rules as well as i do
said muhammad
yes i know the rules
said gareth
i know them but i don’t understand them
why shouldn’t i ask about her
hiroshi moved forward
i don’t really understand either
he said
but they always keep the two shifts
apart on starships
i think it’s because there are 9 000 of
us on each shift and we’re locked up
together for 10 years
when we arrive on aurelia 5
there’ll be 9 000 new faces
9 000 faces that we aren’t bored with
yes
said mohammed
it may not be very important
but it’s like all the rules on a
starship
you have to obey all the rules 100
if we question the rules it will be
impossible to go on
so we must obey with no questions at all
said garrett
you know that gareth
said hiroshi
we all knew that before we left earth
forget about this alpha woman
said muhammad
really
it’s the best thing to do
[Music]
[Music]
four
problems in the freezer room
it was the last day of the beta shift
gareth was in his room
in half an hour it was going to be time
to go to the freezer room
gareth got into the shower
very carefully
he put the earring on the shower tray
where he had found it
then he took a small white flower
and put it down next to the earring
he hoped the cleaners would be too lazy
to check the shower
they hadn’t checked it last month
the small flower was from a lemon tree
if the cleaners found it
there would be trouble
it was forbidden to pick flowers from
the garden area
nobody had seen gareth when he picked it
earlier in the day
when gareth got to the freezer room the
door was closed
a starship policeman was standing
outside
you’ll have to wait for a few minutes
said the policeman
we’re having a small problem
gareth could hear screams from inside
the room
what’s wrong
he said
i
shouldn’t tell you
said the policeman
but it’s one of the cooks
he doesn’t want to go in the freezer
he’s frightened
he says he wants to stay awake until we
get to aurelia five
what’s happening
said gareth
what do you think
said the policeman
we’re putting him in the freezer
if he’s still making trouble when he
wakes up in two weeks
we’ll have to
well
you know what we’ll have to do
gareth knew
five minutes later the door opened
gareth went in and walked towards the
freezers
he climbed into one
before he started to fall asleep
he thought about alpha 3 4 6 1.
i wonder if she uses the same freezer
too
two weeks later
as soon as gareth left the freezer room
he hurried to his room
he closed the door
and walked round the room
it looked empty as usual
he looked in the shower
no earring
nothing
he had his shower
he felt sad
what had he been hoping to find
he didn’t really know
he got out of the shower and went over
to the sink
he wanted a drink of water
he turned on the tap
nothing happened for a second
then the water came out suddenly
a piece of paper came out with the water
[Applause]
he picked it up
it was wet
he sat on the bed
and looked at it
dear beta4297
thank you for finding my earring
and thank you for the flower
you mustn’t do anything like that again
it’s dangerous for you
i’ve often wondered about you
i don’t know anything about
you i i know you’re a man
you didn’t clean the sink very well
after you shaved and the cleaners are
not very careful in this area of the
ship
well
we’ll meet on aurelia five
until then
good luck
best wishes
alpha three four six one
gareth read the note several times
it was dangerous for her too
he should throw the note away
but he couldn’t
now he really wanted to know about
alpha3461
he went for dinner
as he walked into the restaurant area
he saw the policeman again
hello
he said
what happened to the cook
the policeman looked round quickly
be quiet
he said
i’ll be in trouble
it’s forbidden for me to talk about it
let’s just say
there was a problem with his freezer
he didn’t wake up
you mean
they killed him
said gareth
i didn’t say that
there was a problem with his freezer
and you should forget this conversation
i’m going to forget it
gareth thought for a long time about the
note
on the last day of his shift
he sat in his cabin
and wrote to alpha three four six one
dear alpha three four six one
can i call you six one
or can i call you by your real name
i’m gareth palmer
and i’m a garden technician
five
an educational program
[Music]
gareth nearly got into trouble when he
got out of the freezer two weeks later
as usual the freezer technician asked
him questions
when she said
name
he said
gareth palmer
but when she said
number
he replied
alpha3461
because that was what he had been
thinking about
he quickly said
no sorry i mean beta4297
but he had to have half an hour of tests
he hated the tests
they didn’t hurt
but he wanted to hurry to his room as
quickly as he could
at last the doctor said that he was all
right and he could go
he went to the sink at once
it was there
he read it immediately
dear gareth
this is stupid and wrong
but i want to know about you too
i had to write this note
my name’s sarah lopez
and i was born on centauri 3.
i’m 23
and i’m an education technician
i work on the self-study computer
programs
and my special area is the history of
space exploration
i wrote the new program on the history
of the centauri colonies
it’s in the library now
i finished it this week
you should look at it
especially the piece on the first colony
in 2298
right again
best wishes
sarah
gareth smiled
as soon as he finished dinner he hurried
to the self-study library
he walked along the row of people in the
library
until he found a computer terminal that
no one was using
he put his things on the chair
and went over to the library technician
hello
he said
i’m interested in the history of the
centauri colony
have you got anything
let me see
she
said i think there’s a new educational
program
she gave him a small green disk
he walked back to his terminal
hiroshi was standing there
hi gareth
he said
what are you doing with a green disk
green disks a history aren’t they
i didn’t know you were interested in
history
uh
yes i am
said gareth
what are you doing
i’m looking at a program about japan
my great great grandfather was japanese
he was the first one in our family that
went into space you know
hiroshi went to a computer terminal on
the other side of the room
gareth sat down
put on the headphones
and put the disc into the computer
the program was very exciting
gareth watched the hologram pictures of
the first starship landing
he asked the computer to move to 2298.
he saw a hologram of the main city on
centauri
and listened to the computer voice
suddenly
he sat up
the computer voice was saying
and now
entertainment
the first century television station
opened in january 2298
the first programs were old videos from
earth
in may they showed the first program
that was made on centauri
it was a comedy
and it was called
gareth i think i love you
the centauri television station made
many tv programs after that
and they were popular everywhere
sarah she wrote the computer program
gareth went over to the desk and got
some more programs
television in the 23rd century
a short history of centauri
television on centauri and some others
there was nothing on any of them about
gareth i think i love you
it was a secret message to him
gareth spent hours on sarah’s program
during that shift
there were no other messages
but while he was watching the program
he thought about sarah all the time
he could meet her in seven or eight
years
but how could he meet her before then
the next day he returned to the
self-study library
he asked the library technician about
programs on century
she didn’t seem very interested
but i’ve got a lot of questions about it
i want to speak to the education
technician that wrote the program
is she
or he
an alpha or a beta
i’ve got no idea
but you must have some information
there’s only one self-study library
the library technician pushed a few
buttons on her terminal
the person that wrote the program
was a
sarah lopez
we only have the name
but i’ve never met her so i’m sure she’s
an alpha
of course
you can’t speak to
her no
of course not
could i leave a message
well
that’s forbidden
it’s a question about the program
that’s all right
gareth left a message
dear programmer
i am interested in the history of
television on
your program talks about television in
2298
i saw a tv program from centauri once
it was a very old one
i saw it on an old video
it was called
i love you too
when was that program made
please reply
yours garden technician
beta4297
a year went by
gareth put notes in the tap every two
weeks
when he got back from the freezer room
there was always a note waiting for him
he spent hours in the self-studied
library
sarah usually put little messages into
her computer programs
he wanted to meet her
but it was impossible
[Music]
six
an accident in the garden
[Music]
one day he woke up in the freezer
his eyes opened
two freezer technicians were standing
over him
one of them spoke
beta 4297
is awake doctor
the doctor hurried over
are you okay
you know who you are don’t you
yes
said gareth
we haven’t got time for tests
said the doctor
we’ve had to wake you up early
you’ve only been in the freezer for
three
days why
said gareth
there’s been an accident in the garden
there was an explosion in the pipes to
the orange trees
they need your help
go there now
don’t change your clothes you haven’t
got a room
it’s the alpha shift
gareth hurried up to the garden area
all the garden technicians were working
in the orange area
he didn’t know any of them
[Music]
the chief garden technician came over
gareth knew him
because he worked weeks one and four
like all the officers
gareth we need your help
the orange trees were in the explosion
we have to save them
right
said gareth
where’s alpha six five five eight
alpha six five five eight
was the garden technician who worked on
the orange and lemon trees on the alpha
shift
carl
that’s his name was hurt in the
explosion
he broke his leg
he’ll be okay he’s in the hospital now
that’s why we had to wake you up
gareth worked for nearly 20 hours on the
orange trees
there wouldn’t be any oranges for a few
months
but he was able to save the trees
the chief garden technician was waiting
for him
you’ll have to use carl’s room
he said
i’ve had your things moved there
said gareth
and we’ll have to change you to the
alpha shift
i’m sorry
all your friends are on the beta shift
gareth didn’t say anything
you’ll have to stay on the alpha shift
for three or four months
there’s no one else that knows about
oranges and lemons on this shift
the beta shift will be all right
jose can do your job there
i can change to the alpha shift for the
rest of the journey if you like
said gareth
you don’t mind
said the chief garden technician
no
not at all
said gareth
he was wondering when sarah finished
work
all right
i’ll show you where carl’s room is
said the chief garden technician
gareth felt very happy
the chief garden technician looked at
him for a moment
stop smiling gareth
i know why you want to work on the alpha
shift
gareth felt cold suddenly
yes when they moved your things to
carl’s room
they found
these
he showed gareth some pieces of paper
they were sarah’s notes
he hadn’t wanted to throw them away
i told the policeman who found them that
you were
that you were writing a romantic book
i also told him that you were the only
person that knew enough about the
trees he agreed to forget about it
the chief garden technician showed him
carl’s room on the plan of the starship
now
you go and get some sleep
you need it
he said
yes
thank you
said garrett
he walked slowly out of the garden area
carl’s room was downstairs and to the
left
his old room
was to the right
gareth smiled again
he turned right
and began to walk more quickly
[Music]
you