The ship slammed hard to the left throwing me against a wall hard. I slump to the floor and try to right myself. Loud buzzing emanates from everywhere and all the lights come on flashing red angry lights. Something is very wrong. A monotoned woman comes on and tells us “The ship is taking on water and the waterproof doors are sealing. Do not be under them as they descend.”
The door to my room is vanishing behind another metal door. I am trapped in here. I have just been sealed in. Not knowing the protocol for this I try not to panic and instead choose to dress for the occasion. As a colony resident I have various clothes which can help me survive almost anything. A set of clothes made of spider silk and silver which can withstand being shot by a gun. The fabric doesn’t stop the force of the bullet but will not puncture so the fabric is pulled tight. This helps to allow you to remove the bullet later while the fabric helps to stop the blood. You also can not stab with a knife through the cloth so you only get a bad bruise. The silver helps to make it so the outfit does not grow bacteria and so can be washed less often. Usually you only need to wash out the salts from sweating. Basically you wash your clothes when they can stand up on their own. I have a dry suit for diving which would keep me warm and dry in the ocean but I wouldn’t want to put it on till I know that we are going down. A rebreather which allows me to breathe underwater for long periods of time. The device extracts oxygen from the water but sometimes that is not enough to support much exertion. I sort out what I need putting electronics into drybags and various useful items onto my belt for easy access. Adding the rebreather and the vial of radiation eating bacteria to the belt I critically examine my clothing. The set of fins might be useful and I place those with the drysuit. Some bamboo undergarments go on first as those are antibacterial and don’t require much washing. Settling upon the spider silk clothing I put on the long white tunic top with the large billowy sleeves which come to tight cuffs at the writs, the knee length black pleated skirt, black leggings, and knee high boots which fit snugly at the knee. The swimming fins can strap onto the boots easily if needed. Rolling up the paper thin drysuit I put it in my bag. I have a few energy bars and some water in there too.
With my possessions sorted and gathered I look around the room for some indication of what to do in an emergency. I find a guest book and see the angry red letters indicating a chapter on emergencies. It mentions an escape pod located in my room which I should enter and wait for instructions. Lifting up the mattress I find a small pod which opens for me. Some friendly looking lights come on inviting me inside. There is enough room for two people to lay down side by side within the pod and I load my possessions in the other seat and climb inside. As soon as I lay down the lid of the pod closes and clicks shut.
A screen in front of me comes to life. It is split into a grid of about 10 pieces most of which have faces in them. They are all looking at me but only the captain is speaking. He is talking about how the ship was hit by a torpedo and is taking on water. How everyone should find an escape pod and to launch. That he has programmed the pods to travel to a specific neerbye island and that we will be rescued there. The island is only about eighteen hours away and the pods have enough supplies for three days. Feeling a bit apprehensive about an eighteen hour trip alone in a pod I try to voice my objection but no one seems to hear me. There must be some button I need to press in order to be heard. Then came the most maddening part of it all. “You have nothing to worry about.” the captain said. How can he say such a thing after he was so wrong before? I guess I do have something to worry about because he is trying to convince me not to worry. With a great woosh my pod is sent out of the ship into the ocean where the gods only know what will happen next.
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