Tuesday 12 January 2016

A Slum In Space

In crew quarters on the starship Pioneer:

halls are drabber and dingier;

the smaller apartments are poorly furnished;

metal-working is audible;

many crew spit and swear on seeing a policeman;

unmarried workers sleep in tiered bunks in cave-like barracks where a giant telescreen shows mindless, tasteless entertainment suitable for this class;

when Friday, the officer who wanted rights for the crew, is demoted to the crew, he must fight one of them;

fortunately, as a member of his aristocratic caste, he has learned fighting techniques to keep fit.

On Earth, such slums have grown from unplanned social interactions but this one is in a spaceship launched by a civilization ruled by psychotechnicians. Something does not add up but all will be explained in due course.

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