to the generator?"
Wallis was silent for the few minutes it took him to check the outer
diameter of the acetylene tank nozzle against the business end of the
handsome, chrome-plated water faucet which had originally served, with
about a dozen just like it, in the temporary washroom in Number Three.
Being designed for temporary or emergency use, the other end of the tap
tapered gradually so as to accommodate several different diameters of
pipe, which was exactly what Wallis needed. But to fit the tap to the
acetylene tank he would first have to remove the aesthetically beautiful
curve which directed the water downwards.
"Sorry, I was thinking," said Wallis. He put the faucet into the vice,
found a hacksaw, and went on, "The doctor and I have been working on
an idea for producing light and heat. As you know, this generator is a
temporary affair used to light the tanks during the early modifications
and until they could be linked to the ship supply. The engine which
runs it is working but can't be used because it wastes air and produces
carbon monoxide. But we've been experimenting with gearing arrangements
which would allow us to operate the generator manually -- or to be more
accurate, by pedaling it with the feet. That framework built around it
is to take the two people operating the generator.
"We think it will need two people to bring it up to the required number
of revs," Wallis added, "but once there it will need only one to keep
it going."
"And there will be enough power," said Dickson, sounding impressed,
"to heat the place as well?"
"Well, no," Wallis said. "The effort required to work the pedals will
render its operators comfortably warm, maybe even uncomfortably hot.
A stint on the generator would get us nicely warmed up before hitting the
hammock, or after taking a bath.
"The doctor is becoming concerned about our standards of hygiene,"
he added. "We're beginning to smell, you know."
Dickson did not reply at once, but when he did his voice was firm with
the firmness of sheer desperation. He said, "A bath, a cold, sea-water
bath! You can't be serious! The-the drinking water will be gone long
before our body odors become, uh, mutually offensive, and by that time
the air will be stale anyway! If you ask me, our lives are going to be
far too short and uncomfortable as it is without risking premature death
from pneumonia!"
The hacksaw blade skidded off the polished curve of the faucet. Wallis
sucked briefly on a skinned knuckle, then said, "We've been working on
a method for reclaiming water and another -- the only one possible,
we think -- for renewing the air. As soon as you're able to walk we'll
introduce you to the head we've rigged in Number Two. The idea there is
to keep the, uh, solid and fluid wastes separate. When the generator
is working we should be able to boil and distill small quantities of
water electrically, using a heater element sealed in a glass tube and
immersed in impure water. As I've already said, however, the heating
of the living quarters will have to depend largely on our own body
temperature and more efficient insulation. . . . What did you say?"
"I was talking about your feet," said Dickson, "and grass. There isn't
much growing under them."
"I only wish that there was some green grass in here," said Wallis seriously.
"It would save us the trouble of trying to grow beans."
"Beans," said Dickson in a baffled voice. "How, and why ? I thought we
had plenty of food."
"According to the doctor," Wallis replied, "we start by soaking some
of our dried beans in water, then sow them m a compost of dust, dirt,
packing straw, perhaps wood shavings, and, uh, fertilizer. We'll have to
take care that the material we collect for this soil does not contain
oil or rust as this would inhibit the growth or maybe kill the plants
altogether. And we would not be growing them for food. The area of
leafage in bean plants is considerable, according to the
Wallis was silent for the few minutes it took him to check the outer
diameter of the acetylene tank nozzle against the business end of the
handsome, chrome-plated water faucet which had originally served, with
about a dozen just like it, in the temporary washroom in Number Three.
Being designed for temporary or emergency use, the other end of the tap
tapered gradually so as to accommodate several different diameters of
pipe, which was exactly what Wallis needed. But to fit the tap to the
acetylene tank he would first have to remove the aesthetically beautiful
curve which directed the water downwards.
"Sorry, I was thinking," said Wallis. He put the faucet into the vice,
found a hacksaw, and went on, "The doctor and I have been working on
an idea for producing light and heat. As you know, this generator is a
temporary affair used to light the tanks during the early modifications
and until they could be linked to the ship supply. The engine which
runs it is working but can't be used because it wastes air and produces
carbon monoxide. But we've been experimenting with gearing arrangements
which would allow us to operate the generator manually -- or to be more
accurate, by pedaling it with the feet. That framework built around it
is to take the two people operating the generator.
"We think it will need two people to bring it up to the required number
of revs," Wallis added, "but once there it will need only one to keep
it going."
"And there will be enough power," said Dickson, sounding impressed,
"to heat the place as well?"
"Well, no," Wallis said. "The effort required to work the pedals will
render its operators comfortably warm, maybe even uncomfortably hot.
A stint on the generator would get us nicely warmed up before hitting the
hammock, or after taking a bath.
"The doctor is becoming concerned about our standards of hygiene,"
he added. "We're beginning to smell, you know."
Dickson did not reply at once, but when he did his voice was firm with
the firmness of sheer desperation. He said, "A bath, a cold, sea-water
bath! You can't be serious! The-the drinking water will be gone long
before our body odors become, uh, mutually offensive, and by that time
the air will be stale anyway! If you ask me, our lives are going to be
far too short and uncomfortable as it is without risking premature death
from pneumonia!"
The hacksaw blade skidded off the polished curve of the faucet. Wallis
sucked briefly on a skinned knuckle, then said, "We've been working on
a method for reclaiming water and another -- the only one possible,
we think -- for renewing the air. As soon as you're able to walk we'll
introduce you to the head we've rigged in Number Two. The idea there is
to keep the, uh, solid and fluid wastes separate. When the generator
is working we should be able to boil and distill small quantities of
water electrically, using a heater element sealed in a glass tube and
immersed in impure water. As I've already said, however, the heating
of the living quarters will have to depend largely on our own body
temperature and more efficient insulation. . . . What did you say?"
"I was talking about your feet," said Dickson, "and grass. There isn't
much growing under them."
"I only wish that there was some green grass in here," said Wallis seriously.
"It would save us the trouble of trying to grow beans."
"Beans," said Dickson in a baffled voice. "How, and why ? I thought we
had plenty of food."
"According to the doctor," Wallis replied, "we start by soaking some
of our dried beans in water, then sow them m a compost of dust, dirt,
packing straw, perhaps wood shavings, and, uh, fertilizer. We'll have to
take care that the material we collect for this soil does not contain
oil or rust as this would inhibit the growth or maybe kill the plants
altogether. And we would not be growing them for food. The area of
leafage in bean plants is considerable, according to the
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