SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

I woke up with a blow. A terrible thrust was forcibly bending me over. I saw my knees hasting toward my helmet's visor, and suddenly, I was shaken like a crash dummy in a test vehicle: my head snapped to the front and then I was brutally thrown against the seat. The shock completely woke me. My eyes opened wide, automatically looking for the ship's pilot. They found him immediately a few feet away—that is, in the upper part. It was the doctor who was sitting in the captain's seat.

The adjoining seat was empty...

"Darwin!" I called out. "Darwin!"

"To your left!" I heard through the earphones.

I turned my head instantly. Darwin was in the same row where I was, two seats to the left. I was relieved.

However, I didn't get a chance to relax. My friend had an intense look in his eyes; I perceived that he was trying to tell me something. He was pointing to the headphones in his helmet. I noticed to his gestures, but I didn't understand anything. Nevertheless, I noticed that the doctor and Felix were exchanging some data.

I pricked up my ears.

"Auxiliary system S," the doctor would ask.

"Done," Felix would respond from the control center.

"MR."

"Checking..."

The transmission kept on going, but in the middle of my bewilderment, I was able to figure out those codes only, so I decided to pay attention to Darwin's signs again. For some reason, they appeared to be clearer this time: I thought I had gotten the message.

But I was puzzled. I posed the question with my lips and did his same gestures to ask him: "Did the lift-off fail?"

His helmet moved as if saying "Something like that." Then, he raised his hand slowly pointing upward with his index finger. Then, he pulled back his hand pointing his finger downward while saying: "We had risen very little." He wiped his visor with his hand. "We're still on the platform," he said. I could not believe it. However, Darwin opened his mouth wide and accurately ratified: "We- are- on- the- platform."

I looked around thoroughly. The cabin remained in the same position, pointing upward, completely vertical. You could not see the stars through the windows, only the smoke. And we were still lying down in our seats.

Suddenly, I noticed that my legs were numb...

Darwin was right. The Bat had not abandoned the cave...although, the vibration in the cabin continued. The engines were still running.

At that moment, the ship jolted a little and the vibration increased. My stomach contracted and I had a bad feeling. I turned to Darwin quickly and questioned him with the eyes. I read his lips: Second try.

I remembered the window of time and quickly took a glance at my watch: it was seven forty-three.

Only two minutes had passed since we had boarded the ship and one since I passed out. There was still a chance for a new launching.

Damn it!

All restless and clumsy, I verified the condition of my seat belts immediately. I took a deep breath and fixed my gaze on the small front windows. There was white smoke swirling everywhere.

My heart was beating a mile a minute.

Here we go, I said to myself frightened. It's time.

The ship jolted again and the vibration became a strong trembling. Communication between our captain and the control center was cut off all of a sudden. My pulse raced even more. The new countdown was about to begin.

It was clear that the old Modified Atlas-Centaurus G was not in its best condition for the launching. The first attempt had recently failed. However, such triviality would not interfere with our daring captain's flight plan. His perseverance was admirable. Throwing in the towel was not an option for him. He'd never do a thing like that.

As for the crew, I can only say that we didn't have much choice but to cross our fingers and pray that we didn't blow up in the next few seconds.

So, then, having put my life in the good Lord's hands, I inhaled deeply and grasped the arms of the chair.

Suddenly, a noise vibrated in the headphones. I gnashed my teeth until they gritted and heard Felix's voice:

"Flight aborted."