EPISODE 6: HIGH-FUNCTIONING FLESH (1) EPISODE 6: HOCHFUNKTIONALES FLEISCH (1) EPISODIO 6: CARNE DE ALTO FUNCIONAMIENTO (1) EPISODE 6 : LA CHAIR À HAUT RENDEMENT (1) EPISODIO 6: CARNE AD ALTO FUNZIONAMENTO (1) 에피소드 6: 고기능성 육체 (1) EPISÓDIO 6: CARNE DE ALTA FUNCIONALIDADE (1) ЭПИЗОД 6: ВЫСОКОФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНАЯ ПЛОТЬ (1) EPİSODE 6: YÜKSEK İŞLEVLİ BEDEN (1) ЕПІЗОД 6: ВИСОКОФУНКЦІОНАЛЬНА ПЛОТЬ (1)

**INTRO**

**X:** They never prepare you for the moment when you find out that the project everyone says doesn't exist does exist...

And that it's you.

It's Girl In Space.

[[SFX: INTRO MUSIC, 1:10]]

**PROLOGUE**

**X, played back over a tape recorder:** Day 8,330, hour 23:04.

It's been over 2,000 days now since you disappeared.

And just a couple hundred less since Mom… heh. Disappeared, too, I guess.

I wonder what the probability of that is -- both parents disappearing on completely unrelated occasions, within mere Earth-years of each other?

Well, in a more Dickensian scenario, it would probably be 100%. But I digress.

[[Slight pause]]

It doesn't hurt as much to think about you now. [[Frowns]] That was a surprise, actually -- I didn't think that would happen. I… I really thought it was just going to hurt that badly forever.

But the pain has diminished into a dull ache that simmers and rankles in my heart instead of trying to burst it outright. Which is good? Maybe. I don't know. I feel guilty that I can move on and you can't. That I'm here and you're not.

I know it doesn't make any rational sense, but it's how I feel.

And while the image of your face has started to fade… as much as I've tried to hold onto it... I can still recall your voice, if only because it's here on my recorder, one last living memory of you calling me your “Little Bird” while pushing me on the swing in the glasshouse.

“Don't fly too high now, Little Bird,” you'd say, though really I think what you wanted for me was the exact opposite.

[[Pause for reflection]]

[[Cynical chuckle]] Speaking of the exact opposite… Mom was the other way -- always telling me I had unlimited potential and never allowing me to fully explore it.

My memories of her are… less rosy, let's say, than my memories of you. I hardly remember at all what she looked or sounded like… I just remember that she pushed me to perform and to succeed so hard. ...And yet I knew that somehow, she was holding me back. Keeping me from something -- or keeping something from me.

Also, she… she wasn't unkind, I guess, just… blunt. Straightforward. When the Cavatica's engines first began their slow slide toward inevitable failure, I remember she took me aside and explained exactly what would happen to our bodies as we asphyxiated and slowly froze to death.

I remember you told her to stop. She told you to stop coddling me. She was always like that. I didn't necessarily want her to be, but she was. She was cold rough hands and engine grease and smoke and vial after vial of blood lined up across the galley countertops.

And you were sandalwood and orange slices and baby birds and plants sprouting up tender and new in the bright warm sun.

Still, I didn't hate her. Not like I could have -- or should have. When your whole world is two people, it's hard -- and unwise, even -- to excise half out of pettiness. Когда весь твой мир — это два человека, трудно — и даже неразумно — вырезать половину из мелочности.

I do remember that she made up for it when she sang. Somehow, that made everything okay again. It reminded me that there was beauty inside of her, too, even if she kept it locked up and jealously guarded like a golden bird in a cage. Это напомнило мне, что внутри нее тоже была красота, даже если она держала ее взаперти и ревностно охраняла, как золотую птицу в клетке.

[[Moment of reflection]]

I used to think I took after you and only you, with my dark hair and eyes and skin and affinity for green growing things. Раньше мне казалось, что я похож на тебя и только на тебя, с моими темными волосами, глазами, кожей и склонностью к зеленым растениям. [[Smiles]] My stupid laugh. My __in__ability to sing. Моя неспособность петь.

But recently… I've noticed… more of her in the things I do, slipping through the crenellations of my brain like insidious black dye. Но в последнее время… я стал замечать… больше ее проявления в том, что я делаю, просачиваясь сквозь зубцы моего мозга, как коварная черная краска. Her ambition, her calculating mind. Her dismissal of the validity of things felt and dreamt. Ее игнорирование достоверности вещей, которые она чувствовала и видела во сне. Her impatience. Her intolerance. Her ability to create a vast emotional distance.

Even now, my hands are cold and rough from work.

[[Shivers]] It worries me. I'm so afraid that if I become her, I'll lose what's left in me of you. I'll begin to do the things that she did. Make the sacrifices she made. Принесите жертвы, которые она сделала. The excuses. Оправдания.

I'm not ready for that.

[[Deep breath]] Anyway. Happy birthday to me. [[SFX: Party blower]] [[SFX: Вечеринка]]

**SCENE 1**

[[SFX: Cavatica, Hallway, moving toward Parents' Suite]]

[[SFX: Vacuum suited feet hurrying down hallway, booted feet of Kai and Thor]] [[SFX: ноги в вакуумном костюме спешат по коридору, ноги Кая и Тора в ботинках]]

**X:** [[Moving]] Day 10,318, hour 04:45. I'm… well, we're moving. Me and Kai and Thor, through the hallways toward my parents' suite. Thor says she found a body.

I don't even know what to think about that, other than this immediate need to see it, because I think I know whose it is. I'm not thinking yet about how I'm going to deal with it. I still have a few minutes before we get there, before all of the unreal possibilities harden into one finite reality.

Heh. Schroedinger's corpse.

...Maybe I shouldn't be making jokes. ...Может, мне не стоит шутить. Is that tacky? Это липко? I have no idea. Speaking of tacky, Charlotte's not with us. I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her since I left her glitching out in the glasshouse pod. |||||||||||||pod

Part of me needs her to be here, to confirm that all of this is real. I mean, even though I know Charlotte lies to me all the time.

Maybe that's what I want right now: lies.

Or maybe I just want to see how she reacts to something irrevocably true. А может, я просто хочу посмотреть, как она отреагирует на что-то бесповоротно верное.

[[SFX: They round a bend in the hallway and come to a stop.]] [[SFX: Они поворачивают в коридор и останавливаются.]]

**Chen:** [[Sees them, nods.]] Thanks for getting here so quickly. The Councillor's on his way, and I wanted a few minutes to touch base without him breathing down our necks.

**Thor:** No prob.

**Chen:** At 04:24, Officer Thorsson successfully entered and began reconnaissance of this pod. It's one of two residential cabins, and --

**Chance:** [[Interrupting]] Jeez, what'd you do? Bomb your way in? Разбомбить себе дорогу?

**Thor:** [[Sarcastically]] Yes, Chance. I used a bomb and no one noticed. And it did absolutely zero hull damage.

**Kai:** I think it is safe to assume she used that pneumatic drill over there.

**Thor:** It's sad when the Killbot's more reasonable than you, Chance.

**Chen:** [[Clears his throat, annoyed]] At 04:29, Officer Thorsson radioed me that she had discovered a body in one of the interior rooms of the pod. I sent for Dr. Keane, who's in there now, deciding whether a quarantine is necessary.

**X:** Who is it? The… the. Um. Body.

**Chen:** [[Voice softens]] We don't know yet, X. You can go in once we get the all-clear from Dr. Keane. Okay?

**X:** [[Shakily]] Yeah. Okay.

**Chen:** [[Commanding and businesslike once more.]] Чен: [[Снова командный и деловой.]] All right. Thor, you'll debrief the Councillor here with me when he arrives. Тор, ты расспросишь советника здесь со мной, когда он прибудет. Chance, you're with Dr. Keane -- do whatever she tells you to do. Kai, you'll accompany X once we're cleared. Understood?

**Thor:** Yes, sir.

**Chance:** Yes, sir.

**Kai:** Roger that.

**Chen:** Good. [[Lowers his voice.]] ...Because here he comes. ...Потому что вот он идет.

**Council Member 1:** [[Strides up]] I hear our persistence has at last borne fruit. Good work, Officer Thorsson. Captain Chen, has the identity of the body been confirmed?

**X:** ...Did you just refer to a corpse as fruit? |||||||cadavre||

**Chen:** [[Tactfully interrupting X's comment]] Not yet, Councillor. Dr. Keane is still running through the contingency manual and making her assessment. Доктор Кин все еще просматривает руководство на случай непредвиденных обстоятельств и делает свою оценку.

**Council Member 1:** [[Dismissively]] No matter. The specimen is wearing a vacuum suit, and Officer Kai won't be affected by... whatever's in there. [[To X]] You there. Go inside and identify the body so that we can all get on with our day. Войдите внутрь и опознайте тело, чтобы мы все могли продолжить свой день.

**X:** Uh. If I were the type of person to take orders, I would take them from Chen. Если бы я был из тех, кто подчиняется приказам, я бы брал их у Чена. …Maybe. But I'm not, so I'm just going to wait until Dr. Keane says there's no risk of me contracting the Screaming Space Madness and --

**Council Member 1:** [[Blandly]] Officer Kai, escort the specimen inside the pod. If she continues to hinder rather than help our efforts, shoot her. And take your weapon off of the ‘stun' setting first.

[[Uncomfortable silence as glances are exchanged]] [[Неудобная тишина при обмене взглядами]]

**Kai:** Is that necessary, sir? She's unarmed.

**Council Member 1:** It's necessary if I say it's necessary, Officer.

[[Uncomfortable silence continues.]]

**X:** ...You know what? Screw this. Привинти это. I choose to go inside. Come on, Kai.

**Chen:** Watch your step, X. Anything looks off, get out of there. Чен: Смотри под ноги, Х. Если что-то не так, убирайся отсюда.

**X:** Okay.

**Chance:** I'll go in with them and make sure Dr. Keane --

**Council Member 1:** That won't be necessary. No use in you risking contamination, Officer Chance.

**Chance:** Uh... Yes, sir.

**Kai:** [[To X]] Ready?

**X:** Yeah.

[[SFX: Plastic sheeting is pulled aside. Footsteps enter the pod, stepping over debris.]]

**Council Member 1:** [[To Thor; his voice fades.]] Officer Thorsson, I hear you also have a theory regarding the crashed fighter ship…

[[SFX: Plastic sheeting is put back into place.]]

**X:** [[Inside the pod foyer]] That guy sucks.

**Kai:** He's just doing his job, same as we are.

**X:** Right. [[Exhales into recorder]] Okay. So… I'm walking into my parents' suite. With the exception of my visit to my mother's study, it's been… thousands of days since I was in here. Though... at the same time, it feels like just yesterday.

**Kai:** You visited your mother's study?

**X:** What? No. [[Continues]] Uh. Lots of rubble here by the entryway… I can see why Chance thought a bomb had gone off. Здесь у входа много щебня… Я понимаю, почему Ченс подумал, что взорвалась бомба. Uh. [[SFX: Button clicks a couple times.]] Again, no power in the pod, but the ceiling is lit by a thick layer of that bioluminescent fungi, and the walls are covered in vines and -- [[SFX: Trips on rubble, twists ankle.]] Ow!

**Kai:** Watch your step. Кай: Следи за своим шагом. Here. [[SFX: Scuffling as he helps her steady herself.]] [[SFX: Возня, когда он помогает ей устоять на ногах.]]

**X:** Thank you. [[SFX: Footsteps resume]] Stupid vacuum suit. Anyway. The flora is… surprisingly rich and complex throughout the hallway, and there's an abundance of blue-green spores floating through the air toward us, as if… [[Her thoughts drift off.]] Флора… удивительно богата и сложна по всему коридору, и множество сине-зеленых спор плывет по воздуху к нам, как будто… [[Ее мысли уходят.]]

**Kai:** As if what?

**X:** Uh. Never mind. [[Resumes walking.]] Up ahead is the entrance to the sitting room. [[Takes several more steps.]] We're entering it now. The couch and armchairs are still arranged around the old coffee table, which is still piled high with books. But some kind of... bright green vine is growing over it all, originating from a torn and moldy back cushion of Dad's armchair. I'll have to take a sample of it on my way back out.

Otherwise all of their stuff -- Lamps, vases, auxiliary food storage, bookcases -- everything's in its place. В остальном все их вещи — лампы, вазы, подсобные помещения для хранения продуктов, книжные шкафы — все на своих местах. Just like the furnishings in… well. [[Wryly]] What used to be my quarters.

It's everything anyone could ever want. Это все, что кто-либо когда-либо мог хотеть. Everything Caldwell Enterprises could provide.

[[Momentary reflection]]

Uhhhh. To the left is the door to my mother's study, which I definitely haven't been inside of recently, and to my right is the door to my father's office. Both are shut and, presumably, locked. Straight ahead is the door to their bedroom, which is open. I'm guessing that's where we'll find Dr. Keane. Думаю, там мы и найдем доктора Кина.

[[SFX: They walk closer to the room.]]

**X:** The bioluminescent spores seem to be floating along a soft air current, though I can't feel it from inside my suit. X: Кажется, что биолюминесцентные споры плывут в мягком воздушном потоке, хотя я не чувствую этого внутри своего костюма.

**Kai:** The spores appear to be nontoxic -- though at this time, I can make no guarantees. Кай: Судя по всему, споры нетоксичны, хотя на данный момент я не могу гарантировать. [[Pauses]] I understand that this may be emotionally taxing for you. Are you ready?

**X:** Yeah. [[Momentary pause.]] Thank you for asking.

[[SFX: They walk toward the door.]]

**X:** [[Deep breath]] Dr. Keane?

**Dr. Keane:** [[Startled]] What are you doing in here? !

**Kai:** [[Dryly]] The Councillor insisted.

[[SFX: X takes a few steps into the room]]

**X:** [[Startled, emotional gasp]] Oh my gosh. [[Softly]] It's… uh. Okay. It's okay. I'm okay. Focusing on cataloguing and reporting, putting emotions aside.

So. [[Breath]] It's a nice large room with a bed, and a wardrobe, and NOPE, I can't do this. [[Breath]] Это хорошая большая комната с кроватью и шкафом, и НЕТ, я не могу этого сделать. It's her. It's her. [[SFX: Moves to the bed]] She's here. This whole time, she's been right here.

**X:** [[Turns to Dr. Keane, panicked.]] Dr. Keane, I had no idea she was in here. I swear. I'm just… [[Takes a deep breath]] She's so still. She's just lying here in bed, face-up, her eyes closed, her hair all spilled across the pillow, this weird little smile fixed on her face. Она просто лежит здесь, в постели, лицом вверх, ее глаза закрыты, волосы разбросаны по подушке, на ее лице застыла эта странная маленькая улыбка.