HER MAJESTY
Josef Pecinovský
Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl
But she doesn’t a lot to say.
John Lennon,Paul McCartney
1) In an exactly determined time the drone of the cathegory D 12, auxiliary
coefficient X 4,qualified for simple activities of a nonproductive character,identification
code 536 367 RD 72,ayo woke up from the controlled sleep.The awakening was accompanied
by a feeling of displeasure,as was usual recently.Mayo had a “morning breath”,creeps
in his limbs and felt pain in his back,which was due to many hours of staying
in a huddled position and subsequent hasty and relentless switch into an active
phase.He opened his eyes.Now light has made its way in through a half-opened
side wall and he could see a dull grey metal casing of the cell’s internal lining
formed exactly according to his physical parameters so that his body occupied
as little space as possible during the sleep.The casing that had been heated
up to the body temperature turned into a massage radiator.For another moment
ayo could enjoy a feeling of easiness which accompanied a tender flowing of
a massaging gas round his naked body.The gas extended pores and regenerated
inert muscles, however in such a short time it could not dispel the unpleasant
feelings.
The telescopic entry was opened
and Mayo crawled out of the cell’s narrow space as if invited to.He found himself
in an interstage chamber, raised his arms sideways and waited till his body
was covered with a dress layer.He caught a rustling sound from a neighbouring
chamber.He couldn’t see anything,but he sensed there a drone who was just finishing
not a long waking phase,divided into a long working one and a short relaxing
one,and was about to occupy the cell that Mayo had vacated.
Red signal.Mayo had to wait
until there was a free cabin in the line.He was patient as he was taught by
the faith.The complicated system was just evaluating the occupation of the cabins
in adjacent lines and a free one of the most advantageous position got the information
it should accept a passanger.
Amber signal.A free cabin was
found and Mayo got ready.Nor in the slightest way did he think of any protest
against this habitual dull way of life.He was aware that there was always a
free cabin for him as well as a night cell and a workplace.
Green signal.The door shifted
aside,one step,second...A click of the closing door.Mayo was prisoned in a space
24 inches wide,22 inches deep and 6 feet high.A common normalized type of a
cabin.A sudden heavy jerk forced ayo to seize a handle fastened to the ceiling.
The seemingly clumsy conveyance
was placed in an endless flow of cabins travelling at the pace of 6 miles an
hour,on wide pavements occupying twice as less surface as a single unprotected
walker.The traffic was much more fluent and faster this way not to mention a
fact that it was almost impossible for an inhabitant of the hive to be orientated
either in an endless number of communication routes crossing each other in vertical
and horizontal directions or in an enormous quantity of at first glance identical
storeys.From one place to another there led twelve or more equally long tracks
and an individual could choose the route casually, which could result in the
communications’overloading and subsequent traffic collapse.The cabins were controlled
centrally and under common conditions the possibility of the traffic jam was
quite excluded.If a passenger was to travel more than 3 miles the cabins were
mutually connected in bigger units,which were shifted from pavements to thoroughfares
and in this way they moved to the destination place at a pace higher than 30
miles an hour.In case the transfer was to take more than half an hour the walls
of the cabins were shifted away so that the passangers could communicate among
each other.Mayo didn’t like these “bus”rides.He didn’t feel well among people
and preferred being alone. Moreover,every ride like this always meant a change
in the work classification,a transfer to another sector and the necessity of
getting used to another new environment.
At present the transfer to
his workplace took no more than 20 minutes. He didn’t know the distance,nor
which storey his workplace was on,it didn’t matter.The cabin controlled by his
own carnet always transferred him to the right place.Neither did he know where
the place of his next sleep was,but again this meant no trouble to him.He was
sure there would always be a free hexagonal cell for him,where in a crouched
position he could pass through the 56 hours,unless this period was prolonged
by a decision.As far as he could remember he had gone through several hundreds
of sleeps up to that time.He heard something like that after 1.500 sleeps there
comes the end.What kind of the end he didn’t know —he wasn’t able to imagine
it,however he did not speculate on this problem dragged into the comb by irresponsible
elements.The cabin was jerked several times.Mayo felt it turned to the right,once
more to the right and then there was a slight overload.The cabin started to
ascend. Mayo didn’t like it.When he was leaving the regeneration zone,where
he had met his assigned female partner again to make a compulsory physical contact,the
cabin ascended,so now it should descend!He didn’t..........