True passengers / Chapter 23: Day 71

Day 71. All systems are functioning normally. The sounds did not recur. However, my nerves were seriously affected. I even considered consuming my stash of cognac. Perhaps I am simply beginning to lose ground, growing weary of solitude. I experienced nightmares several times. I woke up and couldn’t fall asleep, replaying the dream in my head, thinking about my feelings, and listening to the silence.

On the one hand, it might seem that having a partner would be nice. It’s easier psychologically. It shares the responsibility. It reduces stress levels. Robinson Crusoe, for example, had Friday. And he often proved to be quite useful, even though he was a cannibal. Barbara could have been my Friday… If she could have come out of stasis…

But if you think logically, put aside all those emotional moments, and apply cold calculation, there are far more disadvantages in such a situation. Twice the consumption of resources. Oxygen, water, food — everything will run out twice as fast. And the person who was your friend or even your lover at the beginning could turn into an enemy by the end, an embittered predator who would want to live even one day longer than you at any cost. Yes… It’s scary to think what two feral, starving people locked in a steel cage could do to each other.

I was definitely lucky. Twice, in fact. First, I survived after all. Second, I survived alone. Smiling at this bitter irony, I fall asleep. This time until morning. More precisely, until the time I call morning. Well, you understand.