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Writer's pictureTristan Dyln Tano

The Sleepy Mechanic - a short story

The star-core reactor pulsed through the glass pane windows of the cafeteria, sending Jockey’s coaster careening off the table.


He moved to pick it up, groaning. He had a long night, all the space-station mechanics did.

But unlike the others, Jockey’s night wasn’t about to end; not yet. A deepening crack on the glass stared at him judgingly, as the star-core pulsed again. That shouldn’t be there.


He needed to plug the crack before radiation started pouring in. Jockey searched his waist pack for the perfect solution, the end-all-be-all of mechanic problems, the Easy Be-Gone.


Jockey uncapped the Easy Be-Gone tube and squeezed its fluid over the crack, but nothing came out. The crack grew wider.


Jockey looked around and saw the one good thing about last night’s laborious party. Bottles on bottles of Alcufor Alcohol littered the cafeteria floor and tables, most of them divorced from their rightful coasters.


He snatched a quarter-full bottle and grabbed a small packet of baking soda from the cafeteria counter. This better work, he thought, mixing the alcohol and baking soda together inside the Easy Be-Gone tube.


When the liquid started to foam, Jockey splashed it on the cracked pane, and the window corroded as liquid glass flowed, sealing the cracks shut.


He grabbed a bunch of coasters and threw them on the floor beside him. He didn’t want his night to be a single second longer. The coasters felt like an army of fuzzy pillows. Finally, Jockey can sleep.


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