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  • If We Cannot Travel at the Speed of Light
  • Kim Choyeop (bio)
    Translated by Eunsol Kim (bio)

The old woman was already in the waiting room, sitting opposite the entrance and next to the window. The man saw her from the back as she stared out beyond the station. As he was contemplating whether to make himself known to avoid alarming her, she turned and glanced at him. He greeted her with a noncommittal nod and she responded with a smile, then turned back to the window. Is she going to ignore me? Just as bafflement was about to wash over him, she struck up a conversation.

"My apologies, but orange juice is all we have. If I'm to follow the advice of the medical examination device, I mustn't consume any more caffeine." Noting the man's uncomprehending gaze, she held up a small carton of orange juice. "Would you like some?"

"No thank you," the man replied with an indulgent smile. "I've been put on a low-sugar diet."

The old woman shrugged. "I have some sugar-free juice on my private spaceship, though you might find it quite horrible."

The man's first impression of the old woman was rather bewildering. Private spaceship? He frowned as he stared at the passageway she had indicated, the entry to the waiting room. At the end of the passage was a green light—meaning a spaceship was docked outside. The shabby spacecraft he had seen as he came inside must belong to her. Spaceship was definitely an exaggeration: [End Page 327] the vessel looked like it could barely manage a trip between Earth and this orbiting satellite. Shuttle would be more suitable.

While the man was absorbed in this thought, the old woman turned back to the window and finished her drink. Slrrrp. The sound echoed in the silence. She gave the empty juice carton a shake and placed it on the seat next to her.

Behind her were several rows of four soft leather seats, with a metal handle separating each of the seats. The man looked about the waiting room. The space faithfully re-created the lobby of a station for ancient means of transportation. He had once seen a photograph of a small train station from long ago. Anyone who had ever visited such a place would experience reminiscences of those old stations here, he told himself.

Written in the Common Language on one of the walls was "Transportation Schedule for Space Travelers" and, below, a crowded list of departure times too blurred for him to distinguish. Judging from the variety of logos, this seemed to be a station shared by several companies. A guide robot stood behind the clear glass window of an information counter at the corner of the lobby. Surprisingly, the robot was still functioning—forehead light blinking, it was repeating an announcement.

One entire wall of the waiting room was made of clear glass from floor to ceiling. The man-made satellites in orbit passed by the station, each at its own speed, and the image of the round, blue Earth unfolded behind them like a backdrop. The man approached the old woman, who was staring wordlessly at the planet, and sat down beside her. She didn't seem to care. The man hesitated, recalling the advice he had received: You risk failure if you jump straight to the point, so listen to the old woman's story first.

"By any chance, ma'am—"

"Call me Anna."

"Ah, yes, Ms. Anna. May I ask where you are headed?"

"The Slenfornia Planetary System," she replied, her gaze still fixed outside the window. [End Page 328]

"That's very far away."

"Which is why I am here." So saying, she produced a ticket. Apart from the worn corners, the paper was stiff and crisp, as if the ticket had been well preserved over the years. She showed it to the man. The ticket was for the Slenfornia System, Planet Three, and was good for any departure.

"I've heard that spaceships traveling to the Far Universe depart from here. It certainly seems there are many more spaceships going to the Near Universe. Still...

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