Chapter 4 Chapter 2 Awakening

Frank Poole woke up.But I don't remember anything, not even my own name. Apparently he was in the hospital.Although his eyes were still closed, the most primitive and most evocative feeling told him this clearly.Every breath, with the faint but not unpleasant smell of disinfectant in the air, reminded him of memories.That's right!The reckless and miserable teenager who broke his ribs in the Arizona "hang gliding" championship. Now he slowly remembered something.I'm Frank Poole, Deputy Commander of the US spaceship Discovery, on a top secret mission to Jupiter...   It was as if a cold hand had grabbed his heart.As if rewinding in slow motion, he remembered, the pod charging towards him like a wild horse, metal arms barking.Then there was the silent crash, and the less silent hiss of air escaping from the suit.Then came his last memory: circling helplessly through space, trying in vain to reconnect the broken air tube.

Alas, whatever the mysterious mishap with the pod control system, he's safe now.It should have been a quick "extravehicular activity" by David, which rescued him before the lack of oxygen caused permanent brain damage. Good old David!he told himself.I must thank... wait a minute!Obviously I was not in the "Discovery", but the time I lost consciousness should not be long enough to be brought back to Earth!The arrival of the head nurse and two nurses interrupted his chaotic thoughts.They wore ancient uniforms that represented professions, and their expressions looked a little surprised.Did he wake up earlier than expected, Poole wondered?Such thoughts gave him a childlike sense of accomplishment.

After a few tries, he said, "Hi!" His vocal cords seemed rather stiff. "How am I?" The head nurse smiled back at him, and she put her index finger to her lips, giving him a definite "don't talk" command.Then two nurses quickly and skillfully examined him.Measure pulse, temperature, reaction.One of them raised his right hand and let it fall by itself.Poole noticed something odd: His hands were dropping slowly, seemingly without the weight they should have.When he tried to move his body, he found that his body seemed to have the same situation. So I must be on some planet, he thought, or a space station with artificial gravity.It must not be the earth, I am not so light.

He was about to ask the obvious question when the matron pressed something against his neck.He only felt a slight tingling, and he fell into a dreamless sleep again.Before he lost consciousness, there was still time for him to have a strange thought. How weird!They didn't even say a word in front of me.