Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Awakening

They should tell us that we don't dream, thought Heywood Floyd, not so much as to be surprised than to be troubled by it.There was a soft pink glow all around him, and it reminded him of cookouts, and Christmas Eve fires.But it wasn't warm at all; in fact, he felt a distinct but not uncomfortably chill. Someone was talking in a low voice, too soft for him to hear.Then the voice got a little louder - but he still couldn't understand. "Of course," he said suddenly, aloud in surprise, "I can't dream in Russian!" "No, Heywood," answered a woman's voice. "You're not dreaming. It's time to get up."

That lovely glow was gone, and he opened his eyes to catch a vague glimpse of a flash moving away from his face.He was lying on a bed, held in place by elastic straps; figures stood in front of him, but his vision was blurred and he couldn't make out who they were. Gentle fingers stretched out, closed his eyelids for him, and massaged his forehead. "Relax your body. Take a deep breath...one more time...that's right...how do you feel now?" "I don't know...strange...dizzy...and hungry." "A good sign. Do you know where you are? Now you can open your eyes."

Figures came into focus—first Dr. Rudenko, then Captain Oleva.But there seemed to be something wrong with Tanya, she seemed to have changed since he had seen her an hour earlier.When Floyd saw why, he was almost taken aback. "Your hair is growing back!" "I hope you think it's an improvement, but I don't think so about your beard." Floyd raised his hand to stroke his chin, and it took him a lot of effort to do it.His chin was covered with short stubble—the kind you get when you haven't shaved in two or three days.During hibernation, hair grows at one percent of normal...

"So I wake up," I said, "we've reached Jupiter." Tanya looked at him sullenly, then glanced at the doctor, who nodded imperceptibly. "No, Heywood," she said, "we won't be there for another month. Take it easy—the ship is fine, everything is working fine. It's just that your friends in Washington asked us to wake you up early. There was an accident. situation. We're being dragged into a race to board Discovery—and I'm afraid we're going to lose."