The green goo oozed down the spaceport's dirty white walls in big globules. The alarm sounded loud, I hope this will be worth it. I hold the backup drive close. This whole mission would be pointless if I drop it in the ooze that's started dripping on the floor.
"You dunce, you couldn't have cut it any closer if you had used a LazeRaze™." That's Luna, my faithful companion. "Five more dyadsecs and I woulda made a great guest on Mingon's Mourning Podcast. Woulda spun a great tale about how you stranded me at the Nutritional Center to 'go get something from Walton's General Vending Machine™' and how I was oh so confused as to why you broke into a lab pod." I love that woman.
"That sounds like a lovely episode. Let's get out of here and we can start our own podcast. Just picture yourself in that beautiful dwelling we observed in Lua-Sea D5, the two of us making awkward banter to fill time between the ad reads." I shove the backup drive into the breast pocket on my jumpsuit and sludge through the slime that's now completely covered the small airlock's floor.
"5 2 7 8 ... beep!" The keypad to the airlock between the lab and the service hallway turned red for a few seconds as it rejected what I thought was the passcode. I still had some confidence. Like every door in this floating labyrinth, I had to go through a few of the regularly used passwords before I got it right. The airlock gradually started to smell like lavender, contrasting the bright green of the goo beginning to pool.
"How the fuck do you forget the passcode in the middle of a heist?! Dingon, the Securtro Bots are on their way, hustle! Hustle!", Luna encouraged me as I tried another code.
"3 4 5 1 ... beep!" No! That was the exhaustroom's passcode, schmergdamnit. My mind was running blank. It's not that I forgot the airlock's code, it's that I forgot which code belonged to which door. I had to remember: terminal code, Lightnet login and password, Lightnet Enterprise login and password, personal door code, personal safe code, personal identification code, airlock passcode, air storage code, air filter code, cafeteria code, food dispenser code, food disposal code.... I started entering whatever numbers came to mind. Luna shrieked as the slime was ankle deep now.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS STUFF?!", Luna shouted, trying to keep me focused.
"It's a security feature, babe. Let's just get out of here so we don't have to worry about it."
"6 2 4 2 ... beep!" I was growing more distressed with each attempt; I would have usually guessed the right one by now.
"You absolute moron! Why did I marry you over Cluxor!" Luna consoled me, trying to improve the situation. The green goo was knee deep now.
Honestly, it felt kinda nice. It was thick, with a strong surface tension. The green was opaque, obscuring the queue markers on the deck. I felt like I was standing in a giant serving of Beaver's Pectin Nutrient Delivery System™.
"6 2 4 3 ... beep! "Terminal Lockout. Maximum number of attempts reached. Try contacting your local cluster's administrator." It's up to my waist now. It's very relaxing and warm. Everything below the waist felt calm and numb from the mining sores.
"Fuck! You idiot! We are going to die in here!" Luna reassured me, trying to keep my confidence high. The ooze was at my chest now, almost to the keypad. I jam the help button as fast as I can. A dial tone sounds.
"Thank you for reaching cluster 8 2 1 7 technical support. Your wait time is SIX QAUDRASECS. Would you ..." the speaker finally succumbs to the ooze.
It's up to my neck now. Luna is freaking out, thrashing and hitting the door in an attempt to get someone's attention. I've just accepted it. It's better than going back to the dusty asteroid colonies. This was gonna be my way out of that, whether or not I make it out with the backup drive. The notice tone sounds over the spaceport's intercom:
"ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS OF SPACEPORT CLUSTER 8 2 1 7. THERE HAS BEEN A ROUTINE GEL-RELATED LOCKDOWN IN SECTOR 6 b. ALL OTHER SECTORS PROCEED AS ..."
It's over my head now. I can't see Luna, or really anything. It feels so nice. I think I might just take a nap.
