A Hard Rain

A Hard Rain, p. 7
back

	Walking up to a low mesa I was suddenly startled by the sight of some metallic debris up ahead in the bushes. I approached the glinting metal cautiously, aware of the warnings about toxic gases still present in the shattered pieces of the Columbia. (Pan right in the VR to see the debris as I first saw it.)
	As I carefully approached my desert discovery it became obvious that I was mistaken in my excitement. The pile of metal turned out to be just an old upright vacuum cleaner looking misplaced and forlorn in a landscape of sand. Disregarding any thoughts about "the vacuum of space," I decided this could not possibly be debris from the Columbia. Surely they would’ve used a small Dustbuster instead due to their lack of closets. Nevertheless I didn’t reach down to touch the machine, and I put the dog back on her leash, because you can never be too sure.