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that, there was a resounding clang as the
vestibule’s external door slammed shut.
    “ Hopper ,” Inspector McCarthy said, loud, but calmly, “shut
down the suit fill circuit.”
    “The break is upstream of the shut-off valve,” it replied.
    “At the source, then,” she added quickly.
    “I show no response to the valve command.”
    “Crap!” Dolph shouted. “Of course you don’t. I have it off
for testing.”
    “The vestibule pressure has reached point four atmospheres,” Hopper reported.
    That was a tenth atmosphere above the interior
pressure, Dolph realized. Sasha’s gaskets were holding with a vengeance, but if
it kept going on up to line pressure, the vestibule fabric would tear, and it
would explode.
    “We’ll have to dump the air,” Dolph decided. “ Hopper, vent the vestibule, and cut the general line pressure.”
    “Wait,” Inspector McCarthy said. “It’s too...”
    With a creak of its yielding motors, the outer airlock door,
which was not designed to withstand pressure from outside the air lock,
yielded, swung open a full half circle and hit the inner side of the air lock
as a strong gust of air blew into the room.
    Then Dolph’s vent command went into effect, the vestibule
vents opened to vacuum and the air started rushing the other way—out into space.
    “…late!” Inspector McCarthy finished, as Tina went flying by
her in the air stream, through the open inner and outer air lock doors and
bounced off the balloon-tight skin of the vestibule.
    “Whee!” she yelled
    “Tina!” Sasha cried.
    “Stop venting!” Dolph screamed, then, more effectively,
said, “ Hopper , stop venting the vestibule.”
    The scream of escaping air stopped, and for a frozen moment
Dolph contemplated the bulging composite skin of the vestibule wall: the only
thing left between him and interplanetary space.
    Inspector McCarthy shot by him toward the air lock in a
second, and pulled the inner door shut behind her. It immediately started
hissing, indicating that air was still escaping from the vestibule at an
alarming rate. Shocked out of his paralysis, Dolph thought quickly. By closing
the door while she went to retrieve Tina, Inspector McCarthy had insured that
at least he and Sasha would survive. He had to do something to help her and
Tina; give them more air for starters.
    “ Hopper ,” he directed, “start repressurizing the air
system as needed to keep the vestibule above point three bar, understand?”
    “Understood. I’ve established a feedback program to maintain
vestibule pressure at point three eight bar. This requires increasing the air
pressure, which means the leaks in the vestibule will get worse. Is that what
you want?”
    “Yes, do it!” He shouldn’t get impatient, he reminded
himself. Now, more than ever, the computer software had to understand its
commands.
    “Tina, can you hear me?” Sasha yelled.
    “Mommy!” Tina wailed, her voice coming in clearly from the
vestibule through the open outer door to the microphones in the air lock. “Get
away from me! Mommy, the witch is chasing me!”
    “Tina,” Sasha said as calmly as she could, wishing she’d
never shown the classic video to Tina. “Inspector McCarthy is not a witch. She’s
just trying to bring you to me. Please go with her.”
    “I don’t want to.”
    “Pretty please, Tina. Help the Inspector and I’ll give you
some ice cream.”
    Seconds went by, then Tina said in a tentative little voice,
“Okay.”
    “Tina, please come here,” Inspector McCarthy said. “Quickly,
child, we have to go quickly.”
    “Don’t hurt!”
    “I won’t hurt you, Tina. You can ride on my back where I can’t
even see you.”
    Quiet. Then, in a small voice, “Okay. But don’t hurt.”
    “I’ve got her,” Inspector McCarthy finally announced, “and
we’re heading back into the air lock.”
    Tina laughed. “This is fun . Giddiup, horsy!”
    Eons of seconds passed, McCarthy grunted and said. “Dolph, I
can’t move the outer