mouse@mcgill-vision.UUCP (09/14/84)
This sounds an awful lot like Gateway (by Frederik Pohl). > The story takes place in the future, where resources are scarce. My > aunt recalls a description of taking a shower, with a five minute > hot water allotment. SHOWER PROCEDURE This shower will automatically deliver two 45-second sprays. Soap between sprays. You are entitled to 1 use of the shower in each 3-day period. Additional showers may be charged against your credit balance at the rate of 45 seconds--$5 Actually, Bob's crew finds a black hole, not a double star. The time dialation (remember relativity?) due to the high gravity there is what causes this "still suffering". There is a sequel, BEYOND THE BLUE EVENT HORIZON, which clears up only some of the points raised. If there is a sequel to BEYOND THE BLUE EVENT HORIZON, would someone please mail me a reference? der Mouse (....ihnp4!uw-beaver!utcsrgv!mcgill-vision!mouse) "Hacker: One responsible for destroying the superblock" "Wizard: One responsible for bringing it back afterward"