[Home] ©Pyotr Patrushev  rustran@gmail.com See Pyotr's translation and interpreting webpage: www.russiantranslate.org     The Health Race: Finding a Cure for Isolation     illustration ©Simon and Schuster (used with permission) Once upon a time, a large ocean cruiser was going on a tour of the Pacific. It was visiting various exotic ports, life on board was full of gaiety and entertainment, food was sumptuous and rich – so much so that the ship's surgeon often had to deal with cases of overindulgence, indigestion and even heart attacks and other ailments, brought upon by the diet and lifestyle of the clientele. When the guests were not wining and dining or watching TV, or taking part in various games and entertainments, they were mostly asleep on their cabins or dozing off in their deck chairs alongside the pool. Then, one day, the captain of the boat committed an indiscretion: he had left his cabin open, and one of the revellers, whose name was Hapless Paul, had by chance wondered into the cabin and idly began to leaf through the pages of the boat's journal. Great was his surprise when, opening the journal, Hapless Paul discovered that he was aboard a former pirate ship with many infamous raids to its record. More than that, the ship, as the log book and the journal showed, was still staffed and steered by the descendants of the original crew! He rushed to the aft and looked carefully at the flag which was gently fluttering in the winds. Yes, indeed! Underneath the new paint, there was the scull and the cross-bones, betraying the ship's true origin. Astounded, and yet unwilling to alarm his fellow passengers, Hapless Paul went into the machine section and found that underneath the gleaming machinery of the ship there were marks betraying the benches on which the slave oarsmen have sat in the past. He could also swear that some of the engine-room crew, who met him with sullen and unfriendly gazes, were descendants of the original slaves, with marks of chains still left on their ankles and necks. And well below the decks he even found a secret compartment, in which crew members who were diseased or who went insane during a long and arduous voyage were incarcerated out of the view of the passengers, so that they would not be distressed by such a dreadful sight. Still below was a small dungeon, in which animals were kept in most terrible conditions, to be slaughtered for the pleasure of the guests, who preferred fresh meat to the frozen variety. Now truly alarmed, Hapless Paul went to the top deck. He could no longer enjoy the meal, which was being served by the servants, clad in spotless white uniforms. He was beginning to look with pity at the other passengers who, unaware of what was going on, went on mindlessly engaging in their games and revelries and flirtations, as if the cruise was going to last forever. More than that, Hapless Paul noticed on the horizon another pleasure cruiser under a seemingly friendly flag, steaming in a direction similar to theirs. That night, Hapless Paul could no longer even sleep. He was thinking of the discoveries he had made. He was getting pretty scared. Was that passing liner another pirate ship in disguise? What ignominies and cruelties could it be hiding under its decks? What if the crew at some point decided to drop the disguise and enslave the passengers? What was he to do? Tell the other fellow passengers of his discoveries? Will they believe him? Or will the captain throw him, under some sanitary pretext, under the deck into the isolation ward, together with the raving lunatics and the diseased? Should he jump off at the first port and disappear into the crowd without ever telling anyone what he had seen? Should he keep quiet until more people discover the secret of the ship? Or should he trumpet the news from the mast, hoping that people will believe him and will shake themselves out of their ignorant and dangerous slumber? Thus, Hapless Paul lay sleepless in his luxury cabin, twisting and turning in his bed, thinking about his dreadful dilemma. NOW If you were Hapless Paul, what would YOU do the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, while the ship kept steaming through the seemingly calm seas to its unknown destination? NOTE: You can use colour crayons or pencils to illustrate your solution to the story Once upon a time, a large ocean cruiser was going on a tour of the Pacific. It was visiting various exotic ports, life on board was full of gaiety and entertainment, food was sumptuous and rich – so much so that the ship's surgeon often had to deal with cases of overindulgence, indigestion and even heart attacks and other ailments, brought upon by the diet and lifestyle of the clientele. When the guests were not wining and dining or watching TV, or taking part in various games and entertainments, they were mostly asleep on their cabins or dozing off in their deck chairs alongside the pool. Then, one day, the captain of the boat committed an indiscretion: he had left his cabin open, and one of the revellers, whose name was Hapless Paul, had by chance wondered into the cabin and idly began to leaf through the pages of the boat's journal. Great was his surprise when, opening the journal, Hapless Paul discovered that he was aboard a former pirate ship with many infamous raids to its record. More than that, the ship, as the log book and the journal showed, was still staffed and steered by the descendants of the original crew! He rushed to the aft and looked carefully at the flag which was gently fluttering in the winds. Yes, indeed! Underneath the new paint, there was the scull and the cross-bones, betraying the ship's true origin. Astounded, and yet unwilling to alarm his fellow passengers, Hapless Paul went into the machine section and found that underneath the gleaming machinery of the ship there were marks betraying the benches on which the slave oarsmen have sat in the past. He could also swear that some of the engine-room crew, who met him with sullen and unfriendly gazes, were descendants of the original slaves, with marks of chains still left on their ankles and necks. And well below the decks he even found a secret compartment, in which crew members who were diseased or who went insane during a long and arduous voyage were incarcerated out of the view of the passengers, so that they would not be distressed by such a dreadful sight. Still below was a small dungeon, in which animals were kept in most terrible conditions, to be slaughtered for the pleasure of the guests, who preferred fresh meat to the frozen variety. Now truly alarmed, Hapless Paul went to the top deck. He could no longer enjoy the meal, which was being served by the servants, clad in spotless white uniforms. He was beginning to look with pity at the other passengers who, unaware of what was going on, went on mindlessly engaging in their games and revelries and flirtations, as if the cruise was going to last forever. More than that, Hapless Paul noticed on the horizon another pleasure cruiser under a seemingly friendly flag, steaming in a direction similar to theirs. That night, Hapless Paul could no longer even sleep. He was thinking of the discoveries he had made. He was getting pretty scared. Was that passing liner another pirate ship in disguise? What ignominies and cruelties could it be hiding under its decks? What if the crew at some point decided to drop the disguise and enslave the passengers? What was he to do? Tell the other fellow passengers of his discoveries? Will they believe him? Or will the captain throw him, under some sanitary pretext, under the deck into the isolation ward, together with the raving lunatics and the diseased? Should he jump off at the first port and disappear into the crowd without ever telling anyone what he had seen? Should he keep quiet until more people discover the secret of the ship? Or should he trumpet the news from the mast, hoping that people will believe him and will shake themselves out of their ignorant and dangerous slumber? Thus, Hapless Paul lay sleepless in his luxury cabin, twisting and turning in his bed, thinking about his dreadful dilemma. NOW If you were Hapless Paul, what would YOU do the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, while the ship kept steaming through the seemingly calm seas to its unknown destination? NOTE: You can use colour crayons or pencils to illustrate your solution to the story

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