Astronauts

Gentian finds herself talking to the machinery while Ackroyd quite happily holds conversations with himself. Mattocks is concerned about both of them and discusses it with the only person he can trust — Bimbo.

Ackroyd denounces the whole mission as a big publicity stunt. Mattocks, meanwhile, has been caught out acting furtively and sending scrambled messages. Gentian and Ackroyd want to know what's happening but it's top secret...

Mattocks is pining for his wife but he gets no sympathy from the other two, who are determined to see that he lives up to his domestic responsibilities while he's at the space station. Beadle has a hot date.

Ackroyd is concerned that he is now maintaining some of the systems beyond their level of tolerance — emergency repairs are now the norm. During one of the blackouts Gentian sees a bright object outside her lab window.

One week to go and the crew breaks the record for the longest spaceflight in history. Beadle is ecstatic but Mattocks is behaving more strangely than normal, questioning things at a cosmic level — much to the annoyance of the other two.

After six months, the mission is completed and it's time to go home. Mattocks' recent epiphany still annoys the other two, and concern over re-entry has caused group insomnia. Ackroyd doesn't want to go home.