"Continue taking deep, slow breaths," the voice advised. "There is no need for any concern, because your pre-flight physical examination determined that you are well fitted to withstand the slight discomforts of space-travel. The several injections you received included carefully measured doses of narcotics designed to make your journey more pleasant.
"One injection relaxes all your muscles, which, in turn, lowers your metabolism and makes intravenous feeding adequate. You will know no hunger or nausea, even when we go into free-flight."
There had been no change in the voice at blast-off, and Pauker realized it must be recorded. It was all he could do to keep from swallowing his tongue. Talking would have been impossible. They relaxed your muscles, all right. It amounted to virtual paralysis!
Her spiel was clever, though. Rather than trying to lure people from thinking about their bodies, which would be virtually impossible, the woman's message dwelled on their sensations, making them sound normal. She enumerated the purposes of the seven inoculations, one by one, describing the immunities gained, and explaining the purposes of the several drug injections.
"In booth six," she said, "you received a mild narcotic which will allow you to drift into a time-consuming slumber if you so desire at any time. The nature of this drug is to invoke a feeling of extreme well-being, and the dreams that usually result are not dissimilar to the old opium dreams of the orient.
"The slumber is shallow, however, and you may retrieve your senses from the torpor at any moment with the slightest concentration."
Pauker was sweating profusely. Stuffy, he thought. No, just warm. There was a slowly moving flood of fresh air flowing over the whole length of his naked body, but it seemed, rather hot. The sweat oozed out heavily to bathe his body, then the warm, very dry air began evaporating it. Now the breeze felt delicious and cool.
Even as he wondered how the ship adjusted the air temperature to his own needs the female voice launched into an explanation.
"Perhaps the most interesting injection you received was the thermal adjustment retardation drug. At this moment many of you are experiencing delightful sensations of changing temperature. If you are too warm, the moving air will seem cool as an ocean breeze. When your skin cools, almost to the point of chill, then the air will seem to turn warm and cozy.
"Actually, the temperature of the air is held carefully at 98.6 degrees, Fahrenheit, the exact temperature of the normal human body. This is to help minimize your bodies' metabolism, or fuel consumption."