 Why did everyone have to wake up?
CAPTAIN CHAOS By D. ALLEN MORRISSEY Science equipped David Corbin with borrowed time; sent him winging out in a state of suspension to future centuries ... to a dark blue world whose only defense was to seal tight the prying minds of foolish interlopers. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories November 1952. There were round dials set in a row above a speaker. Over the mesh-covered speaker, two knobs glowed red. The muscles in my throat tightened up in reflex as I tried to bring some unity into the jumble of thoughts and ideas that kept forming. The mesh-covered hole and the two lights looked like a caricature of a face, set in a panel of dials. I reached down to the tightness that held my body, found the wide strap that held me and fumbled with the buckle. How do you describe being weightless when you are born into a world bound by gravity. There was no sensation of place, no feeling of up or down, no direction. My back bumped against the ceiling and I opened my eyes to stare at the cot and floor. That I was floating in a room that had a curved wall ... that nothing was right in this hostile room? I rubbed them across my face, feeling the solidity of flesh and bone, afraid to think too hard about myself. "My name ... my name is...." The name meant nothing to me, but I thought about it, watching the relentless lights that shone below the dials. Walking was like treading water that couldn't be seen or felt. I reasoned it was there to propel yourself through the passageway in this weightless atmosphere. Behind me I could see the opened door I had left, and the thought of that questioning voice made me want to move. I will always remember the scream of terror, the paralyzing fright of what I saw through the portholes in the wall of the room. They seemed to press against the glass, blobs of fire against a black curtain burning into my eyes and brain. After the first shock of looking out, I accepted the fact that I was in a space ship, yet I couldn't read the maps that were fastened to a table, nor understand the function or design of the compact machinery. WHY, Why, Why? Now it must tell me why I didn't. The red lights blinked out as I stood in patient attention, trying to outguess the voice. It was the only thing I saw that could help me, guard me against another shock like seeing outside of the clear portholes.
 Everyone had their own job on the ship that needed doing.
 Everyone had to help fly the ship so it wouldn't crash into the G type star.  Everyone worked in pairs in the same position so they needed their partners.  Everyone had their own job on the ship that needed doing.  Everyone remembered small elements of what was going on and wanted to keep the information to themselves.