Analytical Questions — 6 Marks Each

Answer: Clarke places the story in a believable space station with free fall, construction work, air-purification systems and redundant alarms. Suspense grows through the narrator’s headache, Claribel’s disappearance and repeated collapse. At the same time, humour appears in comments about diets, hiding a canary from VIPs, the oxygen bottle as a ‘pipe of peace’ and the phrase ‘slightly dead’. Because humour and danger coexist, the science-fiction setting feels human while the final warning remains serious.

Answer: Claribel begins as Sven’s secret companion and becomes a shared source of enjoyment. Her sensitivity to oxygen shortage, however, gives her a new role. She becomes an independent biological sensor that detects danger before the humans and before the faulty alarm system. This transforms the meaning of friendship in the title: Claribel offers companionship, information and protection. Her presence also reminds the crew that sophisticated systems benefit from simple backups.