PLOT

Exposition :

In 2045, a spaceship is heading towards planet Trion. Being the only child onboard, Trish finds it difficult to adapt being all alone most of the time.

Rising action :

Trish feels lonely and bored with only VP ( a VoicePrinter) as her playmate, tutor and friend. She yearns for human companionship.Through VP, Trish gets an idea on creating a clone or making ‘another Me”. She secretly clones her own companion in the Biolab. She calls her identical twin “Clo”.

Climax:

Soon Trish begins to get tired of Clo as her mannerism which mirrors her, begins to irritate her. The breaking point is when Clo starts to refer to Trish’s mum as her own. This makes Trish really angry and she plans to ‘dispose’ off Clo forever through the disposal hatch system.

Falling action :Soon Trish begins to get tired of Clo as her mannerism which mirrors her, begins to irritate her. The breaking point is when Clo starts to refer to Trish’s mum as her own. This makes Trish really angry and she plans to ‘dispose’ off Clo forever through the disposal hatch system.

Resolution :

The story ends with a twist when the diary entry shows that Clo managed to turn the tables on Trish and disposed off her instead.Clo assumes Trish’s identity and succeeds in deceiving Trish’s dad as well.

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010

LITERARY DEVICES

Point of View

The story is told in the first person point of view. The first person narration enables the writer to vividly describe the actions and emotions of the characters in the short story. The readers have access to the thoughts and emotions of the main character, Trish, and later, Clo, after she murders Trish.

Style

A simple science fiction written as diary entries, in the form of dialogues. The diary entries allow us to get closer to the main character and her thoughts through simple and straightforward writing.

Repetition

“I’m sick of Me. I’m sick of being the only child on the ship. I’m sick of computer images and sounds” (p. 44)

“When Clo has nothing to do, it’s always pick, pick, pick” (p.48)

Trish repeats the word “sick” to emphasise her disappointment and frustration of being the only child on board the spaceship. She repeats the word “pick” to show her disgust of Clo’s irrirating picking habit.

Imagery

“Rolling bits of skin around a fingernail.” and “They writhe and fiddle all the time.”

(p. 48-49 – Para 1 – Line 6-8)

One can visualise what Clo is doing with her fingernails. One may find this an irritating habit. This obviously annoys Trish. However, looking at her age and her ability to understand, she fails to realise that Clo is just a mirror image of herself since they are both duplicates. By reprimanding Clo, she is indirectly reprimanding herself as she has the exact same habit. In fact, Clo points out, “Look – do you mind? Stop picking at yourself”

Irony

“I can’t stand the way Clo’s mind works. I can’t stand Clo’s corny jokes, and her dismal sulks. I can’t stand Clo’s laugh or eating habits or her finger picking”

(p. 52 – Para 2 – Line 2-4)

The irony of the situation above is, Trish finds Clo’s habits irritating and it begins to irk her. However, she fails to see that Clo’s habits are just a reflection of her own habits. Clo is her exact replica. Hence, Clo’s corny jokes, sulks, laughter and eating habits, the very things she can’t stand, are the things that she does herself. This is truly ironic. Trish may have created a clone but her immaturity in understanding this, brought about her own downfall.

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010

VALUES

1. Family bonding

2. Think before you leap

3. Be thankful for what we have

4. Two wrongs do not make a right

5. Aware of our weaknesses and shortcomings

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010

THEMES

Cloning

Trish clones herself in order to have a companion during her lonely days in the spaceship. However, her utopian plan backfires and in the end Trish is disposed off by ‘Clo’ and her place taken over by ‘Clo’.

Friendship and companionship.

Being the only child on a spaceship with both her parents unable to spend time with her, Trish longs for friendship and companionship. The VoicePrinter cannot provide all her needs and she resorts to cloning to ‘make another Me’, so that she can have a friend and companion of her own age.

Loneliness

Despite having the latest technology around her, Trish feels “sick of computer images and sounds”. She wishes for someone to talk to, a companion to share her feelings and emotions. She longs for someone of her own age.

Science and Technology

The advancement of science and technology have led to an invention of a spaceship carrying humans to outer space. Trish has a VoicePrinter as a companion which she could communicate with. Through science and technology too, Trish succeeded in creating a clone of herself. Trish’s mother is busy setting up a space station on Trion.

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010

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CHARACTER

Characters and Characteristics

There are four characters in this short story. Two main characters in this stories which are Trish and Clo. Meanwhile , Trish's Dad and Voice Printer (VP) are the supporting character.

Trish

Main character

11 years old; the only child on the spaceship heading towards Trion.

Lonely and bored.

Misses personal interactions with

her parents as her Dad is busy with his

work and Mum is away.

Relies on the VoicePrinter (VP) for companionship and information.

Intelligent: she masters the cloning technology

and created a clone of herself.

Short sighted as her cloning plan backfires.

Clo becomes a nuisance to her.

Clo in turn gets rid of Trish through the

Disposal Hatch instead

Clo

Identical twin created by Trish in the

Biolab using cloning technology.

Trish’s friend and companion before she

‘got sick’ of her.

Quick thinking as she out

manoeuvres

Trish and gets rid of her creator.

Cautious, as she assumes Trish’s

identity at the end of the story.

Trish’s Dad

Executive Officer of the spaceship.

Busy and preoccupied with work as

the captain of the spaceship.

Tries to spend time with Trish, his

daughter at the diner; indulging her

with chocolate milkshakes.

Does not realise that Trish has been

replaced by Clo at the end of the story

Voice Printer (VP)

Versatile and intelligent computer.

Tutor and companion to Trish in her

lonely days.

An avenue for Trish’s private thoughts, feelings and opinions.

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010

SETTINGS

Setting in this short stories can be divided into two. There are :

Social setting

Physical setting

Social setting involves time and period

Time

The story takes place in a spaceship which is in orbit in 2045

and will only

reach its destination, Trion, in 2 year’s time.

Period

The era of space exploration and advancement in computer technology

enable human cloning to become a reality.

Meanwhile for physical setting involves are mainly in the spaceship.

Corridor

The passageways that run along the length of the spaceship.

Toilet/loo

Situated down the corridor where Trish and Clo accidentally saw themselves face to face.

Diner

Venue where Trish and her dad spend their time together having chocolate milkshakes.

Cabin

Trish’s personal living cubicle which is equipped with an intelligent computer called VoicePrinter (VP).

Biolab

A biology lab where ‘Clo’ was cloned.

Store

A room where basic necessities like toothbrushes, towels, etc are stored.

Disposal System

5 disposal hatches around the spaceship where unwanted things are disposed off into infinite space.

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010

SYNOPSIS

“One is One and All Alone” by Nicholas Fisk is a science fiction story, set in 2045. The main character is Trish, an 11-year old girl who is the only child on a spaceship to Trion. Her father is the Executive Officer of the spaceship and her mother is in Trion helping to set up a space station. She will only meet her mother in mid January 2047.

After three months, she feels lonely and bored as she does not have any real friends to talk to except her private, multi-functional diary: the VoicePrinter (VP). VP is an intelligent computer which keeps Trish entertained with its ability to perform many functions.

Through her dialogue sessions with VP, Trish learns about clones and the cloning process. The idea of cloning fascinates Trish and she soon decides to create a clone to keep her company in the spaceship Biolab without her father’s knowledge. She names her new identical twin “Clo” and initially it becomes her perfect friend and companion. They have fun playing and sharing their time together.

However, certain mannerism of Clo begins to irritate Trish as the clone behaves and thinks like her. Soon they start to argue and disagree with each other over trivial matters. The last straw happens one night when Clo starts referring to Trish’s mum as her mum and this upsets Trish as she feels her privacy is being invaded.

The next day, Trish opens up her diary and confides in VP that she does not like to be “swamped, invaded and taken over.” At that instant, she decides to dispose off Clo forever through the “DISPOSAL” hatch near her cabin.

The story ends with a twist when it is Trish who is disposed by Clo. Clo then assumes Trish’s identity and Trish’s dad is not aware of the change at all. Clo then enjoys being “one is one and all alone” and her new lease of life as Trish in the spaceship.

credit to : Curriculum Development Division.Ministry of Education Malaysia 2010