It will never happen on earth

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. But they can hear it at the international space station. It is still an extension of earth. Rules still apply. Laws still apply. Even some forms of gravity still apply. Hence discrimination also applies.

“All around me, planet earth goes by” thought Zubin quietly, as he watched the earth go by through the windows of the ISS. He could see the Himalayas zoom by just this minute. He could see the season change and human activity change with day and night. He could make out certain cities existing. Whenever there is a large blob of light, it is normally a city.

“And yet for the first time, I have been the victim of a hate crime” he thought to himself.

Zubin Khambhatta was the first person to tick every single minority group except gender or gender identity tom blast into space. He was autosexual, British Asian, Zoroastrian and had hemiplegia B. Since the 2010’s there had been pictures of celebrities welcoming people into the London Heathrow terminals. Tim Peake, another astronaut like him. George Major, a pearly king (who by the way lived till 110) and the winner of some bake off winner- Nadia something. These days Heathrow had 17 terminals and holograms of the loch ness monster (who had been discovered to be a reptile), Queen Elizabeth (who had now was the world oldest person), and the guy who stopped World War Four simply by persuading Amazon and Space X not to do it.

Zubin was expecting for there to be statue of him, a park named after him, or the university of Oxford renaming their Reuben college after him. He had got this role through diversity. He had trained in space travel since the ESA started its disabled person’s programme. But he had blackmailed, lied, and threated people using the race, religion, sexuality, and disability cards. There had been no one else who was a minority in more than one way. So, when one card, failed the other three were successful. He remembered the days of his childhood where he and his friends would walk down the street and threaten people for E-money , and if they didn’t, they would stage a hate crime. Never in a million years had he thought about what happened to him -in space. And he had always wondered what would happen if the Simpsons 53rd season was its last.

It all started normally. He hadn’t met his crew since the 5th covid pandemic was still ongoing. So, he didn’t know anything about them. He knew there were three citizens of the European Union colony of Russia and one other United Kingdom of England and Wales citizen. They were all cis males, and this had caused a riot until Zubin had been introduced. So, once again diversity saved him and the ESA.

It was when they were first on the ISS, when it was floating over his own city of London, with a population of 23 million, had he for the first time ever heard derogatory language.

Yuri , one of the Russians was first to be ejected from their seats and floated around in thin air. He simply pressed the button and effortlessly glided into the ISS.

He looked at the other crew as they easily unstrapped themselves. The other three were slower, but they too simply pressed a button.

Only Zubin was let out manually. He had a special wrap around him due to his hemiplegia B. Thus he was the last to be freed.

It was there, miles above the earth that he first heard a word. A word which he had used to hurt others by accusing them of calling him it. A word which no one not even he could use. A word that was the most surreal experience in his life

Yuri, the EUCR citizen opened his mouth and started in accented Russian. “Oh, great we have to work with his sp**”.