A Voice for the Canteen

The loudspeaker in the moon-base canteen has not said a clear word for three years. It mumbles, and everybody pretends to understand.

Pengeras suara di kantin pangkalan bulan itu sudah tiga tahun tidak mengucapkan satu kata pun dengan jelas. Alat itu bergumam, dan semua orang berpura-pura mengerti.

Asha runs the canteen. Every morning she stands behind the long steel counter and listens to the speaker explain the day's menu. It sounds like a sleepy person talking under a blanket.

Asha mengelola kantin. Setiap pagi ia berdiri di balik meja baja yang panjang dan mendengarkan pengeras suara itu menjelaskan menu hari itu. Bunyinya seperti orang mengantuk yang berbicara di bawah selimut.

"Today we have noodles, mm, beans, and, mm-hm, extra rice," the speaker says.

"Hari ini ada mi, mm, kacang, dan, mm-hm, nasi tambah," kata pengeras suara itu.

"Extra what?" asks a technician at the front of the line.

"Tambah apa?" tanya seorang teknisi di depan antrean.

"Extra rice," Asha says. "It always means rice."

"Nasi tambah," kata Asha. "Itu selalu berarti nasi."

By ten o'clock, Aziz arrives to eat his second breakfast. He is the base's repair technician, and he carries a small metal toolbox everywhere, even to meals. He sits at the end of the counter and puts a printed form in front of her.

Pukul sepuluh, Aziz datang untuk sarapan keduanya. Ia teknisi perbaikan di pangkalan itu, dan ia membawa kotak perkakas logam kecil ke mana-mana, bahkan saat makan. Ia duduk di ujung meja dan meletakkan selembar formulir cetak di hadapan Asha.

"The supply capsule leaves Earth tomorrow at eight o'clock," he says. "The commander has given us one free slot for the canteen. We must send our order before tonight's meal."

"Kapsul pasokan berangkat dari Bumi besok pukul delapan," katanya. "Komandan memberi kita satu jatah kosong untuk kantin. Kita harus mengirim pesanan sebelum makan malam nanti."

Asha reads the form. It has two boxes, and only one can be ticked.

Asha membaca formulir itu. Ada dua kotak, dan hanya satu yang boleh dicentang.

"Box one is a new speaker unit with a clear voice," she says. "Box two is a tray of real soil and four hundred seeds."

"Kotak pertama unit pengeras suara baru dengan suara yang jelas," katanya. "Kotak kedua sebaki tanah asli dan empat ratus biji."

"Basil, mint and peppers," Aziz says, and his eyes shine. "Fresh leaves in a month. Do you remember what a fresh leaf smells like?"

"Kemangi, mint, dan cabai," kata Aziz, matanya berbinar. "Daun segar sebulan lagi. Kamu ingat bau daun segar itu seperti apa?"

"Of course I do. I am a cook." Asha folds her arms. "But I also remember what I did on Monday. I told sixty people that the noodle line was closed. Half of them heard that the moon was closed."

"Tentu saja ingat. Aku kan juru masak." Asha melipat tangannya. "Tapi aku juga ingat apa yang kulakukan hari Senin. Aku bilang kepada enam puluh orang bahwa antrean mi ditutup. Separuh dari mereka mengira bulan yang ditutup."

Aziz laughs. "That was funny."

Aziz tertawa. "Itu lucu."

"It was not funny when they all went to the airlock."

"Tidak lucu waktu mereka semua pergi ke ruang kedap udara."

"The speaker is old," he says, "but it works. I have opened it three times. The wires are fine, the chip is fine, and the voice board is fine. It mumbles because it wants to mumble."

"Pengeras suara itu memang tua," katanya, "tapi masih berfungsi. Sudah tiga kali kubongkar. Kabelnya baik, cipnya baik, papan suaranya baik. Ia bergumam karena ia memang mau bergumam."

"A machine cannot want things."

"Mesin tidak bisa menginginkan sesuatu."

"On this base, I am not sure." Aziz lowers his voice. "The old crew say the first cook talked to that speaker every night. They say it learned to whisper from her."

"Di pangkalan ini, aku tidak yakin." Aziz merendahkan suaranya. "Kru lama bilang juru masak pertama bicara kepada pengeras suara itu setiap malam. Katanya alat itu belajar berbisik darinya."

"That is a story for new arrivals," Asha says, but she smiles anyway.

"Itu cerita untuk orang yang baru datang," kata Asha, tetapi ia tersenyum juga.

He puts a finger on the form. "I vote for the garden. Both choices are good, so we should pick the one that makes us happy."

Ia menaruh satu jari di atas formulir. "Aku memilih kebun. Kedua pilihan itu bagus, jadi sebaiknya kita pilih yang membuat kita bahagia."

Asha thinks about that for a long moment. She likes the idea of green leaves in the grey canteen. She likes it so much that she feels almost guilty.

Asha memikirkannya cukup lama. Ia menyukai gagasan tentang daun-daun hijau di kantin yang kelabu. Begitu sukanya sampai ia hampir merasa bersalah.

"I will decide before the evening meal," she says. "Give me one day to check something."

"Aku akan memutuskan sebelum makan malam," katanya. "Beri aku satu hari untuk memeriksa sesuatu."

All afternoon, she watches the speaker. At two o'clock it mumbles that the library will close early. At three it announces a movie night, but nobody understands which movie. At four, it says something about the water recycler, and a worried engineer runs out of the room. Asha writes each mistake on a paper napkin and puts the napkins in her apron pocket. By five, she has eleven.

Sepanjang sore, ia mengamati pengeras suara itu. Pukul dua, alat itu bergumam bahwa perpustakaan akan tutup lebih awal. Pukul tiga, alat itu mengumumkan malam film, tetapi tak ada yang mengerti film yang mana. Pukul empat, alat itu mengatakan sesuatu tentang pendaur ulang air, dan seorang insinyur yang cemas berlari keluar ruangan. Asha menulis setiap kesalahan di serbet kertas dan memasukkan serbet-serbet itu ke saku celemeknya. Pukul lima, ia punya sebelas.

At six thirty, the commander's voice arrives on the wall screen with a short message. "Corridor C will close at seven for filter repair. Please use Corridor A. Thank you."

Pukul enam tiga puluh, suara komandan muncul di layar dinding dengan pesan singkat. "Koridor C akan ditutup pukul tujuh untuk perbaikan filter. Mohon gunakan Koridor A. Terima kasih."

Asha nods to herself. Then she presses the speaker button and reads the message into the microphone. She speaks slowly and clearly. She wants to see what the speaker does with it.

Asha mengangguk pada dirinya sendiri. Lalu ia menekan tombol pengeras suara dan membacakan pesan itu ke dalam mikrofon. Ia berbicara pelan dan jelas. Ia ingin melihat apa yang akan dilakukan pengeras suara itu dengan pesannya.

The old speaker clears its throat with a soft crackle. "Corridor, mm-mm, closes at, mm, seven. Please use, mm, see."

Pengeras suara tua itu berdeham dengan derak lembut. "Koridor, mm-mm, ditutup pukul, mm, tujuh. Mohon gunakan, mm, se."

"Please use what?" asks a young man by the door. "Corridor C?"

"Gunakan apa?" tanya seorang pemuda di dekat pintu. "Koridor C?"

"I think it said C," says a woman beside him.

"Kurasa tadi bilang C," kata seorang wanita di sebelahnya.

By seven, twenty people stand in front of the sealed door of Corridor C. They hold their trays and look confused. Some of them have been walking for ten minutes. A technician arrives late to the filter repair because nobody told him it had started. Aziz hurries into the canteen with his toolbox, out of breath, and finds Asha standing by the counter.

Pukul tujuh, dua puluh orang berdiri di depan pintu Koridor C yang tertutup rapat. Mereka memegang nampan dan tampak bingung. Beberapa dari mereka sudah berjalan selama sepuluh menit. Seorang teknisi terlambat tiba untuk perbaikan filter karena tak ada yang memberitahunya bahwa pekerjaan itu sudah dimulai. Aziz bergegas masuk ke kantin dengan kotak perkakasnya, terengah-engah, dan mendapati Asha berdiri di dekat meja.

"Did you do this on purpose?" he asks.

"Kamu sengaja melakukan ini?" tanyanya.

"I read the message exactly as it was written," Asha says. "Look at the line. They are tired and hungry, and some of them are standing at a closed door. Today it was only a filter. What if tomorrow it is something serious?"

"Aku membacakan pesannya persis seperti yang tertulis," kata Asha. "Lihat antrean itu. Mereka lelah dan lapar, dan sebagian berdiri di depan pintu yang tertutup. Hari ini hanya filter. Bagaimana kalau besok sesuatu yang serius?"

Aziz looks at the crowd. A little girl, the commander's daughter, pulls at her mother's sleeve and asks which way they should go. Nobody can answer her.

Aziz memandang kerumunan itu. Seorang gadis kecil, putri komandan, menarik lengan baju ibunya dan bertanya mereka harus lewat mana. Tak seorang pun bisa menjawabnya.

"I see," he says quietly.

"Aku mengerti," katanya pelan.

"We can plant seeds next month," Asha says. "A voice that people can understand cannot wait. If the garden is good now, it will still be good later. But if somebody mishears an emergency tonight, nothing will be good."

"Kita bisa menanam biji bulan depan," kata Asha. "Suara yang bisa dimengerti orang tidak bisa menunggu. Kalau kebunnya bagus sekarang, ia akan tetap bagus nanti. Tapi kalau malam ini ada yang salah dengar tentang keadaan darurat, tak ada yang akan baik."

She tears the form from the clipboard and ticks box one. Then she signs her name, and Aziz signs under it. At seven fifty-five, he walks to the commander's office and drops the paper into the order slot.

Ia merobek formulir itu dari papan jepit dan mencentang kotak pertama. Lalu ia menandatangani namanya, dan Aziz menandatangani di bawahnya. Pukul tujuh lima puluh lima, ia berjalan ke kantor komandan dan menjatuhkan kertas itu ke celah pesanan.

"Next month, the seeds are mine," he says when he returns.

"Bulan depan, bijinya jadi urusanku," katanya saat kembali.

"Next month, the soil is yours," Asha agrees. "And I will cook with the first leaf."

"Bulan depan, tanahnya urusanmu," Asha setuju. "Dan aku akan memasak dengan daun pertamanya."

The capsule arrives nine days later. The new speaker comes in a white box, wrapped in soft foam. It is smaller than Asha expects, with a silver front and one round blue light. Aziz takes the old speaker off the wall and puts the new one in its place. His hands move slowly, almost kindly.

Kapsul itu tiba sembilan hari kemudian. Pengeras suara baru itu datang dalam kotak putih, terbungkus busa lembut. Ukurannya lebih kecil daripada yang diperkirakan Asha, dengan bagian depan berwarna perak dan satu lampu biru bundar. Aziz menurunkan pengeras suara lama dari dinding dan memasang yang baru di tempatnya. Tangannya bergerak pelan, hampir penuh kasih.

When he plugs it in, the room goes quiet. Everyone looks at the wall.

Ketika ia menyambungkannya, ruangan menjadi hening. Semua orang menatap dinding.

"Good evening," says the new speaker, in a clear, bright voice. "Tonight the canteen is serving noodles, beans and extra rice."

"Selamat malam," kata pengeras suara baru itu, dengan suara yang jelas dan cerah. "Malam ini kantin menyajikan mi, kacang, dan nasi tambah."

The whole room cheers. Someone throws a napkin into the air, and the commander's daughter claps both hands. Asha laughs so hard that she has to hold on to the counter.

Seluruh ruangan bersorak. Seseorang melempar serbet ke udara, dan putri komandan bertepuk tangan. Asha tertawa begitu keras sampai harus berpegangan pada meja.

Late that night, after the last tray is washed, Asha walks through the empty canteen. Aziz has put the old speaker in a box on the storage shelf, with a blanket around it. She turns off the lights and stops at the door.

Larut malam itu, setelah nampan terakhir dicuci, Asha berjalan melintasi kantin yang kosong. Aziz telah menaruh pengeras suara lama di dalam kotak di rak penyimpanan, dengan selimut membungkusnya. Ia mematikan lampu dan berhenti di pintu.

Behind her, the box makes a tiny sound. She looks over her shoulder. The blanket moves a little, as if somebody is breathing under it.

Di belakangnya, kotak itu mengeluarkan bunyi kecil. Ia menoleh ke balik bahunya. Selimut itu bergerak sedikit, seolah-olah seseorang sedang bernapas di bawahnya.

Then, for the first time in three years, the old speaker says one word clearly.

Lalu, untuk pertama kalinya dalam tiga tahun, pengeras suara tua itu mengucapkan satu kata dengan jelas.

"Wait."

"Tunggu."