Some time ago I was working as first mate on a ship ostensibly for civilian transportation, but most of the business was spent as a shipping company. The long h

Some time ago I was working as first mate on a ship ostensibly for civilian transportation, but most of the business was spent as a shipping company. The long haul freighter that was the core of the business was maybe 60-70 years old, and we rode it hard. Often it would break down in transit, and we'd have to make unscheduled stops for repair. The ship used analog computers to control propulsion and navigation, and the damn compressor was constantly on the fritz. Once we took on a ragged pair of passengers at a backwater port, an old man with a snot-nosed kid. When they got to the hanger, the boy says, "what a piece of junk," and the captain explained "she may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."