But the green wire doesn't cut.  Beads of sweat run down your forehead.  Suddenly, you wonder whether or not the green wire really is the one to cut.  You remember that Lothair is "a few stars short of a galaxy," according to one Spacer.  If he made a bomb, he might decide to make the yellow or the red wire the one to actually blow up the bomb.  Or maybe there's a detonator in the radio, or one hidden in the explosives.  Maybe the wires on the outside don't do anything at all!  If that's true, you might not be able to disarm the bomb!  You wonder whether or not to try cutting a different wire.

    You hesitate for a minute.  Then you move the wire cutter to the red wire.  But you stop and think about that one for a moment.

    Then you move the wire cutter to the yellow wire.  But you aren't really sure about that one either.  Maybe you should try cutting a different wire...  Or maybe, you might want to stick with the green wire after all.  You move the cutter back to the green wire...  It's your last chance to try something different.

    You say a prayer, and you clamp your hand shut as tight as you can.  You hear the two sharp edges of the wire cutter snap shut.  The two ends of the green wire pop out of the wire cutter's jaws.  When you look down at the bomb, it looks just like it did before, except that the green wire is now cut.

    Then, suddenly, you can hear Lothair's voice.  The radio must also have a speaker on it!

    "Thank you for cutting the green wire!  You Spacers just don't get the clue, do you?  When I say:  'keep your hands off of my bombs!' I really do mean for you to keep your hands off!  What part of that didn't you understand?"  Lothair pauses to laugh.  "I guess you don't want to be my slaves.  You must want to be dead instead!  You now have five minutes to get away from the Farragut, before every bomb on the ship explodes."

    You wonder if five minutes is long enough to defuse the bomb before it explodes.  You move your wire cutter to the red and yellow wires, to cut them both.  But Lothair shouts:  "BOO!"  It scares you, and you drop the wire cutter.

    "You know what," Lothair says, "I lied.  I said you have five minutes, when I really meant YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS!  HA!  HA!  HA!  HA!  HA!"

    For the first three seconds of the timer's count down, you try to find the wire cutter.  But it landed somewhere, and now you can't find it.  When there's just two seconds left, you realize that it wouldn't matter anyway, because the other bombs are still out there, and they are going to explode even if you stop this one.  You give up and wait for the explosion.  It doesn't take long for it to happen, and when it does, the last thought in your mind is this:  "I should have cut the red wire!!!"  But it's too late.  The Farragut explodes a few moments later, killing everyone aboard.
 
 

Maybe you want to go back and try a different wire...