Imagine the door frame more solid than this, floor to ceiling.Russian cafes fall roughly into two categories - the old and the new. The old have natural airconditioning, as I call it and are not noted for either the service or the food quality. The new use the latest materials but things can be built in an interesting manner.
They like to use this plastic covered metal which we have for window frames, only they use it for anything, including bathroom doors. Another thing they often do is not think of consequences because a Russian simply can't plan. He's friendly, brave and handsome but he can't plan.
Therefore, when our anti-hero lost his girlfriend and went to the cafe to drown his sorrows, a number of things happened. One was that, near closing time, he went to the loo and what with one thing and another, he fell asleep. Now, the door to the loo closed in a snug fit with the metal lip of the frame [draughts in a Russian winter can be unpleasant] and though there was an extractor fan inside, it did not connect with the outside world but into another room at the back and through a tiny opening.
About this time, the waitress went off-duty and the manager and the floor manager came in, cupboards, doors and anything lockable was locked, including the loo, the lights were switched off and the building vacated until the next morning. As this cafe was in town, there were no houses and thus no one about in the wee hours.
When he came to, our anti-hero realized the situation, hollered and tried to kick down the door, except that it opened inwards and now, as he wrenched at it, the handle came off. There was water in the bowl, water in the taps at the wash basin but the air was becoming musty because of course, all the power had been turned off and he was in pitch black.
When his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was not in complete pitch black, as the tiny connecting hole of the fan admitted some air flow but not enough and it was becoming clear that his air supply was ever so slowly diminishing.
Now he had some decisions to make. If he shouted, he used the air. If he tried to break down the door, that had consequences too.
What should his steps have been?
He pulles his mobile phone out and calls for help on it.
ReplyDeleteHe realises that he's actually one of the x-men, and does that slidey thing under the door?
ReplyDeleteMobile didn't work in that part of town and in that cubicle - he tried it.
ReplyDeleteThe door closes onto an aluminium door frame.
I am going to sound like an idiot here no doubt ,but, oh well.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to both create and conserve oxygen. So, he should turn the taps on and go back to sleep.
I am going to change my answer a bit.
ReplyDeletePut the plug in sink, and fill the basin with hot water,then go back to sleep.
Oh, dear, what a clamity...
ReplyDeleteDepends... Did he try the Cell phone by the fan hole? If the cubicle is metal lined it would block electromagnetic signals.
If the room is small enough and anti-hero strong enough the he braces himself against the wall and pushes with his legs and the door opens.
Or he could pull the fan off and breathe thru the hole.
Or here's a solution that is sheer genius... at least as far as not suffocating goes. No need for thanks or applause...
ReplyDeleteAnti-Hero carefully prizes the fan out of the wall and puts the fan blades under sink the tap.
He turns on the tap and the water turns the blade generating electricity.
He then trails the loose power wires in the escaping tap water using the electricity to make hydrogen and... Oxygen.
Yaaay! He survives the night..
He unscrews the fan screws with the phillips head screwdriver on his key chain.
ReplyDeleteHe could have done it a number of ways with what was in the cubicle. Remember that there was a basin and odds and ends in there as well. He could have broken the wastepaper bin and used the metal edge. It's not cheating, as it's not a problem.
That only gives him exposed brickwork and that's why this was Russian - it would have been built that way. That brickwork does give him a larger hole to breathe from and that side of it is solved.
He does turn the tap on, washes his face to clean up, takes the risk [and it is a big risk in Russia] of later sickness by sipping water he caught in paper towelling and it dripped into his mouth.
He then makes enough paper towelling into somewhere to rest the head and tries to sleep through until the morning, having done little damage to the place.
He's able to get out when the key is turned in the morning.
Unfortunately, his car has been vandalized.
Moral - never fight with your girlfriend. She has the psychic reach to get you.
No structure like that can be hermetically sealed. You can bend aluminium by hand anyway. Enough force and he could bend the frame to either escape or create a large hole which would allow a cellphone signal.
ReplyDeleteBut as he is Russian and can't plan. He keeps himself busy by working out the rudimentary principles of project management so he could plan.
In the meantime the shop opens the next day and they either a) discover fresh meat for that days meals or b) they make a fortune selling his project management technique to the UK government
You can bend aluminium by hand anyway.
ReplyDeleteNot if it's flush with the door and that seal is pretty tight because there is padding inside the frame.
The rest of what you say is right.