3. SYNOPSIS
• “One is One and All Alone” by Nicholas Fisk is a science fiction
story, set in 2045. The main character is Trish, an 11-year old girl
who is the only child on a spaceship to Trion. Her father is the
Executive Officer of the spaceship and her mother is in Trion
helping to set up a space station. She will only meet her mother in
mid January 2047.After three months, she feels lonely and bored
as she does not have any real friends to talk to except her private,
multi-functional diary: the Voice Printer (VP). VP is an intelligent
computer which keeps Trish entertained with its ability to perform
many functions. Through her dialogue sessions with VP, Trish
learns about clones and the cloning process. The idea of cloning
fascinates Trish and she soon decides to create a clone to keep
her company in the spaceship Bio lab without her father’s
knowledge. She names her new identical twin “Clo” and initially it
becomes her perfect friend and companion. They have fun
playing and sharing their time together. However, certain
mannerism of Clo begins to irritate Trish as the clone behaves and
thinks like her. Soon they start to argue and disagree with each
other over trivial matters. The last straw happens one night when
Clo starts referring to Trish’s mum as her mum and this upsets
Trish as she feels her privacy is being invaded. The next day, Trish
opens up her diary and confides in VP that she does not like to be
“swamped, invaded and taken over.” At that instant, she decides
to dispose off Clo forever through the “DISPOSAL” hatch near her
cabin. The story ends with a twist when it is Trish who is disposed
by Clo. Clo then assumes Trish’s identity and Trish’s dad is not
aware of the change at all. Clo then enjoys being “one is one and
all alone” and her new lease of life as Trish in the spaceship.
4. CHARACTERS
• Trish : She is independent and can take care of
herself on the 2-year space voyage.However, she
feels lonely as she is the only child aboard the
spaceship. She is an active child, interacting with
the Voice Printer which is also her tutor
and converses with it as if it is another human
being. She is smart and can even clone herself
with the help of VoicePrinter and the Space Lab.
She is single-minded and does thing on her own
without the help of an adult. That she did not
consult her father or thought through the ethical
issues involved in cloning may show some
immaturity and irresponsibility. She is
adventurous and sort of ' push the envelope' with
the assistance and knowledge from the
VoicePrinter. She thinks she is smart until she was
outwitted by her clone.
5. • The Father :A minor character in this short story.
He is always busy as he is the executive officer of
the spaceship. He is a multi-tasker, talking to Trish
as well as perusing computer printouts at the
same time. He is caring and looks in on Trish once
in a while.
• Voice Printer : An informative machine, she
provides all the information that Trish requires. In
fact it is her reference source and tutor as well. It
is a versatile machine and can perform many
functions.The Voice Printer is a loyal machine and
stays by the side of Trish at all times.
• Clo : Clo has the same character traits as Trish as
she is her clone. The name, Clo is a short form of
Clone. She outwits Trish the original genetic
material that she is cloned from.
• The Mother : She is at somewhere in Planet Trion
building up a space station. It takes 2 years to
reach Trion from Earth.
6. SETTING
• The story takes place on board of
a space ship in outer space.
• It takes place in 2045.
7. PLOT
• The plot compromises of the following elements:
• 1. Exposition
This part introduces the setting, characters and the
conflict that is to happen. We are being introduced to
the main character, Trish , who is on board a spaceship
on a mission to planet Trion. We learn that the story
takes place in 2045 and Trish is the only child on board
the spaceship.
• 2. Inciting Incident
This refers to the initial event which triggers the story.
This happens when Trish talks to VoicePrinter and
learns about cloning and decides to clone herself.
• 3. Rising Action
Here we discover a series of events that leads to
the climax of the story. It refers to Clo's behaving
exactly the same manner as Trish such as wearing
the same clothes as Trish, repeating the same
words Trish uses and having the same thoughts.
8. • 4. Conflict
This refers to the main problem. Trish begins to
feel uneasy about Clo. Trish feels that Clo is invading
her private thoughts about her mother. This prompts
her to reconsider Clo's existence.
• 5. Climax
The climax is the most exciting part of the story.
This is shown when Trish cannot tolerate Clo any
longer and decides to dispose her.
• 6. Falling Action
These events occur after the climax. Trish plans
on how to get rid of Clo. She will use one of the
five hatches outside her cabin at night. She also
plans to write a note to accompany Clo.
• 7. Resolution
This is the conclusion of the story. Clo is the one
who gets rid of Trish. She now takes over as Trish
and is happy and satisfied with her decision.
9. THEMES
• 1. Life in the space age.
• 2. Living in a spaceship.
• 3. Loneliness of children
• 4. Busy lifestyles of adults.
• 5. The uses of machine and loss
of human touch.
• 6. Clones for company.
• 7. The need for companionship.
• 8. The need for privacy and
private space.
10. MORAL VALUES
• 1. We must be thankful with
what we have.
• 2. Friends are important in life.
• 3. Any decisions made will
have important consequences.
• 4. We must make the best of a
situation.
• 5. We must think before we
act.
• 6. We should appreciate our
own identity.
• 7. Everyone is unique.
