The novel Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi opens with Nailer slithering through the dilapidated crawlspaces of an abandoned oil tanker. He's wearing a mask his father had given him in order to keep out the toxic fumes. What a great dad! I do wonder, however, what kind of place is it where children are allowed or even expected to do such dangerous work. It sounds like something I would have loved to do as a kid, but then again I never had to do that kind of work as a kid. I'd probably see it differently once I was in that situation.
We also meet Sloth, another member of Nailer's crew. They're a team, depending on each other as they crawl through the dark spaces of the ship with only a dab of glow-in-the-dark paint smeared on their foreheads to light their way.
