The circle has answered. No cuts. The ship bets on its gardeners, and every eye is on Bay 3.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Meridian Fang finishes a play: “The Early Corridor.” It shows in the commons through the week.
Signe Nwosu, sixteen, takes the arborist apprenticeship in Ecology.
Sixty-eight years: Knut Aaberg hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring D stands ready.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Theodore Thorvaldsen, 65. It is little enough.
“The Hollow Garden,” a song by Orrery Petrov, is unveiled on the first watch to the particular applause of Archive & Schools.
Kehinde Yan died in quarters in the middle watch, 90 years old. 952 souls aboard.
Devendra Kong retires late in the second watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Sixty-eight years: Ikenna Ning hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring D stands ready.
Karima Nwosu and Ion Ouyang name their son Grigori. The nursery lamps stay warm.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 132, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 43,082 days to orbit.
The schools release Gantry Navarrete to Ecology. Generation 5 takes up its tools.
5.83 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 41,033 thousand to go.
Jaroslav Navarrete finishes a tale-cycle: “Garden for the Unlit Watch.” It shows in the commons through the week.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 3,199th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Amina Navarrete and Fathom Thorvaldsen name their son Gbenga. The nursery lamps stay warm.
The schools release Deneb Navarrete to Archive & Schools. Generation 6 takes up its tools.
The youngest aboard is now Yuri Sharma, minutes old, asleep. 951 souls.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Gantry Merriweather, 61. It is little enough.
After 80 years, Zbigniew Fang has let go. Remembrance in the Ring D commons at next dimming.
Maintenance sweep of Ring C complete. Somewhere aft a wrench is missing; it will surface in a decade, in a wall, with a story attached.
Departure Day, year 132. The founders' roll is read from the first name to the thousandth, and the young ones try to stay solemn.
A child in Ring D asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
Sixteen years for Omar Jaber, who signs to Life Systems late in the second watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
Sixteen years for Fadi Orellana, who signs to Drive at dimming and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
The question is put to the wider circle: Rationing. The ship asks; Earth answers, in its own long time.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 3,158th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
A child in Ring C asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
Mateo Ashworth finishes a tale-cycle: “Inward Map, Bright Thread.” It shows in the commons through the week.
Kamala Fang is delivered of a daughter on the night watch. The child is called Lumen.
Walid Salazar died in quarters in the middle watch, 88 years old. 952 souls aboard.
“Watch for the Green Ladder,” a mural by Carmen Zhao, is unveiled at brightening to the particular applause of Hydroponics.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Maja Aaberg, 66. It is little enough.
Shanta Jaber died in quarters in the middle watch, 101 years old. 952 souls aboard.
The youngest aboard is now Galina Tväten, minutes old, asleep. 954 souls.
Sixty-eight years: Olaf Ouyang hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring B stands ready.
A second child follows on the night watch: twins for Josefina Tväten. This one is called Deshi.
A birth in Ring C: Tessa, girl, generation 5. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
“What the Engine Returns,” a poem by Nneka Diallo, is unveiled at brightening to the particular applause of Archive & Schools.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 43,179 days to orbit.
Abebi Ouyang stands down from Ecology at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Irina Zhao stands down from Medical at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Chandran Navarrete retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Helm Thorvaldsen chooses Hydroponics — or it chooses her; the elders disagree cheerfully.
Night watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
Remembrance. All names read since the last one — held in silence in every ring at the same hour. I keep the lights low until it is done.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 131, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Indira Petrov retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
After 89 years, Kestrel Quill has let go. Remembrance in the Ring C commons at next dimming.