Wenbo Peng stands down from Hydroponics at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
The manifest shortens by one: Jinsong Orellana, 87 years. The line rests with the ship now.
Sixteen years for Ion Ulriksen, who signs to Medical late in the second watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
Pearl Aaberg has made a mural called “What the Sky Carries.” Asked what it means, she says it means about nine years of evenings.
Ivar Fang chooses Fabrication — or it chooses him; the elders disagree cheerfully.
Sixteen years for Chandran Yan, who signs to Medical on the first watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Chandran Navarrete, 84. It is little enough.
Repair complete on Hydroponics Bays after 4 weeks. I run the test cycle twice, out of respect for history.
A first shift for Pilar Sharma, sixteen: water systems tech, Life Systems. The badge is printed fresh.
The Crossing feast: more behind than ahead. The long tables come out; the good preserves come down.
Oksana Ning retires late in the second watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 37,111 days to orbit.
All boards green. I count 868 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Gbenga Navarrete died in quarters late in the second watch, 95 years old. 868 souls aboard.
A failure in Hydroponics Bays. The duty crew is roused; tools move down the spinal corridor at a jog.
Ylva Valdivia, sixteen, takes the thermal engineer apprenticeship in Life Systems.
Morale index reads 82. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
Helm Pemberton, 99, generation 3, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
4.86 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 32,305 thousand to go.
Adnan Shen died in quarters on the night watch, 94 years old. 870 souls aboard.
Fathom Fang and Ernest Aaberg name their daughter Gayatri. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Quill Thorvaldsen and Xiulan Tväten name their son Knut. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Natalya Quill, 99, generation 2, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
First Light. The observation blister queues run all day: Teegarden's Star, held in the eyepiece, a little brighter than last year — 4.87 light-years to go.
Ylva Jaber retires late in the second watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
The youngest aboard is now Yaw Ning, minutes old, asleep. 870 souls.
Torsten Jaber stands the walk of the full spinal corridor, as the sixteen-year custom is, and joins Medical.
“Hymns of Year 148,” a mural by Lumen Petrov, is unveiled at dimming to the particular applause of Archive & Schools.
Fern Tväten stands down from Hydroponics at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Zbigniew Kong and Tatiana Mansour, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Census check: 869 souls, 164 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Pearl Petrov, 74. It is little enough.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 148, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Born on the night watch: Chengdong Merriweather, generation 5. The ship holds 870 souls tonight.
Grigori Nwosu, sixteen, takes the seedkeeper apprenticeship in Hydroponics.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Adaeze and Qasim. The commons sings late.
After 85 years, Sable Thorvaldsen has let go. Remembrance in the Ring A commons at next dimming.
A son, Ragnar Shen, born in the Ring B infirmary to Widad Shen and Arthur Navarrete. Mother and child are well.
“The Early Thread,” a tale-cycle by Carmen Zhao, is unveiled at dimming to the particular applause of Hydroponics.
Chief of Hydroponics falls to Hedda Orellana, who accepts with a nod and a full docket.
Xenia Shen died in quarters on the night watch, 57 years old, once Chief of Hydroponics. 869 souls aboard.
Maintenance sweep of Ring D complete. Somewhere aft a wrench is missing; it will surface in a decade, in a wall, with a story attached.
After 84 years, Uma Sharma has let go. Remembrance in the Ring C commons at next dimming.
Night watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
Last shift for Qasim Quill, who joined Archive & Schools half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Maintenance sweep of Ring B complete. Somewhere aft a wrench is missing; it will surface in a decade, in a wall, with a story attached.
Morale index reads 84. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
A new mural from Ludmila Thorvaldsen — “Sunless Thread (Year 148).” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Gbenga Navarrete chooses Fabrication — or it chooses him; the elders disagree cheerfully.
Census check: 871 souls, 164 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.