A daughter, Efua Shen, born in the Ring B infirmary to Aisha Shen and Rocío Aaberg. Mother and child are well.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Signe Nwosu is delivered of a daughter on the first watch. The child is called Deneb.
4.55 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 29,429 thousand to go.
Vasili Northam died in quarters on the night watch, 73 years old. 835 souls aboard.
Sixty-eight years: Anand Thorvaldsen hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring B stands ready.
Emilio Ulriksen, 65, generation 3, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
All boards green. I count 837 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 35,265 days to orbit.
Octavio Nwosu died in quarters late in the second watch, 92 years old. 837 souls aboard.
The manifest shortens by one: Beatrice Nwosu, 83 years. 1 children carry the line on.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Zemin Navarrete, 81. It is little enough.
The Crossing. Every year it is observed, and every year someone stands to say the second half is the harder, and is booed warmly.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 35,286 days to orbit.
Ulf Aaberg chooses Command — or it chooses him; the elders disagree cheerfully.
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.
Pearl Sharma retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Sixteen years for Viggo Thorvaldsen, who signs to Life Systems on the night watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
Morale index reads 75. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
All boards green. I count 840 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
A birth in Ring C: Cora, girl, generation 6. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
I compare today's star field against day one's. The constellations have begun, very slightly, to come apart. Nobody else will look; that is what I am for.
Sixteen years for Ramiro Shen, who signs to Fabrication at brightening and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
Last shift for Yuri Petrov, who joined Fabrication half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Gyre Quill stands down from Hydroponics at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Census check: 839 souls, 180 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Sundiata Mansour, 84, generation 3, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
Morale index reads 75. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
Sixteen years for Jinsong Quaye, who signs to Hydroponics late in the second watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
A birth in Ring D: Jianguo, boy, generation 7. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
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.
Knut Merriweather, 78, generation 3, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
First Light festival. The children are lifted to the eyepiece one by one to see where they are going.
Nadia Fang and Wei Nwosu name their son Zemin. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Widad Shen is delivered of a son at dimming. The child is called Ember.
Nadia Quill, sixteen, takes the toolmaker apprenticeship in Fabrication.
A new play from Caelum Sharma — “Nine Wheels Turning.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Marzena Mansour, 81, generation 3, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
Yaw Aaberg died in quarters late in the second watch, 84 years old. 839 souls aboard.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 1,939th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Aisha and Rocío. The commons sings late.
The manifest shortens by one: Clara Ulriksen, 100 years. 2 children carry the line on.
A new instrument from Johanna Pillai — “Winters of the observation blister.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
A birth in Ring A: Tern, boy, generation 6. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Emeka Barakat has made a quilt called “Seasons of Year 153.” Asked what it means, he says it means about nine years of evenings.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Oluwaseun Fang, 78. It is little enough.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 35,386 days to orbit.
Nneka Petrov chooses Fabrication — or it chooses her; the elders disagree cheerfully.
Born on the night watch: Deneb Thorvaldsen, generation 6. The ship holds 841 souls tonight.
Yaw Zhao retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
“Gardens of Bay 3,” a quilt by Fyodor Ouyang, is unveiled late in the second watch to the particular applause of Archive & Schools.