The schools release Leif Thorvaldsen to Drive. Generation 6 takes up its tools.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Teresa Zhao and Halvard Thorvaldsen name their son Deneb. The nursery lamps stay warm.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Fyodor Jaber, 96. It is little enough.
Tern Shen chooses Command — or it chooses her; the elders disagree cheerfully.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 1,919th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
A birth in Ring B: Anastasia, girl, generation 7. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
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.
Xiulan Thorvaldsen does not wake at dimming. 85 years, most of them given to Archive & Schools.
Remembrance day. The memorial wall is polished by hand, though nothing aboard needs polishing less.
A new tale-cycle from Josefina Northam — “A small orchard.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Kamala Fang finishes a tale-cycle: “Nine Hymns Turning.” It shows in the commons through the week.
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.
The schools release Liv Shen to Fabrication. Generation 7 takes up its tools.
“Nine Gardens Standing,” a quilt by Yasmin Petrov, is unveiled late in the second watch to the particular applause of Command.
Morale index reads 82. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
Morale index reads 82. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
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.
A daughter, Boreal Petrov, born in the Ring D infirmary to Gantry Petrov and Radomir Quill. Mother and child are well.
Arjun Sharma stands the walk of the full spinal corridor, as the sixteen-year custom is, and joins Life Systems.
The schools release Ayodele Aaberg to Archive & Schools. Generation 7 takes up its tools.
Yasmin Pemberton does not wake on the first watch. 87 years, most of them given to Fabrication.
Last shift for Lyra Petrov, who joined Fabrication half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
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.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Qiang and Huifen. The commons sings late.
The schools release Qing Jaber to Hydroponics. Generation 6 takes up its tools.
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.
Sixty-eight years: Kestrel Yan hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring B stands ready.
The Crossing feast: more behind than ahead. The long tables come out; the good preserves come down.
Sixteen years for Arc Ouyang, who signs to Medical on the night watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
Deneb Thorvaldsen and Theodore Shen name their son Leonard. The nursery lamps stay warm.
First watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 26,533 days to orbit.
Morale index reads 82. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
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.
Cygnet Northam and Franklin Petrov name their son Olusegun. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Jianguo Tväten and Xiulan Jaber, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
A joining in Ring A: Ming Petrov and Valentina Shen. The pressing of cider is authorized.
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.
Fuhua Sharma and Anjali Ouyang are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Ecology turns out.
Sixteen years for Zahra Thorvaldsen, who signs to Life Systems at brightening and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Harold Jaber, 99. It is little enough.
A new poem from Rell Quill — “Whole Garden (Year 177).” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Gantry Jaber stands the walk of the full spinal corridor, as the sixteen-year custom is, and joins Fabrication.
“Window for the Spun Signal,” a song by Yaw Ning, is unveiled late in the second watch to the particular applause of Hydroponics.
Chief of Fabrication falls to Oluwaseun Merriweather, who accepts with a nod and a full docket.
Chengdong Nwosu stands down from Fabrication at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Census check: 859 souls, 227 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
First Light festival. The children are lifted to the eyepiece one by one to see where they are going.
Sixty-eight years: Ulf Shen hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring A stands ready.
The youngest aboard is now Ion Sharma, minutes old, asleep. 859 souls.