A joining in Ring D: Yolanda Orellana and Katarzyna Vasiliev. The pressing of cider is authorized.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Bogdan and Irina. The commons sings late.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Cristóbal and Zahra. The commons sings late.
Kayode Chike and Lanying Lei, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
First Light. The observation blister queues run all day: Teegarden's Star, held in the eyepiece, a little brighter than last year — 12.50 light-years to go.
A joining in Ring D: Chukwuemeka Iwu and Zofia Ulanov. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Zaid Khoury and Opal Kingsley are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Command turns out.
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.
Wenling Chen and Ernest Grantham are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Medical turns out.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Simisola and Zaid. The commons sings late.
Irina Babich and Zemin Qin are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Drive turns out.
Oluwadamilola Bankole and Uma Varma, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
All boards green. I count 1009 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Meera and Ramiro. The commons sings late.
12.50 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 91,694 thousand to go.
Dominika Jablonski and Peng Wu are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Fabrication turns out.
All boards green. I count 1009 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
A child in Ring A asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
The youngest aboard is now Tunde Chekhov, minutes old, asleep. 1009 souls.
Safiya Bishara takes the hand of Stanislav Orlov before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
Darya Ivanova times an occultation to refine our ephemeris. The course correction is smaller than a held breath.
Fermín Riquelme and Vera Rutherford are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Life Systems turns out.
Ramiro Cifuentes and Kamala Raghunathan, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
A joining in Ring B: Efua Quaye and Magnus Lund. The pressing of cider is authorized.
A child in Ring B asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
A joining in Ring B: Lakshmi Verma and Evgeni Gorbachev. The pressing of cider is authorized.
A joining in Ring C: Tariq Toma and Chunhua Guo. The pressing of cider is authorized.
“Green Window, Quiet Sky,” a poem by Naresh Naidu, is unveiled at brightening to the particular applause of Medical.
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.
Hanan Othman takes the hand of Mikhail Gagarin before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
Khalid Saab and Widad Ghanem, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Freya Fossum and Sundiata Danjuma, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Anand Gupta finishes a tale-cycle: “A patient wheel.” It shows in the commons through the week.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 1, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Divya and Hassan. The commons sings late.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: César and Ramiro. The commons sings late.
Departure Day, year 1. The founders' roll is read from the first name to the thousandth, and the young ones try to stay solemn.
A joining in Ring D: Oleg Dubrovsky and Ebba Lindqvist. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Born at dimming: Sylvia Ning, generation 1. The ship holds 1008 souls tonight.
Middle watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Oscar and Catalina. The commons sings late.
Martin Mortlake takes the hand of Samira Darwish before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
A new quilt from Divya Venkatesan — “A inward season.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Mingyu Liang takes the hand of Hassan Darwish before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Hakon and Rashid. The commons sings late.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 336th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
A joining in Ring C: Lev Dragunov and Ylva Solheim. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Hassan Mansour and Farida Baz, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
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.
Omolara Okonkwo takes the hand of Patricio Terrazas before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.