The schools release Khalid Vik to Command. Generation 1 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.
“Doors of Year 24,” a poem by Devendra Sethi, is unveiled on the night watch to the particular applause of Hydroponics.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 24, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Maintenance sweep of Ring A complete. Somewhere aft a wrench is missing; it will surface in a decade, in a wall, with a story attached.
Remembrance day. The memorial wall is polished by hand, though nothing aboard needs polishing less.
Leandro Wu, sixteen, takes the seedkeeper apprenticeship in Hydroponics.
Peng Bai has died at 47, far too early. Medical stands down a shift in grief.
Ruth Ning has died at 2, far too early. the ship stands down a shift in grief.
Mahesh Rao retires on the night watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
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.
First watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
Bruno Bustamante finishes a quilt: “Small Sky, Sunless Water.” It shows in the commons through the week.
Last shift for Beatrice Hartley, who joined Medical half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
The Assembly reaches its accord: schedules loosened, stores opened a measure, and a promise recorded in the permanent log. The ship exhales.
Ruolan Kong retires at dimming. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Franklin Cavanagh died in quarters on the first watch, 64 years old, once navigator. 1029 souls aboard.
All boards green. I count 1030 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
The Ship's Assembly convenes in the largest commons. Everyone who wishes to speaks. I keep time and hold the record, nothing more.
Middle watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
A joining in Ring C: Arne Paulsen and Temitope Uche. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Sixty-eight years: Yakubu Chukwu hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring C stands ready.
Eleanor Northam retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
A work slowdown moves through the departments, orderly and cold. The ship runs; the ship also waits.
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.
Adnan Haddad retires on the first watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Yusheng Wu retires late in the second watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
A new instrument from Ulyana Smirnov — “Hymn for the Early Winter.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Sixty-eight years: Naresh Banerjee hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring C stands ready.
Census check: 1030 souls, 61 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Uzoma Olawale finishes a quilt: “Warm Orchard (Year 24).” It shows in the commons through the week.
Darya Dragunov stands down from Life Systems at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Pilar Izquierdo retires on the first watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
The Assembly reaches its accord: schedules loosened, stores opened a measure, and a promise recorded in the permanent log. The ship exhales.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 82,391 days to orbit.
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.
Qasim Wahba, 72, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
The Ship's Assembly convenes in the largest commons. Everyone who wishes to speaks. I keep time and hold the record, nothing more.
Census check: 1031 souls, 61 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Tariq Abadi and Opal Merriweather are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Drive turns out.
Annika Ekelund died in quarters on the first watch, 60 years old, once broadcast keeper. 1031 souls aboard.
Grievances posted in three commons at once — hours, rations, and the shape of the future. The signatures fill a corridor wall.
Last shift for Svetlana Titov, who joined Life Systems half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Too soon, at 54: Iris Jessop. The commons fills on the first watch with those who knew her.
After 68 years, Jianguo Gao has let go. Remembrance in the Ring B commons at next dimming.
Lev Dragunov retires on the first watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
First Light. The observation blister queues run all day: Teegarden's Star, held in the eyepiece, a little brighter than last year — 12.06 light-years to go.
Too soon, at 52: Nadia Zogby. The commons fills late in the second watch with those who knew her.
The Assembly reaches its accord: schedules loosened, stores opened a measure, and a promise recorded in the permanent log. The ship exhales.
Dinesh Kulkarni has died at 47, far too early. Life Systems stands down a shift in grief.
The Ship's Assembly convenes in the largest commons. Everyone who wishes to speaks. I keep time and hold the record, nothing more.