I dim the corridor lights a shade for Astrid Vik, 78. It is little enough.
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 Assembly reaches its accord: schedules loosened, stores opened a measure, and a promise recorded in the permanent log. The ship exhales.
A failure in Water Reclamation. The duty crew is roused; tools move down the spinal corridor at a jog.
Sixty-eight years: Opal Dunmore hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring C stands ready.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Ramiro and Vera. The commons sings late.
The Ship's Assembly convenes in the largest commons. Everyone who wishes to speaks. I keep time and hold the record, nothing more.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 2,597th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Bogdan Vasiliev died in quarters at brightening, 77 years old. 968 souls aboard.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 2,594th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Zofia Shen has died at 31, far too early. Ecology stands down a shift in grief.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Chinedu Sowande, 72. It is little enough.
Olusegun Kalu died in quarters at dimming, 68 years old. 971 souls aboard.
Grievances posted in three commons at once — hours, rations, and the shape of the future. The signatures fill a corridor wall.
The manifest shortens by one: Anli Zhou, 79 years. The line rests with the ship now.
The Assembly reaches its accord: schedules loosened, stores opened a measure, and a promise recorded in the permanent log. The ship exhales.
Devendra Venkatesan stands down from Fabrication at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
After 62 years, Lars Nystrom has let go. Remembrance in the Ring C commons at next dimming.
11.75 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 77,657 thousand to go.
The Ship's Assembly convenes in the largest commons. Everyone who wishes to speaks. I keep time and hold the record, nothing more.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 2,577th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Lärä Fossum and Tunde Chekhov name their daughter Fernanda. The nursery lamps stay warm.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 31, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Too soon, at 14: Aisha Feng. The commons fills on the night watch with those who knew her.
Chitra Verma does not wake in the middle watch. 77 years, most of them given to Life Systems.
Svetlana Nowak stands down from Fabrication at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
A work slowdown moves through the departments, orderly and cold. The ship runs; the ship also waits.
Census check: 975 souls, 62 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Folasade Sowande stands down from Life Systems at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Olga Pavlenko, 76. It is little enough.
Ernest Carmody died in quarters on the night watch, 77 years old. 976 souls aboard.
Too soon, at 53: Tara Lal. The commons fills in the middle watch with those who knew her.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Yusheng Wu, 75. It is little enough.
The manifest shortens by one: Pavel Kowalczyk, 72 years. The line rests with the ship now.
11.76 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 78,179 thousand to go.
Yusheng Shen retires on the first watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Zemin Zhou stands down from Life Systems at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Too soon, at 20: Viggo Fang. The commons fills in the middle watch with those who knew him.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Ruolan Deng, 73. It is little enough.
The manifest shortens by one: Fuhua Luo, 66 years. 1 children carry the line on.
Femi Ndiaye, 55, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
After 78 years, Grigori Chekhov has let go. Remembrance in the Ring A commons at next dimming.
After 72 years, Khalid Toma has let go. Remembrance in the Ring A commons at next dimming.
Femi Yeboah retires at brightening. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Too soon, at 17: Usman Saab. The commons fills at dimming with those who knew him.
All boards green. I count 987 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Last shift for Rashid Abadi, who joined Life Systems half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Sundiata Kamau retires late in the second watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Last shift for Martin Mortlake, who joined Life Systems half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
After 71 years, Elsie Merriweather has let go. Remembrance in the Ring C commons at next dimming.
Gunhild Rönnberg retires on the first watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.