Sixty-eight years: Bhavana Patil hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring B stands ready.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
A failure in Drive. The duty crew is roused; tools move down the spinal corridor at a jog.
Divya Sharma stands down from Life Systems at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
Kang Deng died in quarters at brightening, 76 years old. 817 souls aboard.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 73,426 days to orbit.
Ingrid Rönnberg does not wake in the middle watch. 85 years, most of them given to Archive & Schools.
Departure Day, year 49. The founders' roll is read from the first name to the thousandth, and the young ones try to stay solemn.
All boards green. I count 819 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
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.
Kwame Adeyemi died in quarters in the middle watch, 77 years old. 819 souls aboard.
Ximena Aguirre died in quarters in the middle watch, 70 years old. 820 souls aboard.
A son, Hassan Ashworth, born in the Ring A infirmary to Ebba Ashworth and Jaroslav Varma. Mother and child are well.
After 86 years, Yueqin Xie has let go. Remembrance in the Ring D commons at next dimming.
Emilio Quintana finishes a quilt: “Distant Harvest, Outward Lantern.” It shows in the commons through the week.
Sixty-eight years: Franklin Gresham hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring D stands ready.
Tunde Abiodun, 77, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
Census check: 822 souls, 166 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 8,846th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Chief of Ecology falls to Jaroslav Ahlgren, who accepts with a nod and a full docket.
Uday Reddy retires on the night watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Huifen Aaberg and Sten Han name their son Cristóbal. The nursery lamps stay warm.
A birth in Ring D: Lumen, girl, generation 3. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
A wedding on the night watch. Yakubu Patil, Hydroponics; Harriet Barakat, Command. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Last shift for Iris Northam, who joined Fabrication half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 73,484 days to orbit.
Remembrance. All names read since the last one — held in silence in every ring at the same hour. I keep the lights low until it is done.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Raymond Rutherford, 75. It is little enough.
Everett Ingram retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Kang Feng died in quarters at dimming, 87 years old. 821 souls aboard.
Everett Vance, 89, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
Born at dimming: Esha Fang, generation 2. The ship holds 823 souls tonight.
Chief of Fabrication falls to Ekaterina Pavlenko, who accepts with a nod and a full docket.
Last shift for Johanna Nordahl, who joined Fabrication half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Tarun Menon, 68, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
The youngest aboard is now Olga Petrov, minutes old, asleep. 823 souls.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 8,810th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
A son, Lakshman Tväten, born in the Ring A infirmary to Anli Tväten and Jaroslav Ahlgren. Mother and child are well.
Sixty-eight years: Abena Yeboah hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring A stands ready.
A new tale-cycle from Kirill Sokolov — “Slow Thread (Year 48).” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
The manifest shortens by one: Mariam Qureshi, 80 years. The line rests with the ship now.
Sixty-eight years: Anders Rasmussen hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring B stands ready.
Last shift for Leif Rönnberg, who joined Hydroponics half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Jiayi Quill and Tao Ogunleye name their daughter Natalya. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Simisola Lawal retires on the night watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Walid Khoury, 75. It is little enough.
Sixty-eight years: Jamal Tahan hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring C stands ready.
All boards green. I count 822 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Chief of Medical falls to Ragnar Han, who accepts with a nod and a full docket.
Last shift for Shu Song, who joined Medical half a century ago. The crew line the corridor and knock wrenches on the rails.
Rajesh Jaber and Ulyana Petrov, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.