Halvard Moller and Peizhi Ding are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Hydroponics turns out.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Jagdish Rao and Modupe Okafor, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
First Light festival. The children are lifted to the eyepiece one by one to see where they are going.
Census check: 1027 souls, 28 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Ingrid Ulriksen finishes a poem: “The Bright Ladder.” It shows in the commons through the week.
“Nine Roots Standing,” a instrument by Yuri Ulanov, is unveiled on the night watch to the particular applause of Hydroponics.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Chinedu and Noemí. The commons sings late.
Leonard Eastwood has made a play called “What the Harvest Remembers.” Asked what it means, he says it means about nine years of evenings.
Census check: 1027 souls, 28 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Chandran Chatterjee has made a play called “Furrows of Ring D.” Asked what it means, he says it means about nine years of evenings.
12.48 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 91,833 thousand to go.
Census check: 1027 souls, 28 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
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.
Morale index reads 86. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
Gonzalo Valdivia finishes a play: “Seven Maps Turning.” It shows in the commons through the week.
Obinna Bankole takes the hand of Dagny Paulsen before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
The youngest aboard is now Sten Han, minutes old, asleep. 1027 souls.
Bruno Bustamante has made a song called “What the Root Forgets.” Asked what it means, he says it means about nine years of evenings.
Yash Mukherjee and Ludmila Petrov are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Hydroponics turns out.
Departure Day, year 5. The founders' roll is read from the first name to the thousandth, and the young ones try to stay solemn.
Esperanza Montoya is delivered of a son at dimming. The child is called Obinna.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 4, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
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.
Divya Venkatesan has made a quilt called “Threads of Year 4.” Asked what it means, she says it means about nine years of evenings.
A wedding at dimming. Everett Ingram, Fabrication; Dolores Quintana, Drive. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Indira Sethi and Usman Fakhoury are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Drive turns out.
Abena Nwosu has made a quilt called “Iron Furrow, Turning Lantern.” Asked what it means, she says it means about nine years of evenings.
Ylva Solheim is delivered of a son on the night watch. The child is called Theodore.
A joining in Ring D: Iman Dagher and Sami Jaber. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Repair complete on Water Reclamation within the day. I run the test cycle twice, out of respect for history.
Water Reclamation quits late in the second watch, with a sound the old hands do not like.
Remembrance day. The memorial wall is polished by hand, though nothing aboard needs polishing less.
A birth in Ring C: Umbra, girl, generation 1. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Oscar Bexley and Lärä Ekwueme are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Command turns out.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 1,742th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
A joining in Ring A: Hedda Nystrom and Ernest Quill. The pressing of cider is authorized.
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.
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 second child follows on the night watch: twins for Modupe Nwosu. This one is called Mabel.
Modupe Nwosu is delivered of a daughter in the middle watch. The child is called Paloma.
The youngest aboard is now Shanta Aaberg, minutes old, asleep. 1021 souls.
A joining in Ring C: Fernanda Álvarez and Kayode Fashola. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Drive hums again. Hassan Mansour is stood a round of orchard cider by the off-shift.
A daughter, Elsie Navarrete, born in the Ring B infirmary to Josefina Navarrete and Gunnar Sandvik. Mother and child are well.
Middle watch. The orchard sprinklers run their cycle, and the sound carries down the spine like weather.
Fault isolated in Drive. Repair estimate: unwise to say aloud.
Darya Sokolov and Babatunde Umeh, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Vasanti Pillai finishes a instrument: “Engine for the Whole Ladder.” It shows in the commons through the week.
A wedding on the first watch. Jaroslav Petrov, Medical; Lärä Eze, Archive & Schools. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.