Cygnet Fang coaxes a new bread yeast from the orchard air. The proof is in the mess by morning.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Ramiro Lockhart retires on the night watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
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.
The youngest aboard is now Sergei Thorvaldsen, minutes old, asleep. 718 souls.
“A bright orchard,” a instrument by Usman Peng, is unveiled in the middle watch to the particular applause of Life Systems.
The schools release Pearl Nwosu to Fabrication. Generation 3 takes up its tools.
The schools release Radhika Nwosu to Ecology. Generation 3 takes up its tools.
Ngozi Shen chooses Life Systems — or it chooses her; the elders disagree cheerfully.
All boards green. I count 717 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Ingrid Gustavsson, 91. It is little enough.
Elsie Diallo is delivered of a son at brightening. The child is called Pallas.
All boards green. I count 717 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Maksim Fang and Padma Merriweather, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Born on the night watch: Bjorn Barakat, generation 3. The ship holds 717 souls tonight.
Ruth Aaberg and Ulises Gorbachev name their son Aster. The nursery lamps stay warm.
“Window for the Last Water,” a instrument by Ludmila Dragunov, is unveiled late in the second watch to the particular applause of Drive.
The schools release Edmund Pillai to Command. Generation 2 takes up its tools.
The manifest shortens by one: Ekaterina Pavlenko, 87 years. The line rests with the ship now.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 6,985th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Sixteen years for Yaw Jaber, who signs to Command at dimming and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Winifred Carmody, 89. It is little enough.
Kwame Tväten, sixteen, takes the arborist apprenticeship in Ecology.
First Light. The observation blister queues run all day: Teegarden's Star, held in the eyepiece, a little brighter than last year — 9.63 light-years to go.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 66,382 days to orbit.
The schools release Marzena Kong to Life Systems. Generation 2 takes up its tools.
9.63 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 47,597 thousand to go.
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.
Lars Nystrom died in quarters at dimming, 94 years old. 717 souls aboard.
A wedding at brightening. Opal Pemberton, Drive; Sten Quill, Medical. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Modupe Okafor died in quarters late in the second watch, 93 years old. 718 souls aboard.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 68, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
I dim the corridor lights a shade for Florence Langford, 88. It is little enough.
“Season for the Long Water,” a play by Uma Varma, is unveiled late in the second watch to the particular applause of Medical.
Darya Aaberg, sixteen, takes the sanitation engineer apprenticeship in Life Systems.
The youngest aboard is now Mira Yan, minutes old, asleep. 720 souls.
Sixty-eight years: Octavio Domínguez hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring C stands ready.
After 91 years, Enlai Ouyang has let go. Remembrance in the Ring B commons at next dimming.
A son, Lyra Merriweather, born in the Ring C infirmary to Vasanti Merriweather and Usman Peng. Mother and child are well.
All boards green. I count 719 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Sixteen years for Maksim Ning, who signs to Hydroponics at dimming and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
Ingrid Oster, 88, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 66,453 days to orbit.
All boards green. I count 720 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
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.
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.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 66,464 days to orbit.
Nora Thorvaldsen stands down from Life Systems at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
The schools release Zbigniew Shen to Life Systems. Generation 3 takes up its tools.
Departure Day, year 68. The founders' roll is read from the first name to the thousandth, and the young ones try to stay solemn.
A son, Gonzalo Thorvaldsen, born in the Ring B infirmary to Boreal Thorvaldsen and Drift Thorvaldsen. Mother and child are well.