Lars Yan, sixteen, takes the teacher apprenticeship in Archive & Schools.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
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.
A first shift for Ruth Tväten, sixteen: aquarist, Ecology. The badge is printed fresh.
9.38 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 48,577 thousand to go.
9.38 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 48,585 thousand to go.
Meilin Nwosu and Zbigniew Shen are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Hydroponics turns out.
A first shift for Chinedu Thorvaldsen, sixteen: reactor tech, Drive. The badge is printed fresh.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 72, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Dominika Thorvaldsen finishes a instrument: “The Last Hymn.” It shows in the commons through the week.
The schools release Gayatri Quaye to Fabrication. Generation 3 takes up its tools.
A birth in Ring A: Guadalupe, girl, generation 3. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Too soon, at 40: Zahra Orellana. The commons fills at brightening with those who knew her.
Sarala Pemberton takes the hand of Anton Sharma before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
Born at dimming: Ruth Orellana, generation 3. The ship holds 749 souls tonight.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 8,411th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
The youngest aboard is now Zemin Navarrete, minutes old, asleep. 748 souls.
Ananya Aaberg is delivered of a son late in the second watch. The child is called Yuri.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 64,905 days to orbit.
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.
Adrián Salazar and Sarala Peng, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
First Light. The observation blister queues run all day: Teegarden's Star, held in the eyepiece, a little brighter than last year — 9.39 light-years to go.
Josefina Shen and Pallas Valdivia name their daughter Yelena. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Nanna and Sergei. The commons sings late.
A first shift for Meridian Aaberg, sixteen: quartermaster, Command. The badge is printed fresh.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
Mahmoud Pemberton retires at dimming. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Kofi Navarrete chooses Drive — or it chooses him; the elders disagree cheerfully.
Nora Thorvaldsen, 72, generation 1, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 64,950 days to orbit.
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.
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.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
Sixteen years for Aster Fossum, who signs to Medical in the middle watch and is given a locker, a sash, and a schedule.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
A joining in Ring C: Emeka Yan and Hedda Ulriksen. The pressing of cider is authorized.
A birth in Ring D: Noor, girl, generation 3. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 8,330th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Drift Quaye, sixteen, takes the historian apprenticeship in Archive & Schools.
Gunhild Petrov and Bernard Ashworth name their son Everett. The nursery lamps stay warm.
A first shift for Sojourn Navarrete, sixteen: hullwright, Fabrication. The badge is printed fresh.
Ulises Gorbachev has made a mural called “Door for the Borrowed Season.” Asked what it means, he says it means about nine years of evenings.
A child in Ring A asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 8,298th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
The manifest shortens by one: Josefina Gallardo, 91 years. 1 children carry the line on.
Marzena Quill and Dmitri Merriweather name their daughter Qiaoyun. The nursery lamps stay warm.
A birth in Ring B: Farida, girl, generation 3. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Vasanti Nwosu and Rotimi Aaberg name their daughter Fernanda. The nursery lamps stay warm.
Xavier Terrazas, 100, generation 0, is carried down the spinal corridor feet-first, as the custom is.