Shanta Fang and Fern Mazur name their son Martin. The nursery lamps stay warm.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
Stanley Orellana has died at 52, far too early. Medical stands down a shift in grief.
Uday Jaber does not wake on the night watch. 72 years, most of them given to Drive.
Xiulan Petrov finishes a mural: “Late Corridor, Early Root.” It shows in the commons through the week.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 104, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Anders and Fang. The commons sings late.
Ibrahim Navarrete retires at dimming. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
“Outward Garden (Year 104),” a song by Devendra Pillai, is unveiled in the middle watch to the particular applause of Drive.
All boards green. I count 972 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Departure Day, year 104. The founders' roll is read from the first name to the thousandth, and the young ones try to stay solemn.
Routine watch. The wheat in Bay 3 stands taller than its keepers. 53,383 days to orbit.
A new song from Abena Nwosu — “Early Ladder, Slow Lantern.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Harriet Singh retires in the middle watch. The department logs a quiet debt it cannot repay in parts or hours.
Morale index reads 79. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
“A distant furrow,” a mural by Jagdish Petrov, is unveiled in the middle watch to the particular applause of Drive.
Dagny Nwosu has made a song called “The Outward Sky.” Asked what it means, she says it means about nine years of evenings.
“Waters of the orchard,” a mural by Ravindra Navarrete, is unveiled on the night watch to the particular applause of Archive & Schools.
The council confirms Viggo Mazur as Chief of Life Systems at dimming.
Nils Nwosu stands down from Life Systems at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 103, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Kofi Navarrete has made a quilt called “Three Furrows Turning.” Asked what it means, he says it means about nine years of evenings.
A birth in Ring C: Ming, boy, generation 5. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Remembrance day. The memorial wall is polished by hand, though nothing aboard needs polishing less.
A joining in Ring A: Silvia Yan and Wei Ulriksen. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Dagny Diallo stands down from Archive & Schools at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
7.52 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 51,883 thousand to go.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 103, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
All boards green. I count 971 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
The youngest aboard is now Wei Fang, minutes old, asleep. 971 souls.
7.52 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 51,841 thousand to go.
Feng Ouyang, sixteen, takes the arborist apprenticeship in Ecology.
Indira Petrov is delivered of a son in the middle watch. The child is called Sojourn.
A wedding late in the second watch. Fern Mazur, Ecology; Shanta Fang, Command. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Ananya Aaberg stands down from Drive at sixty-eight, to the orchard benches and the long game of stones.
All boards green. I count 969 sleeping heartbeats and call it a good night's work, though the work is theirs.
Census check: 969 souls, 134 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Census check: 969 souls, 134 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 1,843th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Vikram Tväten stands the walk of the full spinal corridor, as the sixteen-year custom is, and joins Life Systems.
The hull ticks as it cools into the long night. Year 103, and I still log it faithfully: ticking, nominal.
Green across the board: Comms Array holds within the day of work. Spares were spent; Fabrication is notified.
Fault isolated in Comms Array. Repair estimate: unwise to say aloud.
Hakon Northam has died at 40, far too early. Drive stands down a shift in grief.
A birth in Ring A: Marzena, girl, generation 4. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
After 73 years, Lars Thorvaldsen has let go. Remembrance in the Ring A commons at next dimming.
Sixty-eight years: Ebba Aaberg hangs up the sash. An elder's quarters in Ring A stands ready.
A child in Ring B asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
Fern Shen stands the walk of the full spinal corridor, as the sixteen-year custom is, and joins Fabrication.
Census check: 970 souls, 135 of them children. The manifest balances to the person, as it must.
Tarun Quill and Altair Quill, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.