Author: Derin

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next I didn’t get onto Project: Capuchin immediately. There was something else that was really bothering me about the conversation with Yamin. M ultimate goal was to keep us from getting hedged in to die by other fleet fragments and their colonies. I didn’t have enough information to know … Continue reading 98: Cultural Change

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Yamin stood in his office, hands behind his back, staring dramatically out into space. Which was fair. If I had a private office with that kind of view, I’d spend a lot of time staring out into space, too. “Our diplomats have reported back,” he announced without turning … Continue reading 97: Cultural Baseline

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next I knew it was going to be an interesting apprentice meeting when I walked in to find all four captains present. “Ooh,” Aevor said, coming in behind me. “Do you have the bids?” “We have the bids,” Captain Green confirmed, dropping a large stack of paper files on … Continue reading 96: The Bids

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next A month or so after Sema left us, Yamin started concentrating more on my general education. I wasn’t doing Education jaunts any more, so he compensated by having me spend time with various professionals and academics to learn more about the world. Math, engineering, physics, history, biology… it … Continue reading 95: Hummers

The hairdresser has no face of her own. You will see a face, when you go in. Everyone knows what hairdressers look like, after all. You will probably see a ‘her’, though it might be a ‘him’, if you live somewhere where men outnumber women in the profession; I use ‘her’ by the convention of … Continue reading The Cloak of Joy and Grief

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next I waited for him to explain. He looked to Seiba, waiting for kem to explain. Seiba realised that Yamin was waiting for kem, started, and cleared kes throat. “Um. Well. So, the natural level of a desire for raising children, among humans, is thought to be somewhere between … Continue reading 94: Family Structure

The first thing that anyone wants to know about is the distant past, and to be honest, I don’t know anything about that. Memories fade over time, but more than that, memories fade over lives. How many times can you halve yourself before there’s not enough left to be called yourself any more? I think … Continue reading Asymptote

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next I quickly learned that while the apprentices often talked together after meetings, most of them weren’t friends outside of work. It seemed like Mana and Huspi were close, but everyone else had their own, separate lives. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad … Continue reading 93: Emigration

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “There’s a problem with the Dragonseye,” Captain Violet announced. We were having another apprentice meeting, giving me a chance to talk to my peers again. I figured that this meeting probably wasn’t very important, because only one captain was present. (I assumed that they’d all come to the … Continue reading 92: Future Problems

Previous --- Next We didn’t rush back to the ship. Or at least, we didn’t openly run. We kept to a reasonable pace as we headed straight back to the ship with no detours. “We don’t have anything to do with the prince,” Spanner Ann said quietly, sounding puzzled. “No, but we can’t afford the … Continue reading Inner Life 6: Flight