Author: Derin

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> I leap to my feet. The first stupid, stupid thought to go through my brain is, “Oh no! Zombies!” Which is, of course, ridiculous. It’s not zombies. That’s the alarm for… Um. I’m not actually sure what that alarm is for. It’s not one … Continue reading 046: INTERDEPENDENCE

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> It’s movie night. We’re about four years out from Hylara, and one of the things keeping us all sane is movie night. Tal insisted on the name and it stuck, even though we also share audio, holograms, books, and occasional games. Every six days, … Continue reading 045: ZOMBIES

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> I wait for the other shoe to drop. I wait for us to discover some new horrible thing about the stage 2 patients, or for the AI to try to kill us all over something stupid, or for someone to develop some deadly health … Continue reading 044: EARTH

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “Artificial intelligences aren’t truly intel – ” “Nope!” Tal raises a finger. “Artificial brains aren’t truly intelligent. Circuits can’t do what neurons can, no matter how you design or program them. But you know what can do the job of neurons? Neurons. You guys … Continue reading 043: OUTSOURCING

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “Um,” I say. “Yes. It does.” “Nope! The ten per cent category is, so far as I can tell, a zero per cent category. Every single person you’ve tried to revive from that category has gone into fits and either immediately ripped their own … Continue reading 042: DECEPTION

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> I lie back and stare at the ceiling, deep in thought. Tinera stops nibbling on my collarbone and pulls herself up onto her hands to glare down at me. “You’re working.” “What? No, I’m here with you.” “You’re working here.” She taps my skull. … Continue reading 041: TARGET

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> The corpse’s kill switch had been successfully destroyed by the electrostatic shield, so we spend a day carefully lowering everyone under the ship and bringing them back up. We’re really careful about it, taking our time and using a lot of tethers, but it … Continue reading 040: RECAP

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “So why zeelite stuff?” I ask Tal over a breakfast of preserved oats and two-day-old bread. Adin has been banned from strenuous activities like kneading dough by the doctors so that his muscles and the skin and synnerves for his new artificial foot can … Continue reading 039: PEOPLE

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> The crew gather in the medbay once more. Only half of us have done much actual physical labour today, but weariness shows on everyone’s faces. It’s clear that we’re all quite sick of random crises blindsiding us. Adin’s eyes are slightly glassy from whatever … Continue reading 038: NERVES

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “We’re in space! I’m not cutting a hole in his space suit!” “He’ll die if you don’t.” “Aspen, please.” The Friend’s voice is gentle. “This plan isn’t great, but we don’t have time to come up with a better one, and we probably don’t … Continue reading 037: MODIFY