Time to Orbit: Unknown

My family line is really good at being born. That was something that I discovered right away. As I became aware for the first time and dug into my memories, I found that a really high proportion of them were about the physiology of bodies. Here is where the heart is in a Bantic slug; … Continue reading Inner Life 1: Birth

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “We have a complication,” Tima said one morning at breakfast. Plia stopped chewing. “A serious one?” “Not really. The trip to the Dish is all secure. It’s the ride back to the Courageous that’s going to take some finagling. The Velocity – ” “Terrible ship name, very confusing … Continue reading 43: Travel Plans

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next After that, I was pretty bored for a while. Ella did get more busy in the lab and couldn’t hang out with me much, and the historians were also busy, spending all of their time looking through the Stalwart’s databanks even though they admitted that they didn’t expect … Continue reading 42: Holding Pattern

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “That can’t be right,” I said. “We definitely don’t do things the way you do.” “Well, the Stalwart was built two colonies ago. Maybe your society’s changed since then.” “Maybe yours has.” “Ha! You might be right.” She suddenly stopped smiling and looked thoughtful. “Actually, you probably are. … Continue reading 41: The Colonisation Paradox

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Trying to find out why Tikka thought that other ships were deadly was hard. I couldn’t understand most of what she tried to tell me, and it seemed like she didn’t know, either. Like maybe it was just something that the grown ups had warned her about. She … Continue reading 40: Ability Rankings

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next The Stalwart doesn’t have viewports. I’m not sure why; I didn’t want to ask anyone in case it set off a rant about inefficient weak spots in the hull or something. After the historians left, I changed the projector view to a view of space, and stood in … Continue reading 39: Foreigner

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Plia and Tima were waiting for us in the cafeteria. They saw us approach through the window and strode impatiently out into the hall to meet us. “So what’s this oh-so-great discovery of yours?” Plia asked. Hali grinned. “Oh, you’ll see.” He lead us down a series of … Continue reading 38: Relaxation

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Actually, I’d wanted to ask about Hexacorallia. After the whole capuchin thing it seemed like a bad idea to get all my information from reports and educational videos, and if there were any more surprises on the next ship being hidden-but-not-really, Ella might know and be able to … Continue reading 37: Manners

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “What do you mean?” Plia asked. “We got the idea from Arborea Celestia,” Ella explained. “Arborea is a ship with design problems. Just so, so many design problems. I mean, right from the fleet’s obsession with ring-shaped habitats… but more importantly, their whole ecological structure results in a … Continue reading 36: Perfect Plans

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “What’s the deal with the capuchins, do you think?” Tima asked at breakfast. Plia shrugged. “Just what Fari said, I’d imagine. They seem to be really big on efficiency here. If you can keep your mass and your food and oxygen cycling down when supporting the huge force … Continue reading 35: Efficiency