Time to Orbit: Unknown

First -- Prev-- Archive -- Next We didn’t see any food making machines on the rest of the jaunt through the Kitchens, but that didn’t mean that I was wrong. They were probably just too dangerous to let kids our age close to. Maybe people who did a second pass in Kitchens got to see … Continue reading 5: The Stranger

First -- Prev-- Archive -- Next I spent as much time as I could with Grandma over the next month, but it wasn’t easy. We have a big family, and she had old friends, so a lot of people wanted to spend time with her. And she had to spend lots and lots of time … Continue reading 4: Change

First -- Prev-- Archive -- Next When I went to sleep, I had a bad dream. I stayed up late to spend more time with Grandma, and when I get to bed too late I sometimes have nightmares. This time, I was standing in a viewing port, looking out at the stars, but it was … Continue reading 3: The Dream

First -- Prev-- Archive -- Next I didn’t tell my friends about the treegrave thing at Rubbish & Recycling the next day. They wouldn’t have understood. They would’ve congratulated me, and when I explained why it was sad, they would’ve told me that I was wrong. My friends don’t have grandmas. Hitan is growing up … Continue reading 2: Closed System

Archive -- Next Right from the first day of my jaunt, I knew that every girl on the Courageous must want more than anything to work in Rubbish & Recycling. Arai didn’t agree. She said that working in Records was going to be the best, once we got to that part of the jaunt. But … Continue reading 1: What every girl wants

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive “Did you hear what Lorna and Smon were talking about this morning?” Ketyk asks, landing on the large metal dish on the ground that Tyk is trying to inspect. “What? No. You know I can’t hear enough of their sounds to understand their language. No woman can.” “Yeah, … Continue reading 63: One Year Later

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next “I have never claimed to be – ” “I didn’t say you claimed to be anything. But that’s how you think. Like you and your people dropped out of the sky, a nascent beginning that gets to dictate our future. You repeatedly talk about how this … Continue reading 62: Realignment

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next “Maybe somebody took her,” Ketyk frets. “Or hurt her.” “There’s nobody around,” Yar assures him. “If there was, the scouts would’ve seen them, or we would’ve seen evidence of their foraging.” “It could’ve been someone in this group,” Ketyk says. He rounds on Kesal. “You -- … Continue reading 61: Regrets

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next The proposed Rayjo Tau site is very high above the ocean, but it’s not nearly as high as Tyk was expecting. Despite all of Smon’s talk about height being important, there’s still plenty of mountain above them as they walk out from between two sharp, steep … Continue reading 60: Sunseekers

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Time moves on. Smon gets her metal purified and then forged, expands her farm, and starts stockpiling food. Ketyk grows very quickly into a surprisingly strong flyer, soon able to make it up and down the communication tower without needing to rest on the way (a … Continue reading 59: To the Tower