by Melanie Edmonds
Ship’s log, 14:39, 28 March 2214 Location: Spaceport, Seville, Spain, Earth Status: Landing External communications line STARRY: (Spanish) Landing on platform A-16, acknowledged. Are the docking clamps really necessary, Port Authority? We’re just dropping someone off. SEVILLE PORT AUTHORITY: (Spanish) Regulations, Starwalker. You must wait for take-off clearance with docking clamps engaged. STARRY: (sighing) […]
Ship’s log, 14:18, 28 March 2214 Location: Entry corridor to Earth atmosphere, Home system Status: On final approach for entry It’s about time. Sixteen hours in orbit, slipping around like a spastic fish so that we stay out of range of sensors on the Moonbase, waiting for landing control on Earth to designate us […]
Ship’s log, 23:41, 27 March 2214 Location: Wide orbit near Earth Moonbase, Home System Status: Stationary When we first came to this system, we avoided the Moonbase. I had forgotten about that until 15.4 seconds ago. More precisely, I had forgotten about why we had avoided the Moonbase, and 15.4 seconds ago, a sensor […]
Ship’s log, 07:18, 27 March 2214 Location: Wide orbit near Earth Moonbase, Home System Status: Stationary It has been a long week. Simulations and permutations and more simulations. Calculations so repetitive that I almost miss the excitement of looping. (But only almost. I’m not that bored.) For generations, scientists have tried to build reliable, […]