Miria’s eyesight was poor, and that was before the hibernation sickness. She awoke alone. The Mon Chou was as deathly quiet as space itself. It was a freighter—unglamorous, but cheaper than a passenger transport—hauling a wormhole mouth to Khambalia. Miria wandered the identical empty corridors. Motion sensors kept her spotlit within the surrounding blackness. By… Continue reading What Comes Lurking in the Light
Tag: Cryosleep
The Third Age of Sail
The First Age of Sail lasted for 400 years, marking a period when wind-powered ocean vessels were the principal means of human commerce before the rise of steam engines. The Second Age of Sail was a reaction to rising average global temperatures. Wind propulsion, combined with the advent of electric battery technology, again dominated mercantile… Continue reading The Third Age of Sail
Arrival of the Pangea
Varun waited for Lan in the corridor beside the airlock. He watched pale teal shadows shift across the cloud tops of the planet's atmosphere. The view would be better once they were outside, unconstricted by the frame of the window. But there was still work to do, and he wanted to get his gawking out… Continue reading Arrival of the Pangea
Return of the Centauri Man
It had been a long time by any measure. But of course, the measure was the whole point. Max was awake and returning to Earth. He'd spent the bulk of the journey in a state of minmet. Even so, his stretches of wakefulness totaled more than four years subjective. Four years, five weeks, two days,… Continue reading Return of the Centauri Man
After Overture
"Mind if I sit?" Lyla considered the question for longer than was polite and then caught herself. "Yes, of course." It was a semi-ambiguous answer, which was how she meant it, but she motioned to the seat across from hers anyway. "Thanks." The young man smiled cordially, set down his little tray of packets and… Continue reading After Overture
How to Sleep for 1,000 Years
As part of his education, Praveen had to read the autobiography of Dr. Maaz Ghazali, one of the pioneers of cryonic interstellar travel. It was called How to Sleep for 1,000 Years. Interesting book, if a little dated. It didn't really cover Praveen's current dilemma, but even so, the parallels were enough to chill him to… Continue reading How to Sleep for 1,000 Years
Supersonic Solar Surfer
"So what do you do?" Rhoda looked up from her bowl of micrograins and green sauce—some sort of macronutrient vegetable purée that had more smell than taste. She'd thought she was alone in the Utnapishtim's galley; she was still groggy from cryo, not fully thawed yet. The man before her seemed too young for his… Continue reading Supersonic Solar Surfer
Always the Prankster
It was the first day of the month, and that meant testing all of the pressure relief valves in the First Axiom's water systems. It was just routine maintenance, but Tyrone hated it. He always put off valve 12B-46 for last. It was in the engineering pod aft of the passenger cabin. The only way to… Continue reading Always the Prankster
Worm Food
It wasn't raining this morning, so Eino didn't grab a poncho. But, as he'd come to expect, the weather on Kultainen Tunti could change on a dime. Without the weather mod-sats there was little that could be done about it. At the moment, things were not as golden as the name implied. Eino was soaked.… Continue reading Worm Food
Now They Call Me Lucky
When the starships all fell from the sky, many people died. But for a few, time merely stood still for a while. You'll notice I didn't say "a lucky few." Some people do; they say, "How lucky you are!" And I suppose it's true, if you make no strong distinction between good luck and bad. But… Continue reading Now They Call Me Lucky
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