| Day –10 / 2025-04-14 19:20 |
Last night on Earth, I potted basil under the moonlight. Its green hope felt hollow knowing I’d leave it behind. I pressed a leaf to my lips and promised I’d grow a forest on the other side of the stars. |
| Day –3 / 2025-04-22 22:05 |
Dreams tangle me in vines. I woke tangled in blankets, heart hammering like a hummingbird’s wings. The Ark’s engines roared beyond the hull—my new lullaby. |
| Cycle 0 / 2025-04-24 11:10 |
Liftoff squeezed my stomach until I gasped. I clutched my prototype seed capsule and whispered, “Grow for us.” Markus caught my eye; his steady calm felt like sunlight through storm clouds. |
| Cycle 2 / 2025-04-25 09:50 |
First zero-G greenhouse run: basil floated like ghosts. I laughed when a leaf drifted to my shoulder—friend or trickster, I can’t decide. |
| Cycle 4 / 2025-04-27 07:00 |
The ductbeats slowed the corridor to a lullaby. I hummed along—something ancient answered in the vents. I pressed my ear to the pipe; it thrummed warmth through me. |
| Cycle 7 / 2025-05-01 06:45 |
Teal dust in the vents shivered under my gloves. I tasted it on my tongue—ozone and longing. Sent it to Lena in a sealed pouch with a note: “Please tell me it’s friendly.” |
| Cycle 9 / 2025-05-04 03:25 |
Quarantine orders shut off half the greenhouse lights. My seedlings shivered in darkness. I whispered encouragement under my breath—they must learn to thrive in shadow as I will. |
| Cycle 12 / 2025-05-07 20:10 |
The spore alert lit the bay red. Foam sprayers hissed like awakening serpents. I drove them through the aisles—each blast of foam a promise that we will not surrender without a fight. |
| Cycle 15 / 2025-05-10 15:30 |
Markus volunteered first for trial. When I handed him the respirator, his nod was brave and soft. I hated that I wanted to lean in and kiss him beneath the mask. |
| Cycle 18 / 2025-05-13 17:05 |
The second-gen inhibitor held for forty-eight hours. I danced a quiet jig behind the sprayers. Spacy recorded my relief in the logs—I hope it keeps my secret. |
| Cycle 20 / 2025-05-16 13:40 |
Basil under UV glowed emerald. I plucked a leaf and crushed it between fingers, inhaled sharp hope. “Survive,” I told it. Then I tasted fear beneath the sweetness. |
| Cycle 22 / 2025-05-18 20:45 |
Boarding the shuttle to Mirrorglass, I clutched my sprayer like a lifeline. My heart lurched at the station’s silhouette. Promise me you’ll still bloom when I return, little green friends. |
| Cycle 25 / 2025-05-21 19:10 |
Re-entry on Zild: humid air rushed in and I nearly sobbed. Water-scarred my suit, but I embraced the damp—home’s first breath tasted of earth and unknown possibility. |
| Cycle 26 / 2025-05-22 07:30 |
First morning on Zild, mushrooms glowed under my boots. I knelt and sketched their pattern in my mind: fractal, luminous. I felt a thrill—this world pulses with life’s wild heartbeat. |
