Naomi had continued to speak to Evan as she worked on the spirulina problem. They kept to practical matters. Naomi had also begun the vat-grown meat experiment, and she kept him updated on it. A corner of her greenhouse had been relegated to a Dr. Frankenstein lab. It wasn’t so different from growing plants. Prep the starter cells in the growth medium and program them to grow along their lattices—thin tendrils that would thicken into corded, artificial muscle within the incubator. Meat. It wouldn’t be much, but the few grams here and there would help bolster their protein and give a much-welcome break from endless nutriblocks.

Evan asked her opinion as one of his colleagues was looking into an outbreak of sickness from suspected wheat rust in local crops. She recommended the company where she’d done her first summer internship, Argaine.

That brought back memories of that summer between freshman and sophomore year. Those long days, fingertips growing calloused and dirt under her fingernails. The farmer’s tan on her arms despite the sunscreen. Walking down to the end of the farm to the gas station to buy an ice cold soda, holding the can to the back of her neck, her temples, before sucking it down by the time she got halfway back to the office.

Evan and Naomi were too stiff, too polite, aware that every word they typed could be read by anyone on the ship.

Hart had set the background of the rec room to a park—green grass and crusty barbecues next to wooden picnic tables, complete with weathered, carved initials in lopsided hearts. No matter the detail, it still paled compared to Naomi’s memories of past Independence Days—hot, sticky nights, the blaring of “Star-Spangled Banner” from old speakers, the smoke from the charcoal grills and spent fireworks tickling her throat.

Hixon passed her a plate. They’d raised comfortable chairs for the crew from the malleable floor of the rec room. Naomi stretched, her spine easing as it moulded to the shape of her back. The crew was marking the first meal made almost entirely from Naomi’s crops. An entirely nutriblock-free meal. Their protein was from some of their last packets of vat steak in gravy—her own crop of vat meat wasn’t quite ready yet—but they had a side salad of lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes, and potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes with rosemary. The salad was still peppered with ten grams of spirulina for an extra micronutrient burst, but at least they didn’t have to chew it in gelatinous form.