Liber Saturni - Chapter 53

Verses

Verse 63

Mission day 611. Saturn fills half the observation window and still looks like a graphic someone forgot to render realistically.

Verse 64

Mission control says isolation metrics remain acceptable.

Verse 65

We have stopped asking what acceptable means.

Verse 66

Enceladus threw another plume into sunlight today.

Verse 67

Water from beneath an ice world: a fountain from a sealed room.

Verse 68

Half the crew wants microbes. The other half wants one week without equipment alarms.

Verse 69

Titan is orange, hidden, patient.

Verse 70

I understand why ancient people gave planets personalities. Distance invites projection.

Verse 71

Up close, projection gets complicated by maintenance logs.

Verse 72

Dr. Chen says the rings are young on geological scales. Malik says everything is young if your scale is rude enough.

Verse 73

We laughed too hard.

Verse 74

Sound becomes precious on a long mission.

Verse 75

Even irritation proves another mind is nearby.

Verse 76

Last night I dreamed the rings were grooves on a record.

Verse 77

The ship's orbit was the needle.

Verse 78

The music was too low to hear.

Verse 79

I woke before deciding whether that was profound or merely sleep deprivation.

Verse 80

Radiation check normal.

Verse 81

Fuel margin normal.

Verse 82

Psychological status apparently poetic.

Verse 83

If life exists beneath that ice, it has never seen a sunrise.

Verse 84

I keep thinking about that.

Verse 85

Perhaps light is not required for wonder.

Verse 86

Perhaps wonder is just the name humans give to ignorance before the instruments arrive.

Verse 87

Tomorrow we sample the plume.