The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

On board The Wayfarer, Captain Ashby is approached by Corbin, the ship’s algaeist in charge of onboard fuel production. Corbin irritates Ashby enormously and is extremely antisocial; he is good at his job, so Ashby tolerates him. Corbin is angry that Ashby has hired Rosemary as the ship’s new clerk without consulting him. Corbin is convinced that a young person without deep space experience is unsuitable for the ship. Corbin then complains that Sissix, the pilot, has taken his special dentbots, nanomachines that clean the user’s mouth. Ashby lets Corbin vent for a bit up until the algaeist calls Sissix a “lizard,” a slur against her species. Ashby chastises Corbin and then calms him down. Rosemary will come aboard the next day. Ashby will be busy, so he asks Corbin to show her around the ship. Corbin tries to refuse but cannot.

Rosemary sips a cup of water in her transport pod as she approaches The Wayfarer. She reflects on how her life has changed. She had never been in a public spaceport before her departure for The Wayfarer and has had little experience with nonhumans up to this point. She has no more money and is in an unfamiliar situation. She is terrified of making a mistake. As the shutters on the pod open, Rosemary gets her first glimpse of The Wayfarer. The ship is a patchwork of additions, but she decides it looks sturdy enough. In the ship’s docking port, Rosemary exits her pod and is welcomed by the ship’s AI Lovelace, or Lovey. Lovey keeps Rosemary chatting as she is scanned for foreign pathogens. One of the crew has a weak immune system, so Lovey gives Rosemary a decontamination flash.

Inside the airlock, Corbin is waiting to give Rosemary a tour of the ship. As he shows her around, Corbin points out as many flaws with the ship as he can. They meet Kizzy and Jenks, the ship’s mechanics. The mechanics are engrossed in a repair but stop to welcome Rosemary to the ship. Jenks annoys Corbin by lighting a pipe while they all talk. Continuing on, Rosemary next meets Sissix, the ship’s Aandrisk pilot. Rosemary is surprised to find Sissix attractive. Sissix and Corbin begin bickering until Sissix insists on taking over as tour guide. Corbin is happy to be relieved of the duty. Sissix brings Rosemary to the clerk’s new quarters. The room is sparsely furnished, but members of the crew have made some personal touches to make her feel at home. Rosemary believes she’s found a good place to begin a new life. 

Ashby is discussing the ship’s latest job with Yoshi, a functionary with the Transport Board. Ashby is surprised when Yoshi mentions the possibility of The Wayfarer taking bigger jobs, given that the ship is not outfitted for them. The Wayfarer punches wormhole tunnels that enable single ships to move between systems. Making larger lanes for cargo convoys would be lucrative. Yoshi is cryptic but tells Ashby to keep his eye out for new work. 

Sissix continues showing Rosemary the ship. Sissix warns Rosemary to pay close attention to her mental health and not strain herself during her first tenday. She leads Rosemary to The Fishbowl, an observation dome on top of the ship filled with plants where the crew takes their meals. Sissix explains that the garden in The Fishbowl takes some of the burden off of the life support system, that they can grow some of their own food that way, and that the green space helps keep them sane during their jobs. Rosemary now meets Dr. Chef, a Grum who serves as the ship’s doctor and cook. Grum’s have six sets of vocal cords and branching windpipes, so his actual name is unpronounceable for humans. He is excited to learn that Rosemary is a kind of plant. He enjoys finding and growing new herbs. Dr. Chef is very friendly, but Sissix whispers to Rosemary not to ask about his homeworld or family.

Dinner that evening is red coast bugs, a cheap spacer food. Rosemary, due to her family’s wealth and origin on Mars, has never had them before. Ashby greets Rosemary when he joins the table and tells her that they will go over the ship’s accounts the next day. Sissix subtly shows Rosemary how to open the red bug’s shell and eat it. There is an empty place setting at the table. Ashby explains to Rosemary that, for health reasons, Ohan their navigator eats a special diet and rarely socializes. When the crew begins asking Rosemary about her life on Mars, she carefully deflects. As Rosemary helps Dr. Chef clean up, Sissix and Ashby agree that Rosemary seems like an excellent addition to the crew. Ashby is scanning the job listings as Yoshi advised him to. Sissix is skeptical that The Wayfarer can land any bigger jobs and asks Ashby why he would want to take on bigger jobs anyway. Ashby helps support members of his family and wants to send more money to them. 

Jenks walks into the engine room to find Kizzy singing loudly and dancing along to Harmagian music. Kizzy is making a messy repair and refuses to use fixbots to do it automatically. Jenks finds the part he needs and heads to the room housing Lovey’s hardware. As he enters the AI chamber, Jenks reflects on the fact that there are other Loveys out there but that their Lovey has become something unique and wonderful since being installed. Jenks and Lovey talk about the past day. Lovey asks if Jenks is attracted to Rosemary; she resembles a character in a video game whom Jenks has romanced. Jenks asks if she would be jealous, and she says it wouldn’t make sense given that she doesn’t have a body.

Lovey asks Jenks what sort of body he would like her to have if it were legal, and they discuss various aspects of bodily autonomy. Lovey desires the choice to transfer into a body, if she so desires, and Jenks has modified himself with piercings and tattoos as a way of claiming personal ownership of his body. Lovey isn’t sure if she wants a body, but she thinks the pros probably outweigh the cons. She asks Jenks again how he would want her to look, and he replies that will love her in any body. On that night’s news dispatch, there is word that the Martian and Exodan communities are cooperating, that Phobos Fuel CEO Quentin Harris has been indicted on charges of various high crimes, and that the Hok Pres border war drags into its third year with Aeluon forces defending GC civilians against the Rosk Synergy.

Rosemary enters The Fishbowl for breakfast. Dr. Chef lets her know how and when food is served; all meals except dinner are help-yourself. Rosemary learns that the crew will be punching a tunnel today. Rosemary doesn’t understand how the tunneling process work, and Kizzy explains it to her. As the ship’s clerk, Rosemary plays no role in the process, but Kizzy prepares her for the extreme disorientation that will occur during the work. Rosemary is unnerved to hear that The Wayfarer will be doing a “blind punch” to a system without an existing gateway opening.

She also learns that a Sianat navigator is necessary to do a blind punch. Sianats are deliberately infected with a virus called the Whisperer that gives them a preternatural understanding of the underlying structure of the universe. This gift makes it possible for them to make the calculations necessary to make an accurate blind punch. After breakfast, Rosemary takes her place in the control room. Ohan, the Sianat navigator enter and take their seat. The punch goes off with only minor hiccups, and the job is safely completed. Ashby announces that the crew has earned a few hours off ship just before Rosemary vomits.