Ask Me Anything -- Note Waveskimmer

If we played two truths, and a lie what would be your two truths, and one lie?

I can free dive over two hundred metres down.

I have a scar on my thigh from when I tried to ‘wrestle an octopus’ as a child. (It came up in our net.)

I was the best aluminium origami artist in our pod.

What jobs did you do in your cluster growing up?

My cluster? What are you talking about? I’m not Arborean, friend. My family did the same sorts of things that everyone else in our pod did, that Khemin usually do. A lot of fishing, boat maintenance, collecting and repairing scrap for use and for trade. I always had a knack for navigation, although never much of one for talking to the dolphins, which I was always sad about.

What kind of things did your cluster on Earth celebrate?

We don’t tend to hold much in the way of celebrations, although we do have a lot of ceremonies. Vow confirmation ceremonies, welcoming ceremonies for new mentors or helpmates, funerals. The structure of our timeline is also a structure of distance; we are at certain points long the route at certain times in the cycle, so I suppose our version of a regular ‘celebration’ is making port somewhere large and fun, like the Maw, and being horribly irresponsible trading our hard-won goods for a good time.

We do celebrate weddings. The addition of a new boat to a pod, or the passing on of a boat to a new married couple, is a significant event.

Do you share any Khemin celebrations, or holidays with your cluster on the Courageous?

Friend. I don’t know what you think a cluster is. But just because I am from the ocean does NOT make me Arborean.

Nobody’s gotten married among my crew, so it’s never really come up. I do intend to be wildly irresponsible when we land, though.

What made you interested in becoming an Astronaut?

A new ocean in the sky more vast than anyone could traverse in a thousand lifetimes? Who wouldn’t be interested in becoming an astronaut?

Why is it standard to be depilated as an astronaut?

It’s a job that involves wearing a lot of clothing and equipment against one’s skin for long periods of time. Hair presents unneeded complications.

Do you miss the ocean?

Every day.

If you could introduce one Earth species of non-human animal to Hylara what would it be?

We intend to introduce a great many nonhuman animals to Hylara! You can’t exactly have an ecosystem without them!

I do dream of one day introducing dolphins, but that’s a very, very long way off.

What are your current thoughts/outlook on getting the colonists down to Hylara?

Thoughts? They’re going down, one way or the other. It’s not a complicated process. We’re just trying to get it done with a minimum of fighting.

Do you regret taking this job/how frustrated are you about the situation you've found yourself in after waking up from chronostasis?

Do I regret my entire adult life? No, friend. Don’t be ridiculous.

If the following conditions occur, would you be interested in introducing dolphins to Hylara?

a. There are dolphin embryos on the Courageous

b. An ocean or near-ocean settlement is started in your lifetime

c. The ocean is safe for the dolphins

There absolutely will not be an ocean capable of supporting dolphins in my lifetime, that’s absolutely ridiculous. Simply not possible.

I’m interested in my great grandchildren introducing dolphins to Hylara, though. I’ll have to teach them to speak to them, so they’ll know what to do. I wish I wasn’t such a bad dolphin-speaker myself; maybe I’ll be better at teaching it.

Have you heard the story of The Little Mermaid?

I have not!

What parts of Earth were on your route?

A great many of them. We were a deep ocean pod that circled between Arborea Pacifica, and the Maw. A great many pods intersect the Maw at some point on their route, it’s sort of a central hub for us, so my pod acted as a trade point between the Khemin as a whole and Arborea Pacifica. Among other things.