Entertainment
Seeing her leader away for her first diplomatic journey was oddly stressful for Morgan. Her husband noticed the tension in her neck that night as he undid her hair. More evidence as the week progressed and his wife reduced her self into a robot. All Morgan did was follow Lilith’s last orders. Everyone on the ship did as they were told that was not new. Each time Lilith came on screen a feeling of joy would come over his wife. Morgan did not know how to describe feelings so she used biometrics to quantify them. Lilith would ask her for the report and Morgan had to relay information in a way that whoever may over hear could not understand. The language the two women had developed in their bonding day helped. Morgan’s face was extremely expressive and Lilith made an alphanumeric based on what expression Morgan had when she greeted her. All graphics given were nonsense with out it and since it was in the women’s memory no one else knew. Yet her husband was figuring out some expressions were not for him. It was uncomfortable.
Ian made a musical score for the various duty groups of ship. When he played Lilth’s messages to a group her instrument would play the theme of the group she was talking to in the background. This gave them the feeling of oneness that would have come if she was there in person. Ichabod, Lilith’s favorite old person and his mentor/wife’s father helped him form the idea. Lilith asked Morgan to suggest what to do to build a relationship with everyone in their new tribe, something she could only do with the core crew. His wife thought music was the best way. He agreed. The theme composed for the new tribe had sounds only the young could hear. Each score fit into the tribe song.
Living quarters were made by each member of the tribe. Talented fabricators and builders connected them to main areas. Plants and animals were able to live in the largest ships caretakers kept 12% of them healthy and comfortable but 83% were in seed form awaiting their turn for planting. Everything living had its place and duty. Temperature and humidity varied in the common areas as did lighting and ambient sounds. The planet’s rotation and seasons were adapted by its future inhabitants now adjustments were being made to balance their bodies to the planet.
Single cell life forms were seeded on the planet six feet deep in biosupportive gel. Once the gel layer was universally a foot deep it was covered in decomposing casting from the ship mixed with soil from every tribe member’s home planet. The builders then set the grid Lilith would be home in time for the simple layer to go on. The simple layer contains seedlings and protective gas bubbles. Lilith and Morgan’s planetary greenhouse invention. If it worked, insects would be allowed to live free on the planet seven years earlier than expected.
Ian marveled at his wife’s mind. Lilith had looked at her and smiled one day as the two toured the builders works. "That gel. In a dome." They said together. No one around them knew what they were talking about. Morgan displayed a terra dome Lilith edited it. They both turned to the pair giving them the tour a builder and a biologist and said "When can you make this work planet wide?" The Biologist looked at the specs with a face that displayed disappointment that he could do nothing more than approve the design. The Builder was happy because she was able to assign groups to creating the domes. She asked the Biologist for a team to select plants suited for the event. At that the Biologist brightened the two then took the graphic onto their scrolls and huddled. Before the meeting Morgan had displayed the request for mate the two had sent to Ian and Lilith. Lilith ordered the tour to see if they would be good for each other. Ian picked the moment when the two looked away from their work and into each others eyes to introduce music to bring their attention back to their leader. When they obeyed Lilith said, "I have seen your request and grant you each other."
Ian loved the big reveal matings. They did not happen all the time, Lilith didn’t have one. The big reveals happened to break up monotony and inspire the desire to mate. His wife enjoyed their reveal meeting and lamented his choice of not making them a weekly event. He had to stand firm in his choice because if they were weekly he believed they would become either obnoxious or impossibly complicated. Monotony is the enemy of a people no one wants a chaotic life just one that seems like it could be. People want to feel powerful, needed and wanted even while they are doing most mundane task. Stroking the ego of a people was Ian’s job and he did it well.
Lilith asked Ian to help The Entertainer with matchmaking. Ian asked his wife for females who were low productivity, medium beauty with high adaptability rating. Sorting through the women with Lilth’s requirement they had little to no technological capability he gave The Entertainer three women to match. Thinking of the loss of three wedges so soon it the process of populating a planet would make biodiversity hard.
The ship was growing fast the first wave of married people would soon be welcoming children. His wife had two strong babies inside of her at the one month exam all females were given. At the end of the exam the news is given as to if they had functioning wombs. The ones with failing wombs were given a choice to become an "aunt" supporting children not born to her. Males had no idea. They were given wives and every three years babies were born in their home or not. Males without the ability to procreate were not given the choice to be uncles their wives were, giving birth was their job.
Taking the child about and finding their skills building their aptitude was shared until the child chose the parent they learnt best from. Children were going to be worn by the parent with the least dangerous job until they could be trusted to stay next to their adult. Small tasks were given to them to master as they grew the tasks would become more diverse and complex until the child was firmly sorted in to one of the twelve disciplines. Ian would take on that first generation of entertainers. Teaching them the craft until they could be trusted with their own wedge. He was so excited every time the idea flowed into his mind. The terror of possibilities came soon after. His mentor was the best at music so musical entertainers will be easy and fun. He built a million programs for musicions. Yet the question he feared most when he watched the ever growing bellies on board was. What if they are actors or comics? The absolute worst would be if no entertainers come to the ship.
Ian would turn of his monitors and close his eyes then. That was not his favorite thought but as it kept coming he decided to create programs for that possiblity. Combing through the entertainment files from all the members of the crew he found stories and themes he could sew together with music to present to the whole ship. Entertainment was a human need and he was going to fill it. Directly for 90 years if possible and indirectly forevermore.