1The Story of Space
"I suppose you're aware that if you write the story of Starship Avalon, no-one on Earth is going to read it for at least one-hundred and sixty-one years."
"One-hundred and sixty-one?"
"Well, one-hundred and twenty years to get to Homestead Colony. Forty years to transmit your book back to Earth at lightspeed."
"And the extra one year?"
"Well, I'd like to think that you'd spend at least a year writing your manuscript. Because any second edition is going to have a long wait time."
Aurora wasn't sure if she liked Valentine or not. If she disliked her, it was irrational, she could say that much. But still, there was something…off, about her.
"Well, anyway, good luck," Valentine said. "I've written plenty of books, and I'd love to write about Homestead Colony as well."
"I've read some of them," Aurora murmured.
Jealousy? No, that wasn't it. So Valentine Wiggin was a published author, and sister to Admiral Ender Wiggin of the International Fleet. Being jealous of Valentine would only be petty.
"Well, first time for everything. I'm sure you'll do fine."
Aurora met her gaze as they resided in the Avalon's mess area – an amenity before it departed Earth, and one that would go unused for over a century once its passengers entered suspension. There was a fierce intelligence in Valentine's eyes, even as she kept her gaze focused on a data pad in one hand, and coffee (the last coffee she'd ever drink most likely) in the other.
She's honest.
That was it, Aurora decided. Up until now, Valentine Wiggin had spoken only in facts. And that was what bothered her.
She was leaving Earth with the desire to tell the story of space. To get to Homestead, and write about it. Not just report on the colony, but actually tell its story, and that of its people. And Valentine had pointed out without hesitation that it would be generations before anyone on Earth read it. By the time she arrived, Earth could be a ball of radioactive dust. Maybe its people would be so far advanced that reading would be an alien concept to them. Maybe…Aurora cradled her tea. She couldn't stand coffee, and anyway, she didn't want to be kept awake in stasis (if that was even possible). Maybe she really was wasting her time. Because while life on Earth was monotonous, as was the price of utopia, monotony was worse than calamity. And if extra-planetary colonization had taught humanity anything, it was that calamity and space exploration went hand in hand. That Murphy's Law was a universal constant not limited to just one planet.
"You okay?"
Aurora looked up at Valentine. Valentine looked at her with her eyes. Those blue, blazing eyes.
"Fine," she said.
"Come on, don't lie to me."
Oh come on.
"Is it second thoughts? I mean, I can't blame you for second thoughts, but you missed the shuttle by three hours, and-"
"I'm fine," Aurora lied. She tried to force a smile. "I mean, sure, I'll be in artificial hibernation in a starship traveling at one third of the speed of light, moving through an environment that could kill me in means ranging from gamma rays to hull breaches, but hey, sure. I'm fine."
More lies. But she wasn't trying to hide them. She suspected that even if she'd put her best effort into it, it would have come to nothing. This was the sister of Ender and Peter Wiggin. One the greatest tactical mind humanity had ever seen, the other the lord and master of planet Earth. Yep. Totally not out of bounds.
"Anyway," Valentine said. She got up, still carrying her pad and coffee. "I'm going to look around a bit. Food for thought. Last chance I get before thought becomes a non-issue."
"Yeah. Sure."
Brain death. Can brain death happen?
Aurora didn't say anything after that. She just returned to her tea. Wondering whether she'd factor this into her story.
This was looking like a very long trip right now.
A/N
It's a bit early to talk about the characters of Passengers since, y'know, the film hasn't even been released yet. Still, the idea of Aurora departing to Homestead to "tell the story of space," I couldn't help but be reminded a bit of Valentine. She becomes a prolific author, spends her time actively on the journey to Shakespeare, etc. Probably more a coincidence than anything else, but regardless, drabbled this up.