In The Odyssey, the concept of "day" and "night" was non-existent. The stars outside never changed. The stars always glowed in their endless brilliance, and the artificial lighting inside the ship cycled on a programmed schedule to simulate Earth's Day-night rhythm. But even with this clever design, time blurred together in the void of space. Even after that, it left most of the crew members feeling perpetually disoriented.
Each "morning," the artificial lights in the crew quarters brightened gradually. It shifted from soft hues of deep blue to a warm golden glow that bathed the walls. The system was meant to gently ease us into wakefulness, but for Joseph, it was an unrelenting enemy…
"Shin..." he groaned, his voice muffled from beneath his blanket. "Tell the lights to shut off. Five more minutes…. Plaease…"
I was already up while sitting on the edge of my bunk and trying to pull on my socks in the low gravity. "The lights don't listen to me, Joseph. Get up... It is programmed that way…"
Joseph poked his head out from under the blanket, his hair sticking up at odd angles. "I've decided. I'm hibernating throughout the entire mission. Wake me up when we reach Kepler…."
"Sure…." I said while tossing a pillow at him. "I'll just do all the work while you snore your way through deep space…."
He caught the pillow and clutched it dramatically, "See, this is why you're my best friend. Always looking out for me…."
"Get up, Joseph…. You sleepy ass bastard…" I repeated, rolling my eyes. "Breakfast's waiting…."
The mess hall was one of the most well-used areas of the ship. It was a sleek, metallic room lined with long tables and food dispensers embedded into the walls. The dispensers were programmed to provide a variety of meals, from nutrient-dense protein bars to freeze-dried versions of classic dishes like pancakes and eggs…
After dragging Joseph to the mess hall, we lined up at one of the dispensers. The interface lit up with a holographic menu, and Joseph groaned as he scrolled through it.
"Protein bars, again?!" he said, making a face. "They've got like, five flavors, and none of them taste like happiness..."
"Try the omelet…." I suggested. "It's not that bad…"
Joseph selected the omelet, and a small tray slid out from the dispenser. The food was packaged neatly in a vacuum-sealed container that popped open with a hiss when he pulled the tab. The smell of eggs and vegetables wafted out, though it wasn't quite like the things on earth….
He took a bite, chewing slowly. "Okay... not bad. Still tastes like it's been in space for a year, but not bad…"
I grabbed a container of oatmeal and joined him at a table. "You complain too much. At least we're lucky that we are not eating out of toothpaste tubes…"
Joseph snorted. "I don't know, Shin. Toothpaste tubes sound like less work. Just squeeze and swallow..."
I almost choked on my oatmeal, laughing. "You're hopeless…."
After a long day of work, the challenge wasn't just falling asleep the main challenge was staying asleep. The silence of space was almost too much, and without the natural rhythms of Earth, our internal clocks were constantly fighting to adjust…
Joseph, of course, found every excuse to make things harder. "Shin!!" he said one night as we lay in our bunks, the lights slowly dimmed to simulate night, "Do you think there are aliens out there watching us right now?!"
"Joseph, just go to sleep already…."
"No, seriously man…." he continued, his voice muffled. "What if they're just sitting out there, waiting for us to nod off so they can, I don't know, beam us up or something?!"
I sighed while pulling my blanket tighter. "If they beam you up, do me a favor and take your pillow with you. I need some peace..."
"Cold, Shin…" he replied, chuckling. "Real cold buddy…"
Despite the banter, sleep was never easy. The hum of the ship's engines was a constant reminder that we were traveling through the vast unknown. Sometimes, the weight of it all crept in. I often found myself staring at the ceiling, thinking of Maki and Earth, wondering what they were doing while we drifted farther away.
One afternoon, as we sat in the observation lounge, Joseph floated an idea that could only come from him…
"Shin, I've got it. The perfect plan..."
I looked up from the holographic tablet I was reviewing. "Should I be worried?!"
"Probably…" He leaned in. His eyes were gleaming with mischief. "I'm going to convince the commander to put me in cryo-sleep for the rest of the trip. Boom. No work, no stress, just sweet, uninterrupted sleep…"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Joseph, there's no cryo-sleep on this ship. And even if there were, you'd wake up with everyone mad at you for skipping all your duties..."
He waved me off. "Details, details. I'll get my way out of it somehow…."
"Sure, you will…" I said while shaking my head. "Let me know how that goes when Commander Zhang kicks you off the ship..."
Without Earth's Day-night cycle, time is blurred into an endless string of tasks, meals, and stolen moments of humor. The ship's schedule helped keep us grounded, but the truth was, we were all improvising, finding ways to make this alien existence feel normal.
Joseph, as always, found a way to turn even the most mundane routines into entertainment. Whether he was critiquing the food, arguing with the water filtration system when it beeped at him, or insisting that his bunk was haunted because he "heard a weird creak," he kept the crew and me constantly laughing.
Life in space was strange, but with Joseph around, it was never boring. And that was something all the crew members were thankful for.
Work on The Odyssey was a delicate balance of professionalism and chaos. Though… with Joseph around, the chaos often took center stage. Every crew member had specific duties to keep the ship running smoothly as it traveled through the infinite cosmos, but somehow, Joseph and I managed to make even the most routine tasks feel like an adventure or… a disaster sometimes… depending on who you asked.
I was a part of the ship's navigation and systems team. As part of the navigation and systems team, my job was to ensure that the ship stayed on course. I constantly monitored the propulsion systems and troubleshoot any issues with the onboard computers. Most of my time was spent staring at holographic displays, adjusting trajectories, and running simulations to predict any potential hazards…
One of my tasks involved regularly checking the star charts, which were updated in real-time as we moved through the galaxy. It was fascinating work, but it required a lot of focus. It was something that Joseph seemed determined to disrupt…
"Shin…" he said one day. He leaned over my workstation, "how do you know those star charts are accurate? What if the stars are messing with us? Like, what if they're moving, and the charts just haven't caught up?"
I looked up from my display, raising an eyebrow. "Joseph, stars don't just randomly move…. They have their own trajectory…"
He grinned. "How do you know? Have you asked them?!"
I sighed while pointing my fingers at the glowing map in front of me. "This map updates constantly based on our sensors. If a star moves, I'll know. And for the record, stars don't care about us..."
Joseph leaned back and crossed his arms. "I don't know, Shin. That one over there" he gestured vaguely out the window, "It looks like it's winking at me..."
One of our teammates, Lena who was a navigation specialist, overheard and joined in while smirking. "Maybe it's flirting with you, Joseph. It's probably the only thing in this galaxy that will…"
The room burst into laughter, and Joseph held a hand to his chest and pretended to be wounded. "What the hell, Lena?!! I expected support from my colleagues, not betrayal…"
On the other hand, Joseph's job was Logistics and Mismanagement. Joseph's job in logistics involved managing inventory, overseeing the supply chain, and ensuring that all departments had the materials they needed. It was an important role, but Joseph had a knack for making it feel like the least serious job on the ship…
One day, I stopped by the storage bay to find Joseph sitting on top of a crate labeled "Fragile, Handle with Care…" eating a packet of freeze-dried strawberries.
"Joseph…" I said, crossing my arms, "What do you think you are doing?"
He looked up, his legs swinging off the crate. "Inventorying. Very important work..."
"That's a crate of medical supplies," I pointed out. "Shouldn't it be, I don't know, not being sat on?"
He shrugged, popping another strawberry into his mouth. "Relax, Shin. It's sturdy. Besides, I'm multi-tasking… eating and working. They call that efficiency…"
On one particularly memorable day, Joseph caused a minor incident during a routine supply audit. He'd been tasked with cataloging hydration packs, but instead of placing them in their designated slots, he decided to stack them in the shape of a pyramid.
"Joseph, what are you doing?" Lena asked while walking into the storage bay with me just in time to see the pyramid wobbling dangerously.
"Art…." Joseph said while gesturing grandly. "This, my friends, is a testament to human creativity. Hydration meets architecture…"
"Hydration meets disaster…" I muttered and stepped forward to stabilize the pyramid, but it was too late. The stack collapsed, sending hydration packs rolling across the floor and knocking over a nearby shelf.
"Oops…." Joseph said while scratching the back of his head. "Okay, that wasn't my best idea… I guess…"
"Your best idea?" Lena repeated, exasperated. "Joseph, this is why we can't have nice things."
"Relax…." Joseph said while grabbing a mop-like tool to start cleaning up. "I've got this under control..."
It took an hour to sort the mess, and Joseph spent the rest of the day dodging glares from Lena and the other logistics team members.
Despite Joseph's crazy actions and behaviors, our interactions with the crew were always lively. We often worked closely with the communications officer, Ali, and the mechanics specialist, Tom. Both of whom had their own quirks…
One afternoon, during a system diagnostic, Ali leaned over to my station and frowned. "Shin, are we getting interference from that star cluster, or is Joseph just talking too loud again?"
"Most definitely Joseph…." I replied without looking up, earning a laugh from Ali.
Meanwhile, Tom, who was fixing a panel nearby, chuckled. "Don't blame the guy. He's just trying to brighten our days with his... unique energy."
"Unique is one word for it…" Lena said dryly, joining the conversation.
Joseph popped his head around the corner, grinning. "You're welcome, team… I live to serve..."
One day, during a particularly chaotic shift, Joseph accidentally activated a cargo loader in the storage bay. The loader, a massive automated device, began spinning wildly, knocking over crates and it scattered supplies everywhere.
"Shut it off!!!" Lena yelled while trying to dodge a flying container of protein bars.
"I'm trying!!!" Joseph shouted, pressing buttons on the control panel. But that only seemed to make things even worse…
I rushed in grabbed the emergency override and slammed it down. The loader stopped, and silence fell over the room…
Joseph turned to me, smiling sheepishly. "Hey, look on the bright side. At least no one got hurt..."
Lena emerged out of a stack of protein bars and glared at him while brushing a protein bar wrapper off her shoulder. "Joseph, you're banned from touching any equipment. Forever..."
Despite the chaos, our work had a rhythm, and even Joseph's antics couldn't derail it entirely. Every task, no matter how small, felt significant aboard The Odyssey, and the camaraderie among the crew made even the hardest days enjoyable.
In the quiet moments, I found myself marveling at the stars, grateful for the team around me and for Joseph, who, despite his knack for chaos, made life aboard the ship endlessly entertaining.
TO BE CONTINUED