Adrift now for more than the promised seven revolutions around alpha-3400x I sit alone on the seventh skydeck. Gazing into a darkness dotted with celestial bodies I reflect on the journey we started, the escape from the birthplace we had destroyed. We had been told that we would reach the colony in seven years time, whatever a year is without real seasons (everyone had voted for eternal summer). My timepiece implant, though, tells me we have been travelling for 103 143 hours alpha-3400x which is almost 12 years now.
My first daughter Kwx-α was born somewhere in space (23 478 hours), and is now part of the next generation, but we do not expect her to reach the colony either, maybe her granddaughter will once experience seasons. It all depends on how well the system computer manages the bio-bubble and water.
We need to keep the balance, and since I have already bred, I will report to decomposition in another 2 hours. While waiting I am watching the darkness and the faraway star hosting the colony knowing that only my carbon will be there on arrival.
counting the stars —
who could tell what’s behind
the lightyears we know
Today Frank hosts dVerse Haibun monday, and for once we are not writing our own experiences but rather SciFi themed.
November 18, 2025
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I admire how you really got into this prompt, Björn, and wrote an engrossing piece of flash fiction/haibun – and your imagination and invention. The number seven plays a major role. But how sad to think that it will be a granddaughter who will experience seasons. Did you mean ‘bread’ or ‘bred’? And I love the haiku.
bred of course
Kind of a final goodbye, huh?! Good one, Bjorn.
All rational for a new colony…. maybe it’s better not to destroy what we have.
really enjoyed this final entry into whatever passes as a diary in the future.
A great story, Bjorn. I liked that line that earth vote for eternal summer! Seems to be headed that way at times!
Very captivating. I really enjoyed the way each description or piece of the story conjured up more to be curious about in this intricate generational tale.
Brilliant! Dashes of “A Soylent Green” with a hint of “2001: A Space Odyssey…” Or something from Alister Reynolds.
Well done!
Nicely done. I wonder if anyone’s ever done a story where the colony arrives on time and on budget to their new world? Probably too much for even speculative fiction to swallow. LOL
Wonderful sci-fi haibun, will they ever reach the colony and what will be there when they arrive! Very much enjoyed this haibun, well done!
Nice piece Bjorn! And great image you conjured up here my friend. Love soace travel adventure that reaches beyond the initial generation. 👍🏼✌🏼🙂🫶🏼💫🚀🛸
Thought you might enjoy this Björn.
https://www.image-verse.com/distant-farewell
Yes I remember reading it before, it is an epic, and I stay by my previous comment.
Please excuse me for my presumptive barrage Björn, but if you enjoy the category, here is another one of my SciFi pieces. I will stop bombarding you now my friend. I love the category!
https://www.image-verse.com/the-brin
I am not sure you have heard about the poem Aniara (actually a whole book of a poem written by Harry Martinsson in 1956) telling the story of a spaceship adrift… it is amazing actually. The whole poem was also made into a movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MIlE9R00ik
You pack a lot of story into a short piece, Björn, its like growing a Bonsai tree – you will never see the end result of what you started and must pass it on to somebody else…
Very tight, with lots of tension, and succinctly holding back things till the end…makes gor a very good read.
This was well done! Seems to underline the recently dismissed human mission of becoming parents. Procreation has never been a “fad”.
A sad Haibun.
“We need to keep the balance, and since I have already bred, I will report to decomposition in another 2 hours.”
AWESOME HAIBUN
much♡love
WOW! I’ve never read anything like this before. And now I would love to read more sci-fi like yours!
Well written, Bjorn. It reminded of the Doctor Who episode “The Doctor’s Daughter.”
Emboding this in imagination, I realise I am not yet ready to report to decomposition … though will now more willingly concede my carbon atoms when the time comes…
I like the edge of utilitarian breeding, the sense that purpose is all that matters, it is a dystopia that raises my hackles, but yet one I am drawn to.