Michael Marshall, PhD

The Heart-shaped Lockets of Alpha 4

Charmaine Fatima and her friends were commiserating at an observation deck overlooking Alpha 4, considering their new home and the realm of possibilities. Below the observation deck, the children were jovial, chasing each other after an intense morning of botany, mathematics, and civics. As Fatima sipped her tea, a pungent mix of dried leaves from Earth and new berries engineered by her friend Ari’s lab, a general announcement by Captain Katja sounded across the ship: