The Fifth Science

by Exurb1a

“Towards the end of the empire, when this ship set off, things were in a state. Total Galactic Narrative Collapse was getting nearer and nearer. The only way of carrying so many colonists with so many differing opinions was to set up separate areas in a voidship tailored to their individual narratives. This section used to contain folk who believed in the magical elements of mythology. The section we started in was for those who were more scientifically inclined.” They passed into a red-lit section then and flags covered the walls, as well as portraits of men and women in gleaming silver togas standing on mountainsides and striking heroic poses. “And this place?” Tisho said. “For the planetists, for the colonists who held to the myth of the sovereignty of individual planets. Plenty mistrusted the empire. Better to give them space to do it than try to shut them up.”