Ida yawned, stretched. He’d managed a few hours’ sleep, at least. The cabin lights were still on. He rubbed his eyes, wishing that when the purple shapes appeared he could tell a story about them to Astrid. That wasn’t going to happen. Ida’s fingers stopped moving, and he sat with them pressed against his eyeballs. He had to keep it together. He had to get to the bottom of it all. He sighed, loped out of the cabin and down the hall to the vast communal toilets and shower room. As far as Ida knew, he had the place for his own private use, right on the edge of the habitable deck as he was. The nearest occupied berth was a good three hundred meters back toward the elevator lobby. Not far enough for Ida’s liking, but any farther away and the station got a lot less comfortable. Ida left the door of the stall open as he relieved himself, and thought about whether he could be bothered trekking to the canteen for a proper coffee instead of the caffeine simulant he kept in his cabin. He zipped up, and stood stock-still for just a moment.
