Everyday life on board the Asimov is roughly the same for everyone, no matter what Sector they live in or Department they work in. While there are always differences here and there, the sections below should give a rough idea of experiences everyone will be familiar with.
“Can any job aboard ship be considered half as important and rewarding as the care and education of our children?” —Andreas Viteri
Each sector has a large creche area near to residential. While children do live with their natural parents, a large amount of the actual rearing takes place within the creche, leaving both parents free to pursue fulfilling careers and healthy social lives, thus making the time they do spend with their children all the more rewarding and fun for all involved. It is the dedicated staff of the Health department who raise these children to be worthy citizens of Asimov.
The routine varies depending on the particular creche, carer and age-group, of course — a babe in arms spends more time focusing on sleeping and eating than a fourteen year old (though some will try!) — but several aspects are common across the ship. Meals are taken within the creche, as growing children require different nutritional balances to adults, and the walls of the creche have heavy-duty cleaning machines. The Computer provides many specially tailored educational programs, as well as Fun Learning toys and soft furry comfort-friends. There are various playgrounds in low-gravity and zero-G areas, and those who wish to play NGFootball are encouraged. Particularly disobedient children are sometimes placed in the Naughty Corner for punishment – a featureless, soundproof room where a Carer can monitor them safely until their rebellious mood has worn off. This is rarely needed, though, and most children much prefer to love the Computer and strive to become well-adjusted full members of the crew.
As well as simply caring for the children, carers also help the Computer assess which career path each child is suitable for. It is not unknown for individual members of Childcare staff to subtly instill their own beliefs in the children under their care, or send children off on personal errands under the banner of teaching them to navigate the ship. But that is to be expected, and is of course a useful learning experience.
If I hear that girl next door screamin' her girlfriend's name and bangin' the headboard against my wall one more time, I might start bein' real tempted to commit Computer-Unsanctioned violence. —Red Sector resident, name withheld.
The crew of the Asimov are divided into 'households' depending on their individual circumstances, and accommodation is offered to match in residential areas in the sectors. In some cases adults live happily alone in one-room apartments, clustered around communal Relaxation Areas. Frequently family units are housed together; parents, children, and occasionally a family friend or grandparent. In some sectors, White being a notable example, accommodation has been adapted to provide for large extended families, sometimes stretching over entire neighbourhoods.
No matter the individual arrangements, community and socialization is important, and as such there are large communal cafeterias where food is eaten, each meal individually customized to meet your dietary requirements as assessed by the Computer from your health and activity records.
Small oxygen gardens in the form of parks are dotted around the residential areas, providing increased oxygen levels and areas of Natural Beauty. Communal vidscreens display entertainment shows made by up-and-coming Harmony members, and of course the latest NGF matches. There are also recreational areas called bars where alcohol and other narcotics are served in some sectors — these areas are ideal places to have parties or forget the day's work.
Fabbers (Fabricators, to use their full names: 3D printers capable of producing pretty much anything, depending on the quality, size and supplies of the fabber) and Computer Access Terminals are also available within a moment's walk of pretty much anywhere. In residential, these are mostly quite basic and stocked with limited resources — capable of producing basic household items and snacks. For complicated or rare items the trip to Engineering is still necessary. The Computer monitors how often an individual uses Fabbers to prevent hoarding and over-consumption, and will warn a citizen if they are using too many resources.
For every job a worker; for every worker a job. —Carer Career Advice Manual.
Your career path is normally chosen by the Computer at the age of 16, but it may already be apparent as you undergo education and training. The Computer has been known to choose a different path than the one you were trained for, but the Computer surely knows best. With effort and a good recommendation from the right Head of Department, people have been known to change their jobs, but this is rare.
It is likely that you will follow your career path until retirement, but occasionally people do retrain due to injury, infirmity or social harmony. Everyone works within one of the departments, and the jobs required on board are many and varied.
I killed a Bear! With my own hands! What on board ship could possibly compare to how AWESOME that is!… Can I go back in now, please? Bel Green, Worldcraft player
The ultimate Computer Game! Worldcraft taps directly into your subconscious, and is the only game ever to be controlled directly by the interactions of your subconscious with the Computer. Build worlds! Explore! Be a mighty hero! Craft items! Collect valuable rewards! Fight Monsters! Control your destiny! Could there be anything more fun?!?
Worldcraft is a slightly surreal virtual reality game that is very popular onboard Asimov, which is unique in that it is different for each player, every time they play it. Some will enjoy meticulously creating homes, cities or landscapes (said to be training for terraforming in the future) while others use it to vent frustrations or achieve ambitions which seem impossible in their everyday lives. It is said to be truly limitless, with constructs left behind by generations of inventive players, populated by many strange individuals each with their own personalities and goals — which they will often ask for help with.
There are those on board ship who enjoy the game so much that they rarely leave the VR deck — when they do, they usually give the impression that they can't wait to get back. Some people scorn them and consider it a waste of time. Some consider it harmless fun, occasionally taken to extremes. Some believe that, if you learn how to understand the game, you will come to truly understand yourself, the universe, and perhaps even predict the future.
Households and Relaxation areas are fitted with Vid-terminals, from which various programmes can be selected for viewing. These include factual programmes such as the News, educational programmes for children and adult learning, and entertainment shows such as soap opera Whitesiders, dating programme The One and sport, mainly NGF.
We all make our own history that leads us to victory. It's that history that makes us into champions.
— Jenny Red, Coach of Team Red.
NGF is the main sport onboard Asimov. It is played in the central core of the ship, in zero-gravity. Played in a cylindrical 'pitch' with circular goals at either end, the best sportspeople compete in a wonderful athletic spectacle.
Each department and sector (except Blackout) has a team, and they play against each other in a league. The top two teams, for many seasons, have always been Red sector and Green sector. Below those are usually the other sectors, and at the bottom are the departments. Occasionally, a star player will emerge from a department, and their team will do well for one season, but then the star will be snapped up by a sector team, even pulling the right strings to have them move living quarters if necessary.
The big games between Red and Green are the highlight of the season. These games are streamed live to all vid-terminals, and just about everyone has their favourite team, even those who also support a lower-placed team. Tickets to the games are highly prized. The fans of Red and Green are frequently at odds with each other, and Harmony are occasionally required to sort things out.
NGF games are serious business. To keep things interesting, Computer regularly rewards the league champion’s sector with extra resources. There is a large sideline in betting on the matches (which Computer encourages), and not a few kneecaps have been broken as a result. While the best players are superstars and often get showered with attention and riches, it's been known for prominent players to have “accidents” as the teams constantly try to get one up on each other.
The Department of Harmony regularly schedule events to keep everyone happy and entertained. These range from small private parties to ship-wide festivals, regular musical events, competitions and displays. These are not usually mandatory, though if a Harmony operative asks the Computer convincingly enough they can be, and they are always well-announced.
Rainbow Sector also provides its own entertainment to the ship, though this is less well organised and occasionally more like guerrilla warfare. Unexpected troupe of jugglers on unicycles careening through Red Sector's cafeteria? White Sector residents awakening to find everything sprayed a gentle cyan? Security discovering ribbons tied to each and every Peace Assurance Device? Almost certainly the bright idea of somebody in Rainbow.
Clothing is varied but tends towards the practical and utilitarian (trying to chase BOBs wearing a ballgown isn't going to go well for you). You'll see more flamboyant and interesting clothes in Rainbow or Blackout, while Engineers and those in the grittier jobs tend towards the blander and more hard-wearing end with heavy fabric and lots of pockets. Fabbers can make clothing of various kinds relatively easily and there's no real uniform onboard (except for NGF teams). Some people like to show their sector affiliation with coloured clothes; to most it's not a big deal. However, if you're wearing the 'wrong' colour in a sector, especially on an NGF match day, beware of the consequences!
Cosmetic surgery is reasonably common (often done as part of or in addition to cybernetic surgery), as are tattoos, piercings etc. These are mostly done in Blackout since the Computer technically doesn't provide for them, but enough people have it done that it's not completely unusual.
“Don't worry, kid. Your grandpa is dead but he ain't gone. He's all around you! He's feeding the plants that give us air, the food we eat! Every time you go to a fabber, you never know but you might get a little bit of your grandpa back. Don't that make you feel better?”
Joe White, Recycling operative
“Murder of your fellow crew is a capital crime and will be punished accordingly. Permanently removing resources from the ship, e.g. through 'airlocking', WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.”
The Computer
The Computer attempts to carefully monitor childbirth figures on board Asimov, and death figures are no less important. In a closed system, there is no room for sentimentality; a population explosion could spell death for all. Humans are resources like anything else. When someone becomes too old to work — age 65, in all but exceptional cases — they will be invited to the recycling department where they will once again become a valuable asset.