Kael Juno was nearing the end of a standard thirty-day decompress, reclining in a gravity hammock with a view of slow-drifting ice crystals outside the window.
He was spending it the way all sensible people did: quietly, and a little stoned. The hammock drifted aimlessly, tethered to a platinum credenza cluttered with books, nutrient wrappers, and holographic nonsense.
In one hand, he held a steaming cup of tea. In the other, a book—an actual paper book, still somehow in circulation.
“As a system accelerates, time slows relative to stationary observers,” he read aloud to no one in particular.
Just as his brain began to chew on the sentence, one of his countless AI assistants chimed in helpfully:
“That’s correct, Kael. As Orbitwell moves through space at high velocity, individuals who decelerate and depart will experience more time relative to those remaining onboard. Your thirty-day decompression makes use of this principle. On Orbitwell, you’ll have been gone for just over an hour.” 1 reply
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