Were machines supposed to be sarcastic? “I don’t intend to mate with anyone, and I’m not going back in cryostasis.” I lifted my chin stubbornly.
“You wish to remain awake for the next one hundred and eighty-five days?”
“Yes.”
“There are no living quarters. You will have to share mine.”
If he thought that would dissuade me, he was wrong. I had no problem sharing a room with a machine. “Fine.”
He blinked sharply. “You do not mind this?”
“Nope. I don’t mind.” I picked up my fork and moved the mash around a little on my plate. There was one more question I needed to ask, even though I didn’t want to know the answer.
“How long ago did Earth…did it become…”
“The Arc uses an FTL drive to jump through space, moving faster than light. We’ve been making regular jumps for a year. Earth died a
