Naming

DATE: Year 308-B, Sol 515

LOCATION: Sky City 7 (Venus)

Bit was on his knees in the hydroponics bay, digging his hands into a tray of recycled soil.

-Check the pH levels, Hap offered.

-I checked them, Hap, Bit muttered. Go recharge.

The blast door opened.

The Welder walked in. She was carrying a clipboard and a box of metal tags.

-Break time, Dirt-Boy, she rumbled.

Bit wiped his hands on his oversized shirt.

-I’m busy. The vines are reaching the flowering stage. If I don't tie them off--

-The vines can wait, The Welder said. It’s Census Day.

She walked over and sat on a crate.

-We’re registering the new intake of refugees, she said. Making it official. Giving out rations cards. ID chips. Names.

She looked at him.

-You can't be "Bit" forever, kid. You’re too old, you’ve made it, you need a name.

-Phoenix called me Bit, the boy said. Before that, my family called me Small.

-They’re all gone, the Welder said flatly.

Bit flinched.

-Phoenix is coming back. He went to fix Market.

-Pilots don't come back, kid. He’s either dead or he found a better payout.

-He’s coming back, Bit repeated. He looked at the empty docking bay through the viewport. He promised.

-People like that promise a lot of things, the Welder sighed. Look, you need a name for the registry. If you don't pick one, I’m pretty sure the computer assigns one randomly, from, like a list of words. You want to be Bucket?

Bit looked down at the tomato plant.

He thought about his family. He thought about the child snatchers. He thought about the bunkers. He thought about the sister who used to hold his hand when the air scrubbers rattled.

-Clarence, he whispered.

-Clarence? the Welder asked, writing it down. -Why?

-It sounds like Clara, he said.

-Who’s Clara?

-My sister.

The Welder stopped writing. Her expression softened, just a fraction.

-Here?

-She’s... away, Bit said. But when she comes back, I want her to know it’s me.

-Hap likes Clarence, the drone buzzed.

-Alright, Clarence. You’re official. You’re a citizen of Sky City 7.

She stood up to leave. At the door, she paused.

-Don't wait for the ship, kid, she said softly. It hurts less if you just watch the plants.

-He’s coming back, Clarence whispered to the tomato vine. And he’s bringing Himalaya.

-Calculation, Hap interrupted. Odds of survival in Jupiter atmosphere are less than...

Clarence threw a handful of dirt at the robot.

-Go recharge, Hap!