21NOV2025

So we lost our newest crew member.

She lasted longer than expected, to be honest.
Four days, two jumps, three ration packs, and one casual dinner conversation that ended with her trying to airlock herself with a coffee mug for protection.

Survival Rule #35: If You’re Going to Tell Someone the Ship Eats Time, Maybe Ease Into It

We were just talking.
Eating protein cubes.
Watching the Rat cycle through gravity rhythms like it was humming to itself.

She asked what happened to the last person who tried to join the crew.

I said, “Oh, they dissolved after trying to reprogram Echo’s containment bindings. We scooped what was left into the recyclers and got three free fuel cells out of it.”

I meant it as a joke.
Sort of.

Jex did not take it as a joke.

What Followed

• She dropped her tray.

• She whispered, “You’re not real,” three times.

• She tried to access the escape pod (which hasn’t worked since the Rat decided to convert it into an empathy buffer chamber).

• She shouted at Echo, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD,” despite Echo never having entered it.

• And she barricaded herself in the bathroom with my last two mugs and a coil of emergency tether.

Scootch’s Response

I sat outside the door and tried to explain.
I told her the Rat was mostly safe.
That Echo only does dream-mapping when asked.
That most of the voices are just memory feedback, not actual spirits.

Then I said the thing that tipped her over the edge:

“Besides, the gate only opens when we sleep too close to the core, and Echo fixed that… I think.”

The door opened slowly.
She was crying and holding a sticker that said “Not Dead. Not Stable.”

She said, “You’re too calm.”
I said, “You’re too new.”

Drop-Off Protocol

I gave her a shuttle.
Echo cleared her memory of the heart chamber and patched the nav with a straight course to the nearest outpost.

As she left, she turned and asked me:

“What if I dream about the gate?”

I said, “Then you’ll know you were part of something real.”

She flipped me off.
Echo waved.
The Rat pulsed once—fondly, I think.

Final Notes

Jex is probably telling someone right now about the insane ship with the too-calm man and the friendly horror blob.

And honestly?
Good.
Let them wonder.
Let them come looking.

The Rat remembers them.
Echo welcomes them.

And I’ll be waiting—with coffee, merch, and a fresh airlock policy.

• Scootch

Quote of the Day:
"You don’t have to be cursed to ride the Rat. But you do have to stop asking why it hums when you sleep."