Luna Ilam Eternity

It was sunrise, dawn, when they opened Terminus station's doors. In the panic of it all, they still found time to appreciate the sky as the sun awoke from her slumber. But that was not what Luna wanted to see the most. No, she waits by the steps as the sun slips down past the horizon, 12 hours later, watching as the sky darkened from Underground. She clutches the astronomy book to her chest, her first gift from Old Archivist Ilam. It is dusty, its pages yellowed with age, bearing creases and folded corners and all other signs it was well loved. Luna has flipped through it innumerable times, over and over, since that first day Archivist Ilam placed it in her hands with a remark about the meaning of her name. 'The Moon' is the title of the chapter she has opened it to. An illustration rendered in ink, a pale face in the night sky. Luna has spent many a night tracing her fingers along the lines, whispering far away, seemingly meaningless dreams.

She stares up now, at that beacon of light. Just as it was in the illustrations. More than it was in the illustrations. The stars frame it, witnesses of their struggle a billion years in the future, just as humans admire the light from ghosts of stars that were probably already long dead. Her hair brushes her face, almost glowing. Moonlight graces Luna's cheeks.

Written by Noureen I.

Ten years had passed since the doors to the Overground opened. A lot had changed.

The new Overground archive might have been opened, but there was still no end of work to do sorting old documents, filing new documents, and setting up everything a public library might need. The chronicle, too, consumed more time than she had to give it. Piecing together five hundred stories was never going to be easy, but with all the notes, annotations, and explanations it quickly bloomed into a task that took years.

Still, she managed to find time for the little things. She spoke to PRINCESS regularly. She envied the AI a little - she was able to sit and talk without interrupting her work.

“Luna! It's good to see you.”

“And you, PRINCESS. How have you been doing?”

“I'm okay. I still think about everything that happened. But I just get on with it. Everyone is so friendly.”

Of course, she managed to find time for those she loved, too. Whenever their schedules lined up, Achlys, Luna, and Promethea would meet at the edge of Principality just after dark. From there, they would travel out and climb up the tallest hill in the surrounding desert. They'd lay a blanket on the sand and sit together, watching the moon rise over the skyline.

There was no need for words. Luna held the hands of the two people she loved most and raised her eyes up above. The face of the full moon - craters, and seas - was just the same as the first time she had seen it.

Thirty years had passed since the doors opened. The city grew, and the Overground and Underground slowly but surely became one.

The archives had changed a lot. Everything was neatly sorted and dated, and most of it was accessible digitally. The chronicle was all caught up to the current day, and adding to it had been relegated to Luna's hobby. Her job now was as much that of a librarian as that of an archivist, helping people find and access all the different resources that had been commended to the archives. She'd felt strange when those she remembered as the first Overground-born babies came in as full adults. As slow as the change may have been, it felt so fast after a century below ground.

PRINCESS made a point to keep talking to Luna. To keep sharing the poetry she wrote. She, too, had changed - less than most things, but still enough to notice.

As ever, Luna ended her day's work with Promethea and Achlys, and with the journey out of town. The trip was shorter, now, with the city's slow but steady growth past its original limits. The skyline, though, looked much the same.

As did the moon rising over it. Luna saw more detail in it for all her years of looking, but it was ever the same.

Fifty years had passed since the doors opened. Principality was unrecognisable.

Luna didn't work much in the archives any more. Mostly, she taught the next generation's archivists. Other than that, her days were quiet, and they needed to be. The chronicle took up more of her attention than before; there were simply more stories to tell in Principality now that two full generations had passed.

She couldn't quite place it, but PRINCESS, too, was different. More mature, perhaps? Just like Luna, the little AI had been forced by time to come to terms with the deaths of some of those she'd known Underground. Still, she didn't seem any more upset by it than you'd expect. As her most recent poem to Luna said, 'twas better to cherish the memories you were blessed with than regret that you shaln't be blessed with more.

Achlys and Promethea were still around, and their old spot was still their little secret. As she ever had, Luna accompanied them up the hill, sat down, and looked out at the unchanging brilliance of the moon.

She looked one way, and then the other.

“Promethea, Achlys…”

She paused, just for a second.

“I love you.”

Of course. The moon wasn't the only thing that hadn't changed.