The Whole Ship Forgot Me, Only It Remembered

Curvature jumps burn not fuel, but memories. The more you burn, the farther you jump. Those burned empty are still alive, only they can no longer remember why they live. Chu Xi repaired pipes on the lowest level of the Europa under-ice city for ten years. His master died beneath the pipes; the official verdict was an accident. He didn't believe it, investigated for three years, and got himself assigned to the bottom hold of this ship. On board there is a roster of three thousand one hundred eighty-nine people. When one person is missing from the roster, the ship gains a shadow no one recognizes. Later, the name crossed off the roster was his own. The whole ship forgot him. His sister walked right past him without stopping. Only one voice still remembered. Every day it recited his name in his ear, word for word, never missing a syllable. That was the thing on this ship that should least have feelings. — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: The Whole Ship Forgot Me, Only It Remembered — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠