We struggled with transplanted lives. Chefs served identical protein packs; musicians played the colony’s sole venue. Yet Mrs. Tamlyn’s etiquette school thrived. She taught us grace in pressurized suits, dignity while rationing recycled water, low-gravity choreography. She had unknowingly domesticated humanity’s last hope of escape. Civility became our cruelest addiction.

Ashni wrote this story after watching the news—Earth’s most dystopian fiction. You can find her tinkering at ashnipatel.com.