A little bit late to the party, I have one quibble with the opening story. It struck me from the first story to address it that Bootup is a very private, intimate thing for Orbiters, with only the new Shuttle and her elder sibling present in her awareness. The reason that The Dream is so important to most Shuttles is that it's the subject of their reverse-lullaby, told by their elders to calm the panic of waking up without any senses....
Actually, objection withdrawn. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having the fable told as part of some public formal ceremony some time after Bootup as well. Mel didn't hear it during her Bootup, so the formal version utterly fails to impress. That makes perfect sense.
Actually, objection withdrawn. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having the fable told as part of some public formal ceremony some time after Bootup as well. Mel didn't hear it during her Bootup, so the formal version utterly fails to impress. That makes perfect sense.