
<em>A Traveling Child's First ABCs</em><br/>
<em>Printed by Rodina Free Press, Aft Deck, Level 4</em><br/>
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<strong>A</strong> is for <strong>Aft Deck, </strong>where workers all live
Those with big dreams but with little to give

<strong>B</strong> is for <strong>Bosonics, </strong>a wonderful tool
Now metal men serve under humankind's rule

<strong>C</strong> is for the <strong>Council, </strong>elected by all
A small group of men hold the ship in their thrall

<strong>D</strong> is for <strong>Danica,</strong> the morning star bright
She circles her sister and bathes in her light

<strong>E</strong> is for <strong>Earth: </strong>a weak, decadent bore
We all lived there once, but we don't anymore

<strong>F</strong> is for <strong>Fore Deck,</strong> where the rich flex their powers
When we land, their fine clothes will be dirty like ours

<strong>G</strong> is for <strong>Gravity:</strong> keeps your feet on the ground
Without it, our up would look much like our down

<strong>H</strong> is for <strong>Home,</strong> where we one day will land
With the sun on our backs and fine seed in our hand

<strong>I</strong> is for <strong>Independence,</strong> the virtue most high
A traveler knows you need this or you die

<strong>J</strong> is for <strong>Joint-Stock, </strong>which is how we're arranged
And the shares in our venture can all be exchanged

<strong>K</strong> is for the <strong>Kin</strong> that we left far behind
Those lacking in courage, the cowed, and blind

<strong>L</strong> is for <strong>Limnal Drive,</strong> built by Malcolm McCreedy
It's clean and efficient and remarkably speedy

<strong>M</strong> is for the <strong>Mission Plan</strong> that our grandparents wrote
It ensures that we all have a voice and a vote

<strong>N</strong> is for <strong>Niceness,</strong> which we all must maintain
The ship is too small to hold anger and pain

<strong>O</strong> is for <strong>Old Ways</strong> that are now dead and gone
The folks on this ship will be nobody's pawn

<strong>P</strong> is for <strong>People's Assembly, </strong>in which all may speak
It gives voice to the bold and a shield to the weak

<strong>Q</strong> is for <strong>Quotas</strong> that we all must fulfill
Hard work and rough hands are the price of free will

<strong>R</strong> is for <strong>Rationing</strong> the things that are rare
Not waste, but conserve. Not replace, but repair.

<strong>S</strong> is for <strong>Sleeper Car,</strong> where the richest are laid
When we land, we will wake them and hand them a spade

<strong>T</strong> is for <strong>Terraforming</strong> the rock and the sand
With our seeds and machines we will carve out our land

<strong>U</strong> is for <strong>Under-decks,</strong> full of pipes, valves, and steam
Workers covered in soot polish each till they gleam

<strong>W</strong> is for <strong>Wagon Master, </strong>who has power and clout
If we don't like him we can just vote him right out

<strong>X</strong> is for <strong>Xenos,</strong> who we know don't exist
Yet stories of little green men still persist

<strong>Z</strong> is for <strong>Zorica,</strong> the day-star of old
She spins round and round under Danica's hold

