After Eve and I unbuckle from our crash-chairs, we investigate the bridge for evidence of damage. Visibly, everything looks intact and operational, but the dust and debris had to come from somewhere. Our translucent screens show motionless images, except for odd movement running across the middle of the primary display. The side screens are offline. I can stare through the thin monitors and see the dark wall behind it. As I focus on the thick line of movement in the center of the main screen, I realize what I'm seeing.

My memory flashes. The impact, or violent touchdown, as Jinx had defined it.

"I think the habitat is setting on top of the river." I glance at Eve. We both still wear our pressure helmets. I remove mine by twisting it and unsnapping the ring lock. Eve does the same and we stand.

Our helmets land in the crash-chairs.

"I think you're right," she says. "The hab is crossing it like a giant bridge."

"That is correct." Jinx is still with us. "The river cuts under the middle of the habitat, underneath the Animal Barn. I'll check the sensors to see if it's safe to retract the floor to expose the bottom."

I widen my eyes at Eve, hoping for a positive outcome.

"Forty-seven percent of the habitat sets on solid ground." Jinx breaks in quicker than expected. "Half of that percentage is on each side of the riverbank and the rest hovers two-and-a-half feet over the water."

"Is it safe to retract the floor?" I ask.

"I'm completing the assessment."

"But wasn't the ground supposed to support the walls and ceiling?" Eve says.

"Assessment complete." Jinx pauses and then continues. "Floor retraction does not affect the bridge, living quarters, and labs, but it applies to the Animal Barn and the garden in the habitat's stern. Retraction will expose the ground in the garden area, but the immediate areas surrounding the Animal Barn will be directly above water. Unless the river rises, it will not flood the habitat, and because of this analysis, I have determined floor retraction is safe. But there are risks involved since the hab landed in the restricted zone."

"What risks?" I ask. "Can you be more specific?"

"My apologies, but Abraham deems that information classified."

Eve frowns and shakes her head.

"Are you sure you can't tell us?" I ask.

"I cannot divulge that information based on my programming."

"Should we retract the floors?" Eve says.

"Regardless of risks, retraction is essential to survival."

"So, we should," I say.

"Yes."

"Okay, then do it."

"Floor retraction underway," Jinx replies.

A mechanical grumble of recoiling metal reverberates throughout the habitat. The floor and walls quake with the resonance of grinding metal drawing in on itself. The shaking makes me glance up at the ceiling to see a gaping hole. It's not all the way through to the outside, but the impact forces wrenched apart the interior panels. Dust wafts from the opening, flittering to the floor, which explains the debris that had fallen on us following the touchdown a few minutes ago.

"We should probably go check out the Animal Barn." I wave for Eve to follow me. "Make sure the retraction doesn't run into any problems."

Eve nods and falls in line behind me.

We burst through the bridge exit and dash down the corridor, passing by the living area with the large strapped down crates. Next, we blow through another narrow hall, blazing past the lab rooms. Finally, Eve and I shove through the doorway into the main corridor that leads us down the center avenue of the Animal Barn.

Empty cages greet us.

By the time we reach the end of the corridor and the intersection leading to both sides of the hab, the mechanical retraction stops, leaving the vast space with only the sound of a river rushing beneath it. The interior lights shine down on us, illuminating the passage with the animal cages.

I stare back in the direction from which we came, down the length of the corridor. The cell doors appear unaffected by the violent landing. The river roars under the habitat, but I can't see it yet.

"Come on." I cut to the right, darting down the side hall leading to the catwalk, the one we used on the way into the habitat. We're about to cross over the empty canal when I glimpse fast movement out of the corner of my eye.

I turn right again, taking the catwalk that runs parallel to the canal.

Our gravity boots, no longer functioning as they were in space, thud atop the metal grating, echoing in the gap between the outer wall of the habitat and the back wall of the animal enclosures.

Halfway along the catwalk, the river appears, rushing beneath our feet.

I grip the handrail and lean over, peering down at the moving water. I can't tell how deep it is because the light from above doesn't penetrate to the riverbed.

"This can't be good." Eve's eyes widen with uncertainty. "I know this isn't what Abraham intended."

"He didn't intend for us to fall from the sky like a rock and land in the middle of the restricted zone, either."

"What do we do?"

"I don't know. Probably ask Jinx. Maybe he can patch us through to Abraham?"

Jinx says, "He has permitted me to handle anything related to your mission." The AI's voice comes from a speaker somewhere over our heads. "I relay any communications between us to the ark."

"So Abraham knows about the touchdown?"

"Yes. Despite landing off course, his orders remain in effect. You may not leave the habitat under any circumstances. You and Eve are to continue with the initialization process."

"Meaning?" I ask.

"The artificial reproduction of every species aboard the hab, leading to future births." I wait for Jinx to finish. "You have to fill the animal enclosures with viable specimens. You must also begin the reproduction of the first human child in order to establish a presence for humanity on Earth."

"What does he mean by that?" Eve asks.

Jinx says, "Intimate relations between you and Noah."

"Huh?"

"Eve and I need to talk in private," I say. "Jinx, can you tune out for a few minutes?"

"Of course."

I gesture for Eve to follow me off the catwalk and back to the intersection where the Animal Barn begins. My heart hammers in my chest when I think about what Jinx just said. As I pace back and forth, pondering what to say, my eye catches the doorway to the rear of the habitat. Since Abraham didn't show us the gardening section on the initial tour, I consider the possibility we may not have access to it, but we should. How else are we going to plant crops? When the door slides open on our approach, my doubts are relieved.

As the door closes behind us, the size of the garden area strikes me as large in relation to the rest of the habitat. Doing a quick calculation in my head, it should measure close to twelve thousand square feet. With the floor retracted, the grassy field and small trees, mashed flat by the hab's weight, had sealed off on all sides to create a rectangular plain with which to grow crops.

Once the sight settles with me, I turn to Eve, wanting to begin a conversation about our so-called intimate relations. But when I glimpse her brows looming like a thunderstorm, the words flutter to the ground and escape me.

Her jaw hardens as she grinds her teeth. "I'm not making babies with you. I don't even know you." She throws up a hand when I open my mouth to speak. "I know Abraham said we were married, but I don't even know him." She huffs. "I don't know anyone. I barely know who I am."

"Don't worry, I—"

"No. This will not change. You will not talk me into it. This is not open for discussion. Are we clear?"

"Abundantly."

"Good." She reads the blankness on my face. "What?"

My shock turns into a scowl. "I was going to say that I had no plans to make babies with you, and now I'm not sure I would, even if you were the last woman on Earth." The words come out, but I'm not sure I believe them.

"Really?"

"But I wanted to ask you something, though. Since we landed, have you been able to remember anything about your supposed education and skills from before stasis?"

Eve's expression softens. "I'm not sure."

"Okay. Let's think about it. What would you do if I brought you an injured deer?"

Her chin sags. "I don't know. What's wrong with it?"

"It ate poisonous berries."

"That's more complicated than just a normal injury."

"What would you do?"

"I don't know."

"That's what I figured." My head wags, suppressing an exasperated chuckle. "I'm supposed to be a planetary scientist. A geology major. Chemistry minor. But honestly, I can't recall the first thing about any of those subjects. I think our memory transfers failed to sync. That means we may be in big trouble."

"Jinx?" Eve raises her chin and looks up as if that will help our AI friend hear her better.

"Yes, madame?"

"Were you listening to our conversation?"

"Noah asked to speak to you privately. So, I honored his request."

Eve massages her temples, squeezes her eyes shut, and then opens them. "The final memory transfer that Abraham planned for us. He said it would not take effect until we arrived on the surface. Did that final synchronization take place?"

I butt in. "It was supposed to give us the skills and education we received on Earth before the global oceans." My voice rises to squeeze in my comment before Jinx replies. "Abraham said the final knowledge transfer would sync with our brains once we touched down."

There's a long moment of silence, save for the river churning beneath the habitat.

"It seems the violent impact damaged the transmitters in your helmets. The jolt disrupted the signal. The final download failed to sync."

I roll my eyes and glare at Eve. "Can we fix this?"

"Unfortunately, no. Abraham installed the transmitters in your pressure helmets. There are no more of those units onboard. He would have to travel to the surface and replace them himself, or send them in a pod and have me talk you through the installation. I will communicate with him to see which option he prefers and get back to you on the issue."

"Thank you, Jinx." I shrug at Eve, wondering what's next for us if we can't receive our final memory transfer.

It might not be that bad.

As I glance at Eve and remember how I vowed not to stare at her like I did on the ark, I'm left with an overwhelming desire to get to know her. I don't know what type of person I was before stasis, but I feel like I can deal with anything. After all, I survived a free fall to Earth, especially the abrupt halt at the end.

I'm not comfortable with how dead-set Eve is against making babies.

Even though humanity direly needs reproduction, I can't say I blame her.

I barely know who I am, too.