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Here in L73, the days have the same length as the nights. That is, one cannot tell when day ends and night begins. Perhaps because the intensity of the light is always the same, regulated by a faulty rheostat that is stuck in the middle position. I say middle position because when I turn the dial down and then up, the light’s intensity stays the same — which leads me to think it must have broken halfway through. Still, the light is enough for me to read the books I brought with me from Earth, when there are no messages to send.

When I learned I would be detached to Lagrange L73, I prepared a box of books to bring with me. I was told the box could be no larger than 25×20×12cm, which allowed me to bring four books. I had to choose them meticulously. At first I was unsure whether or not to bring self-help books, since I didn’t know what awaited me here. Then again, I thought, a self-help book will be of no use to me if self-help is of no use to me. Choosing four books from a library that had grown to about 7,500 titles over five years was no easy task. What if I had trouble sleeping? Would I need a book to help me fall asleep? What would my experience here be like? What could I expect from a posting at a remote radio outpost in a solar system completely different from my natural environment?

Will this experience of mine in L73 turn out to be a supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again? I settled on a book by David Foster Wallace, another by Thomas Pynchon, a third by William T. Vollmann, and — for the slow hours — a slim volume of poetry by William Carlos Williams. I included the Williams because I had a feeling I would need short forms too, something one can hold in mind during a watch. In order:

A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon You Bright and Risen Angels, William T. Vollmann Selected Poems, William Carlos Williams

If no important messages come through in the next few hours, I’ll start with DFW. I am, inevitably, extremely anxious and full of anticipation.

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