time-and-routine

The chapter details Nadia's demanding work on constructing the central garden atrium under the dome on Mars, highlighting the technical complexity and her emotional detachment from the task. Interpersonal relationships among the colonists are strained, with broken friendships and romantic tensions causing social fragmentation. Nadia reflects on the passage of time and the psychological toll of the colony's isolation and relentless labor, contrasting her own grounded responsibilities with others' explorations and emotional escapes.