Pretty sure this is either a short story or a novelette. Multigeneration
space ship with one pilot and one crewmember. As the story develops,
it turns out that the crewmember clones herself, puts the pilot
out the airlock, and becomes the pilot while the clone becomes the
next crewmember. This goes on for many generations.

I don't recall any other details.

Thanks for any hints.

--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm ========================================================================
"Anyway, we delivered the bomb."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 7/29/26 4:06 PM, Mark Shaw wrote:

Pretty sure this is either a short story or a novelette. Multigeneration space ship with one pilot and one crewmember. As the story develops,
it turns out that the crewmember clones herself, puts the pilot
out the airlock, and becomes the pilot while the clone becomes the
next crewmember. This goes on for many generations.

I don't recall any other details.

Thanks for any hints.

Hm - there might be some peripheral/related information that could help
here. Do you remember approximately what year you first read it? Was it
in a collection? etc.

Tony

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 7/29/2026 1:06 PM, Mark Shaw wrote:

Pretty sure this is either a short story or a novelette. Multigeneration space ship with one pilot and one crewmember. As the story develops,
it turns out that the crewmember clones herself, puts the pilot
out the airlock, and becomes the pilot while the clone becomes the
next crewmember. This goes on for many generations.

I don't recall any other details.

Thanks for any hints.

I'm wondering how long this can work when you are shoving ~200lb of
biomass out the airlock on a semi-regular basis.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:

On 7/29/26 4:06 PM, Mark Shaw wrote:

Pretty sure this is either a short story or a novelette. Multigeneration space ship with one pilot and one crewmember. As the story develops,
it turns out that the crewmember clones herself, puts the pilot
out the airlock, and becomes the pilot while the clone becomes the
next crewmember. This goes on for many generations.

I don't recall any other details.

Thanks for any hints.

Hm - there might be some peripheral/related information that could help here. Do you remember approximately what year you first read it? Was it
in a collection? etc.

I really don't remember any other details except for a couple of
small ones: the clones being human, they passed a good bit of the
time having sex. The only other one is that the author described
their hair as being something like a giant daisy.

Not much to go on, I know.

--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm ========================================================================
"Anyway, we delivered the bomb."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:27:33 -0700, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

I'm wondering how long this can work when you are shoving ~200lb of
biomass out the airlock on a semi-regular basis.

That wasn?t the obvious question that occurred to me, but I?ll take it ;).

That?s about a ton of mass lost every 10 generations. Assuming the
ship is large and interesting enough to provide a livable environment
(even if for only two people) across at least a few ?generations?
(what?s that? 20 years? 30 years?), I suspect that?s not a big issue.

The question that *did* occur to me is: why would each successor
continue to create their own clone, on the same basis? Wouldn?t they
realize that the fate that befell their predecessor would come to them
as well? Or do they willingly put up with it?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Mark Shaw <mshaw@panix.com> wrote:

Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:

On 7/29/26 4:06 PM, Mark Shaw wrote:

Pretty sure this is either a short story or a novelette. Multigeneration space ship with one pilot and one crewmember. As the story develops,
it turns out that the crewmember clones herself, puts the pilot
out the airlock, and becomes the pilot while the clone becomes the
next crewmember. This goes on for many generations.

I don't recall any other details.

Thanks for any hints.

Hm - there might be some peripheral/related information that could help here. Do you remember approximately what year you first read it? Was it
in a collection? etc.

I really don't remember any other details except for a couple of
small ones: the clones being human, they passed a good bit of the
time having sex. The only other one is that the author described
their hair as being something like a giant daisy.

Oh, I didn't answer your specific questions. It was in a collection,
but I don't recall if it was a single-author one or not. And it
would have been about 40 years ago or so.

--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm ========================================================================
"Anyway, we delivered the bomb."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)