Riley leaned against the wall in his quarters, chin on his chest, as the door hissed closed beside him. Not a great first day, he thought. He stayed there for a few moments, taking a couple of breaths before straightening. Twenty-four, he continued, entering his bedroom. That always relaxes me. He purposely skirted those times it had not helped relax him.

A few moments later he re-entered in a dark blue two piece outfit. The top was high-collared with cloth-knot toggles down the front, and ended a few inches below his waist. The sleeves billowed, but were tied into cuffs around his wrists. The pants were similarly billowy, cuffed at the ankles. He wore simple white shoes to complete the ensemble.

He paused at the threshold of the door’s opening range. There are going to be stranger uniforms there, he chided himself, took a deep breath, and exited.

No one even looked at him as he made his way to the gymnasium on deck 3.

He was glad to see it was not crowded. There were a few people doing their own exercises, and some looked his way as the doors opened, but no one paid him much attention. He made his way to an empty corner, and did some light stretches.

Twenty-four forms, he heard in Sifu Cheng’s voice. He stepped out to his left, brought his hands up in front, palms forward, and settled his weight, feeling his center of gravity drop. But infinite moments. He shifted to the next movement, feeling the time and the space drag as moved from one infinitesimal space to the next, until suddenly he was at the end.

You are a scientist, yes? Time is relative to the frame of reference. The movement can be infinitely slow, or infinitely fast, but is the same either way, his memory continued. He moved to the next position, visiting every space and moment along the way. Zeno’s paradox, he thought for the thousandth time. How do you get to a point by only traveling halfway to the destination again and again?

White Crane Spreads Its Wings, he thought, left hand rising, covering, flipping; right hand rising palm outward, fingers down. He breathed, and completed the next movement. Perform slowly, memorize the moments, but picture at speed, his instructor had admonished him on this movement more than once. He missed that man. He would need to send a communique soon.

It had been too long, he could tell. His elbow was out of place on Grab The Bird’s Tail. Why had it been so long? Because you haven’t been stressed, he answered. Why did he only do this when stressed? He mentally shook himself, focusing on Fair Lady Works With Shuttles. He had laughed at the names at one time, but now they were familiar, comfortable, and surprisingly accurate.

He closed, and was surprised to find himself sweating. Far too long, he chastised himself, wiping a blond lock from his forehead. He pulled a towel from his bag and dried his face. He sat, thinking about the elbow that had been out of place, trying to keep his mind from the stress of a new assignment, from the investigation he had worked on.

When sitting wasn’t working any longer he sighed, rose, and started again.

• Cadet Matthew Riley, Science