A random sketchbook drawing, nothing to do with Inktober this time. It’s three cacti in ink and paint pens: a prickly pear, a pair of tall ribbed stems and a round barrel cactus, each with a few red flowers.

Inktober 2026 2, Relic

Mission Log, Day 2: No Signal Required

Chief Engineer Okafor’s family has carried this phone for six generations. It has no battery and no signal, and it’s held together with gaffer tape. She keeps it in her pocket for luck. When the long-range array died again, she spliced it into the comms trunk. The signal came back clean. Nobody can explain it, and she isn’t taking it out.

Inktober 2026 1, Apple

Mission Log, Day 1: Last Fresh Fruit

One apple, already bitten, sits on the console beside the launch checklist. It’s the last fresh fruit aboard before we leave the ground behind. After launch it’s freeze-dried and foil pouches for the duration. The cables are strapped down, the gauges are alive, and the ship is ready. I’m giving the apple a few more minutes.