870 years after interstellar travel is achieved by humans, the storytellers have a conversation about the ethics of what they do. Storytellers, by job description, are there to keep morale and harmony among passengers and make the travel experience enjoyable. However, some wonder what constitutes an improved “travel experience” and whether passengers are always right. Some say that storytellers should be narratively honest as well.

The storytellers talk about why they like working on an interstellar craft. Some say it’s great for kids to grow up. Others say it’s fun to meet new passengers. Fundamentally, the job of the storyteller is to productively distract passengers so that they aren’t mentally and emotionally crushed by the amount of time and space that passes on their journey. Specifically, the stress of Unexplained Interstellar Fatalities syndrome makes the need for productive distraction—through the storytellers’ stories—especially necessary to keep morale. Given that every person is different, not every productive distraction is the same nor as effective, so the storytellers must always carefully calibrate their techniques. The most pressing ethical dilemma for the storytellers, however, has to do with what stories should teach.

The initial understanding for interstellar travel was that passengers should be cryogenically frozen. However, the consequences of stasis soon outweighed all positives. The question, then, was how passengers could be kept entertained much like airplanes on earth entertain, albeit for much longer periods of time and space. Some interstellar crafts modeled themselves on cruise ships, but eventually, the storyteller position was created. It was originally just for kids to stay entertained, but it eventually blossomed into a much larger standard for the industry of interstellar travel.

The ethical dilemma of storytellers is how they should navigate the preexisting perceptions of their passengers. They must create new narratives but not too jarringly dislodge existing ones. One storyteller asks whether they should go along with what the passengers want to hear or tell a story of what they personally think is right. There are two common approaches: to make narrative choices based on what they learn from their audiences as a group, versus to interact with individuals with autonomy. Both, of course, are not mutually exclusive. Generally, the interactivity of storytellers—and their ability to calibrate it accordingly—is the strength of the practice.

Of course, storytelling isn’t an easy job. It can be immensely emotional for both the storyteller and the audience. Sometimes storytellers are out of ideas. However, many storytellers share that they like doing their job because they get to travel, because they get to help others, because they get to contribute to humanity’s desire to move.