“Tea. Jasmine. 80 degrees”, and there it was, the post-scintillation mug of my favorite morning beverage steaming on from within the little alcove. Even the brief activation sound of the replicator had become a welcome start to each day.

I suppose that everyone has their own rituals, whether it be how they begin or end their day, the route they take to the command deck, or those last-minute gear checks before an away mission. We might live in an age of scientific enlightenment, but rituals remain important. They are what ground us, what help structure our days and the way we prepare for the unexpected.

When I first joined the station, a senior ops officer took me under his wing. He would regale me with tales of the exploits of his youth. But all the while, he looked out for me and made sure to keep me out of too much trouble (Presence + Command, Difficulty 2). He also had a very specific ritual that made an impression upon me, one that has lasted to the present day. He routinely had the sleeves of his tunic rolled up just below the elbows. I asked about it once, and he explained that it was a habit he had picked up from his own mentor during his first assignment decades prior. It was sort of a morning reminder, he said, a way to signal to himself that a new day of problem-solving was about to begin.

Sometimes, I think about how difficult it would be to stop such a ritual. Could I forgo my morning tea (Control + Command, Difficulty 3)? I really don’t know…and I don’t want to try.