Faking nature [1]

Sim wiped his face with a barely damp cloth, the dry edges scratching at his stubble. Each time he did, the act wasted some of his hydration allowance.  But it felt good. It felt real. It was something he would have done back home, back on Earth.

"Sunlight." The room lights brightened and adjusted the spectrum. Dingy white walls, furniture and cloth changed hue with an orange-red tint.  He looked around, taking in his quarters and trying not to shiver at the closeness of the walls.

Eight years of living in a crawl space had him wishing he'd stayed on Earth.  A city boy, he'd spent his life in a small apartment, then dorm and then "shoebox" not much bigger than his current flightspace.

Today, he needed something bigger. He set a bowl in the sink adding a bit more water adding an inch of water - more rations wasted. He picked up the bowl and stepped from the wall. "Retract quarters." The room hissed as the bed, sink, desk and chair recessed into the walls, leaving a space just bigger than he could reach his arms wide or high. Which was the measure of room size for singles. Couples had a different measure, usually somewhere in between the size of the two and with more rooms if they had children.

Arms wide, face up, back straight - "Lake Seat, water view." The walls lit up as the displays began to render the view. The lights shrunk to a bright circle, leaving the rest a pale blue. The floor split, lines drawing the shore to split water and the green-brown of the shoreline.

The walls took longer, drawing trees, shrubs and the like. Sim kept his eyes close through all of this having discovered the illusion was more real when he didn't witness the change. So he enjoyed the feel of heat on his face, the burn of sunlight through his eyelids.

A bit longer…

A deep breath and he opened his eyes. Water rippled at his feet and on the wall. Trees swayed in the breeze, the room circulating the air to match. Sim took another breath and slowly sat on the ground, placing the bowl before him, just below his line of sight.

Arms bracing his chest, he leaned back and extended his legs to set his feet in the bowl. Water on his toes, he tried to relax and pretend his wasn't so far from home.