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Chapters (68)
  1. Title page
  2. Dedication
  3. Part I
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 20. 20:25 MT.
  30. Part II
  31. Twenty-six
  32. Twenty-seven
  33. Twenty-eight
  34. Twenty-nine
  35. Thirty
  36. Thirty-one
  37. Thirty-two
  38. Thirty-three
  39. Thirty-four
  40. Thirty-five
  41. Thirty-six
  42. Thirty-seven
  43. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 22. 20:05 MT.
  44. Thirty-eight
  45. Thirty-nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-one
  48. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 25. 15:30 MT.
  49. Forty-two
  50. Forty-three
  51. Forty-four
  52. Forty-five
  53. Forty-six
  54. Forty-seven
  55. Forty-eight
  56. Forty-nine
  57. Fifty
  58. Fifty-one
  59. Fifty-two
  60. Fifty-three
  61. Fifty-four
  62. Part III
  63. Fifty-five
  64. Fifty-six
  65. Fifty-seven
  66. Fifty-eight
  67. Also by Chris Beckett
  68. Copyright page

But then Mary laughed. ‘The Underworld’s for Johnfolk, though, I reckon.’ We’d been hearing stories lately in the Davidfolk Ground about how the Johnfolk in New Earth didn’t live under the black sky as we did, but under the ground: the high people in big shining caves, the low people in narrow dark holes that the ringmen forced them at spearpoint to dig out for themselves. ‘Gela’s True Family should be out under the sky, don’t you think, Angie, so that Earth can find us when they finally return?’

She stood looking down for a moment, then she turned to wink at me and laugh, pulling me against her again.

‘Who am I kidding, Angie? Just the thought of going down that thing makes my hands sweat with fear.’

She could be sweet sometimes. She didn’t often make fun of herself, but when she did, it was lovely. And Tall Tree Valley seemed to be a place where she found it easier to be like that. I guess that might have been part of the reason why, when the Johnfolk came across the Pool, Mary headed to Tall Tree: it was a place she felt at home. But maybe she also figured that the High Valleys, which have no Circle of Stones, no Veekle, no mementoes of Earth of any kind, would be too small and unimportant for the Johnfolk to bother about.

And she was certainly right to keep out of the Johnfolk’s way. They were especially cruel to the shadowspeakers when they caught them. They showed them no pity at all. All across Eden, people loved Mother Gela, but one thing that Johnfollk and Davidfolk both especially hated were those who claimed to hear Gela telling a different story to their own.

Thirty-two

A long way past the length of a normal sleep, the Earth people were still in their shelter. I think maybe they pretended to still be sleeping, even after they were really awake, just so they could get some peace and quiet for a bit. It must have been hard hard for them, tired and sick in their stomachs, to think of facing all us Eden people.

I sat outside, mending our bodywraps and footwraps in case we needed them again. Helpers came regularly from Strongheart to see if the Earth people were awake yet. The crowd watched and waited, sometimes softly singing ‘Come Tree Road’ or one of the other old songs about going home to Earth. Over in Circle Clearing, another crowd stared up at the veekle. From time to time that huge metal thing would make a little sound and a light would flash, like it was a living thing that was stirring in its sleep.