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Back Daughter of Eden
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

They could tell our pride was hurt, but I don’t think any of the Earth people really understood how much this mattered to us, or why. The Davidfolk said President was a woman, so did the Tinafolk at Half Sky and the Jeffsfolk from Knee Tree Grounds, and so, even, did the Johnfolk down at Brown River. The only people whose ­stories said President was a man were the Johnfolk from New Earth. And they were our enemies, they were the ones who were over in Wide Forest right now, doing for our people, burning our shelters, mocking our precious circles. More than half the people here in the clearing had had to leave their homes to escape them. Almost everyone, including Strongheart himself, had boys and men over there in the guards, or members of their families who hadn’t yet crossed the Dark when they last heard of them, and could be alive or dead. It was hard hard to bear the thought that the New Earthers’ story might be the one that was right.

‘But how could we have got it wrong?’ croaked old Strongheart. He seemed to be finding it hard to breathe. It was as if this single bit of news had finally pushed him, in a few heartbeats, from being the tough old guy who still ran the Davidfolk Ground, and had got both of his new young shelterwomen pregnant, to a weak pathetic little oldie on the edge of death. ‘We tell the story over and over! Every single Virsry we act it out! If someone had changed it, everyone would have noticed and put them right!’

He looked like he might fall over, and his shelterwoman Jane took his arm to support him. The other shelterwoman, Flowerlight, had turned to say something to his helpers, so Starlight took his other arm. (My old friend, taking the arm of the Head Guard: any other time that would have been a story good enough for me to tell for all the rest of my life!)

‘I don’t really get this either,’ she told the Earth people, as she helped hold the old guy upright. ‘It’s true that in New Earth they say President was a man, but that’s only because they’ve decided to change the story. Believe me, I know. Even they admit there was a time when everyone in Eden believed President was a woman.’

‘And they say President was Gela’s dad,’ Strongheart said wear­ily. ‘I suppose you guys are going to tell us that’s not true as well now?’