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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

She sighed. ‘But then again, we’re both lonely, and we’re both scared, so I guess any kind of comfort is a plus. I bet my ancestors felt the same, back in J’maker. I bet there were times they turned to whoever they could reach.’

There was crackling and hissing for a while before she spoke again. ‘And it was unprotected of course,’ she said. ‘I could be pregnant already for all I know, and if not now, then probably sometime not too far away. “It’ll be tricky for the third generation,” I said to Tommy as we lay there afterwards, “if no one has come from Earth.” “What do you mean?” asked Tommy. “Oh come on, mate,” I snapped at him, “it’s not so hard to figure out! If no one comes from Earth, our kids are going to have to do to one another what you and me have just done, unless of course they’d prefer to die alone.” “Jesus!” he said. “Did you have to completely spoil it?” “Wait a minute,” I said. “Let’s remind ourselves who spoiled it. Let’s just think, shall we? That would be the ones who created this situation, wouldn’t it? And – let me see – that would be Dixon Thorleye, wouldn’t it? And Mehmet Haribey, of course, and – oh yes, I almost forgot! – Tommy Schneider, also known as you. The three arrogant idiots who stole the starship, the three who dragged me and Michael through the wormhole after them. I wonder if Michael got back, eh? I wonder if he saw his kids again? I somehow doubt it. He was a real family man, you know. He was about to leave the service so he could spend more time at home.” Tommy just turned his back to me and pretended to go to sleep. Well, he can’t very well walk out on me, can he? Or me on him.

‘Anyway, we lay there back to back, near enough to one of those things that we’ve started to call trees to be able to feel some of its warmth. In the distance two of those booming creatures were calling out. Hooom! Hooom! Hooom! goes one, and then the other answers, Aaaaah! Aaaaah! Aaaaah! Michael gave them the name of starbirds. Not that they look much like birds – they have six limbs, for a start – but they fly, sort of, and they have those long scaly things that look vaguely like feathers, covered in glittery dots like stars. We lay there, back to back, listening to the starbirds, Tommy thinking his thoughts and me thinking mine.