Part of her was excited in the same way that we all felt excited at the beginning of all this – how can you not be excited when something happens right in front of you that you’ve been longing for all your life? – but for Mary it meant losing so so much. If you spent your life speaking for Mother Gela, what was left for you when Gela was here to speak for herself ? Mary made herself notice her own jealousy. She made herself notice her own bitterness at the fact that Gela didn’t spot her there, didn’t call out to her: ‘Hello Mary, my old friend. I’m glad we can finally meet!’ She realized that she was a complete stranger to Gela, just as Gela was a stranger to her.

Then the Earth people showed their pictures of London. I’d already seen the strange flat paleness of Earth, but it was the first time for Mary and I guess it was as disappointing for her as it was for most people. We’d all thought that when we saw Earth, it would be like when you see a dear familiar face from long ago. You might not have been able to picture that face in your mind any more – how long do you have to be apart from a person before you lose the trick of doing that? – but, as soon as you see that face, you remember it perfectly, like there’s a gap inside you that only that one face can fill. Each of us had felt a hole inside that we thought was the same shape as Earth, and we’d assumed that when we saw Earth again it would fit into place at once. But that didn’t happen. It was strange and unfamiliar, that’s what Mary discovered, the same as we all had done, and it didn’t bring back any memories at all.

And then the Earth people talked about troubles that had happened back there: the floods and the fights, and how people had been driven out of their houses, and how miles and miles of London now stood empty and crumbling. That was a shock for Mary. She’d always told people that everything was perfect on Earth, everything was safe.