BooksBarbecue
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

‘No man or woman chooses a batface to be with if they could have someone else,’ persisted Trueheart, enduring her mother’s leopard grip on her shoulders. She looked at me. ‘I’m sorry, Angie, but it’s true, isn’t it?’

I was about to answer, but she carried on. ‘It’s not fair, but it’s true. A low person, a batface, a woman. If I stay on Eden there’s no way I’m going to be anything other than low low low.’

‘Nothing wrong with being a low person,’ her dad said. ‘There’d be no high people without the—’

But Trueheart cut right across him. ‘I’m smart. You all know I am, but what use is being smart if all you’re going to do all your life is look after babies and grind up starflower seeds?’

‘It should be a high person that goes,’ said Strongheart suddenly.

It was weird, we Michael’s Place people had quite forgotten that the Head Guard of all the Davidfolk was right behind us. And of course it wasn’t only him that was there. The Heads of the two other parts of Mainground were there too: Newjohn and Starlight. We were among the highest people in all of Eden. Only Headman Dixon was missing.

Headman Newjohn laughed. ‘I don’t think what we call high and low means much to people from Earth,’ he said. ‘I reckon to them, we must all of us seem pretty much like kids playing a game among the trees.’

‘It’s up to her of course,’ Marius said. ‘But I can’t think of anyone more suited to come with us than Trueheart. She really is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.’

‘Yes, and you Eden folk could do with having one of your people on Earth, Head Guard,’ Deep pointed out to Strongheart, as he dabbed at his still bleeding head. ‘You need someone there who can help us figure out how best to help you when we visit again.’

‘Yes,’ said Gaia. ‘But what Clare says is true. Whoever comes, it’ll most likely mean saying goodbye forever. Or for thirty forty years at least.’

‘I’m going,’ said Trueheart simply. There were red marks on her shoulders from her mother’s grip, and in two three places Clare’s nails had broken her skin.

The Earth people looked at one another. Clare wept. Trueheart’s younger sisters, Sue and Starflower, clung tightly to Trueheart’s arms, like they simply wouldn’t let her go. Trueheart endured this too. Tom stood there trembling, his face half-angry and half just bewildered and scared.

‘Well, if that’s agreed,’ Gaia said, ‘we’d better get your things.’