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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

As to me, I was more familiar with the Johnfolk way of seeing things than any of the others, because I came from the Kneefolk, and our Jeff had sided with John. But that didn’t mean I liked what they said. All this talk of new ground, and metal, and becoming like Earth, all this pushing forwards no matter what! How about the other side of all that, I wanted to ask? How about the fighting, the killing, the cruelty? How about the dividing up of one Family into Johnfolk and Davidfolk, high people and low people, men and women? Was it really possible that our kind gentle Mother could have wanted all that for her children?

‘So what do you want with us?’ Tom called out, his voice tight with cold cold rage.

The two men on buckback looked at each other. Two good-­looking high men, used to being listened to and having their own way, they smiled like they were sharing some private joke.

‘We want to be your friends,’ said Luke Johnson. ‘It’s as simple of that. Of course, if your guards come and fight us, we’ll fight them back – and we’ll beat them too, because our spears are ten times better than their spears, and our knives ten times sharper – but we don’t want to fight, and we don’t want you to feel you have to run away from your homes. We want you to stay with us. If you do, we’ll send underteachers who’ll show you how to read and tell you about the True Story, and all we’ll ask of you is that you accept me as your chief, and ringmen as your protectors, instead of the guard leaders and guards you have now. But it’s completely up to you.’

Tom looked round at the men who were his closest friends: Davidson, Little Harry, Blackknife. Then he looked at Clare in a certain way that he had, half-hoping she’d know better than he did what to do, half-resenting the fact that this really did quite often turn out to be the case. Harry’s dick, how dare she have good ideas? Wasn’t he the man, and wasn’t he supposed to be the cluster head? This time, though, she had no more of a plan than him. No one did. Well, why would we? Nothing like this had ever happened to any of us before.

Tom ran his tongue round his lips. ‘Okay,’ he said to the Headmanson, ‘well, if we really have a choice, we’d like to go to Davidstand. Will you let us through?’