Up at the Big House, Soldier John was now having a loud argument with Old Albert. It was fairly obvious what it was about: Albert gets territorial about his bags, and spends a lot of time rustling about at night building a nest around himself. Normally most of the people on board would have been over, picking a side in the shouting match and loudly giving our opinions. But things had changed now, and most of us were busy. Staring Crone was still silently staring – but I think we all felt that was OK right now, now that we knew she was thinking life-shifting thoughts. There was a group training, trying out moves used by the people we’d seen on shore. And everybody else was gathering together all the plastic bags we had. The whole Jellyfish was buzzing with the human energy on board and it just felt hopeful, exciting . . . and as though something was going to happen. Something different. Beneath us even the Jellyfish seemed to sense the mood, and it had gone strangely still and stiff like it was a boat. Its surface was moving on top of the waves – lightly up and down – and not absorbing the movement as it normally did.

I started knotting the rope together more quickly. It suddenly did seem urgent, after all. The drizzle had turned into light rain, and without our normal plastic bag coverings, it was definitely cold. My hands were numb, which was making it fiddly to tie the knots, but nobody was showing any sign of wanting to sit in the Big House.

‘Go and fill a bottle, would you, James?’ I said. He moved, without arguing, towards the edge of the creature.

‘I wonder what it would be like to sit inside one of those houses on the shore?’ said Kate. ‘Do you think it would be warm?’

‘I think the windows would be broken and the roofs would leak,’ said Lana. ‘Besides, if I ever get off this thing, I’m going to run so far inland that I’ll never even smell the sea. I don’t want any rivers, or lakes, or even a puddle. I’m definitely not friggin’ wasting time going into one of those houses.’

‘I don’t think the windows in my white house are broken,’ said Kate. ‘And its front door is still shut. I don’t think anything has been inside.’