Chapters (90)
- Title Page
- Enter the SF Gateway …
- Contents
- Author Note
- PROLOGUE: TRANSCRIPT
- IDENTITIES
- YEAR 0.005
- EARTHWATCH
- A CHANCE TO DREAM
- MEETING OF MINDS
- GENESIS AND REVELATION
- GRAVE IMAGE
- THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
- MANEUVERING
- BIG SISTER
- THE POWER TO SOOTHE
- YEAR 1.00
- ABOUT TIME
- HAPPY NEW YEAR
- TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS
- FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS INCLINATIONS
- IN THE DEAD VAST AND MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
- OPTIONS
- DRIFTING
- DIVIDE AND MULTIPLY
- DIONYSUS MEETS GODZILLA
- 10
- DIDN’T SHE RAMBLE?
- YEAR 1.33
- LONG-RANGE PLANS
- NEW BEGINNINGS
- UNTIMELY PLUCKED
- BLUES
- YEAR 1.88
- LABOR-SAVING DEVICE
- FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE TO THE CRADLE
- A MODEST PROPOSAL
- ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN
- ONE PART HARMONY
- TWO PARTS DISCORD
- YEAR 3.21
- LEAVINGS
- REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST
- TRANSLATING
- YEAR 5.71
- WATERSHED, BLOODSHED
- NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
- A WOMAN OF DISCRIMINATION
- THAT TIME OF YEAR THOU MAYE5T IN ME BEHOLD
- CATEGORIES
- YEAR 6.26
- AULD ACQUAINTANCE
- SOWING, REAPING
- TEMPERAMENT
- BAD SEED
- YEAR 8.36
- HUSBANDRY
- POPULATION EXPLOSION
- YEAR 9.88
- HOMECOMING
- THE BURDENS OF FAITH
- YEAR 11.07
- GROWING PAINS
- LONG-DISTANCE CALL
- FOUR NOVELS
- AGE 55
- IN DREAMS AWAKE
- UP TEMPO
- JUVENILIA
- POOL PARTY
- INTERIM REPORT
- CHANCES
- BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE
- FINAL APPROACH
- AGE 56
- DAY ZERO
- FIRST CONTACT
- LETTER ‘HOME
- HOUSEKEEPING
- AGE 57
- SETTLING, UNSETTLING
- THE HUNT
- FINAL EXAM
- AGE 100
- Website
- Also by Joe Haldeman
- Dedication
- EPILOGUE
- Author Bio
- Copyright
| STORM: | I hope you all are getting this. We don’t know how much power it takes to get out there or how good we’re focused on you. |
| My name’s Storm. I’m the mayor of Key West and the governor of Dixie. That’s basically Florida and what used to be Georgia and Miss’ippi. | |
| (Nods to somebody OFF) | |
| Yeah, and part of Lou’siana too, but we ain’t heard from them in months. They were gettin’ flooded. | |
| This is sometime in October 2107. It’s a long story as to why we don’t know exactly what the date is. | |
| Anyhow, more about that later. We got things pretty much up and running. Even power to spare for this kinda thing, though most people don’t think there’s no one up there. | |
| What the hell happened to New New York? If you know. They stopped broadcasting here about ten, eleven years ago— | |
| (Someone OFF speaks; Storm says, “Yeah, yeah.”) Exactly one year after you left, if we were counting right. So it must of had something to do with you. Maybe you did it, somehow. Hope not. Anyhow, we could sure use their help now, so if you know anything about it, let us know. | |
| Anyhow, this here’s Healer. He’s the one who started this whole thing. |
The camera pans around jerkily to a big man in his late fifties, sunbaked skin dark against a shock of white beard and long, flowing white hair. There’s a radio telescope dish in the background.