THE CHRYSALIDS
ABOUT JOHN WYNDHAM
- John Wyndham was born July 12, 1903 and died March 11, 1969.
- Wyndham subsequently attended a private school in Edgbaston run by a Miss Mabel Woodward, and from 1914 to 1915. was at Edgbaston High School for Boys.
- He later went to Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon, during the First World War.
- His longest and final stay was at Bedales School, near Petersfield in Hampshire (1918–1921), which he left at the age of 18.
- more ...
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JOHN WYNDHAM'S NOVELS
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SETTING
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THEME
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SUMMARY
The Chrysalids is the story of David and the group of 'Thought-Shapers' that live in and around the vicinity of Waknuk. It is primarily David's story, where he grows up in a repressive society that values the concept of the 'true image', in a world where the effects of Tribulation ensure that plants, animals, and people inevitably deviate from the 'norm'. He and his little sister, Petra, are the silent deviants in their religiously dogmatic home. They get away with being deviations because there are no physical signs, so he, Petra, Rosalind (his cousin), Michael, Sally, Katherine, Mark, Rachel, and Walter hide openly among the 'norms'. Things are generally quiet for them, except when Sophie enters David's life, with her six toes, at the age of ten. Then, at around twenty, Anne decides to marry a 'norm', which brings a lot of intrigue into the group's life. Finally, Petra's near drowning, then the death of her pony, all actions which awakened an unconscious call for help that boasted an astonishing thought-shape range, brought on the destruction of the group's relatively safe environment. They were discovered, with only Walter, Rachel, and Michael remaining undiscovered. It is during this trek across the Badlands and into the Fringes that the existence of Sealand comes into play, through a woman who contacts Petra and eventually saves them from both the inhabitants of the Fringes and the people of Waknuk, including Joseph Strorm.
The Chrysalids is the story of David and the group of 'Thought-Shapers' that live in and around the vicinity of Waknuk. It is primarily David's story, where he grows up in a repressive society that values the concept of the 'true image', in a world where the effects of Tribulation ensure that plants, animals, and people inevitably deviate from the 'norm'. He and his little sister, Petra, are the silent deviants in their religiously dogmatic home. They get away with being deviations because there are no physical signs, so he, Petra, Rosalind (his cousin), Michael, Sally, Katherine, Mark, Rachel, and Walter hide openly among the 'norms'. Things are generally quiet for them, except when Sophie enters David's life, with her six toes, at the age of ten. Then, at around twenty, Anne decides to marry a 'norm', which brings a lot of intrigue into the group's life. Finally, Petra's near drowning, then the death of her pony, all actions which awakened an unconscious call for help that boasted an astonishing thought-shape range, brought on the destruction of the group's relatively safe environment. They were discovered, with only Walter, Rachel, and Michael remaining undiscovered. It is during this trek across the Badlands and into the Fringes that the existence of Sealand comes into play, through a woman who contacts Petra and eventually saves them from both the inhabitants of the Fringes and the people of Waknuk, including Joseph Strorm.
CHARACTER
David Strorm
Mrs. Wender, Sophie's mother, is a loving mother figure who is desperate to protect her daughter. Her character's purpose is to contrast with David's cold mother.
John Wender, Sophie’s father, loved her very much, as seen in his anxiety over Sophie’s friendship with David. His role is to highlight what a true father looks like, in contrast to the religious dogmatic father that he has.
Elias Strorm is the patriarch of the Strorm family/ unyielding in his support of purity/ very Godly. His purpose is to highlight the reason behind Joseph Strorm’s dogmatic nature, as well as to serve as a foreshadowing of the fact that he hunts down his children in the name of purity.
Emily Strorm is David and Petra’s mother, and she is hard-hearted and brainwashed by her husband. She is the very opposite of a loving and caring mother, as seen in her clinical response to the treatment of the wounds that David suffered as a result of the punishment that he received from his father.
Aunt Harriet is Emily’s sister. She is a true mother who, ironically, has not been able to produce perfect children that conform to the image of man. She cares so much for a child that is days old, yet her sister, Emily, is cold to her children.
David Strorm
- David is the son of Joseph Strorm, who is a community leader.
- He is a good person who does not discriminate against others, as evidenced by the fact that he did not even realize Sophie had additional toes. When he did come to the realization, it did not affect his relationship with Sophie.
- He is brave because he supports Sophie when she is discovered and when her family has to flee Waknuk.
- His bravery is also shown when he leads and defends Petra and Rosalind in their forced journey through the Badlands and Fringes.
- He is a good and patient brother who trains Petra to ‘think-share’ more accurately and in a softer tone.
- Petra is the youngest member of the Strorm household.
- She is also the strongest of the ‘think-shapers’, as well as the Sealanders, because her range is greater than any known individual.
- Her young age makes her immature and therefore a liability to the group, because she cannot control herself when she is in distress.
- Despite her immaturity, she is a cooperative little girl who consistently tries to communicate with the Sealand lady at her brother's and Rosalind’s request.
- Rosalind is Petra and David’s cousin.
- She is very organized and efficient, as seen when she got the great horses packed and was ready to go when they had to flee Waknuk.
- She is in love with David.
- Uncle Axel is David’s father figure because his father, Joseph Strorm, was so strict and unwelcoming.
- Uncle Axel educates David about the world outside of Waknuk and the effect that Tribulation had on the land.
- He also offered advice on how the group could remain undiscovered.
- He is protective of his nephew and the ‘think-shape’ group, as seen when he kills Anne’s husband because he was observing the members of the group too closely, implying that he knows their secret.
- Uncle Axel is unbiased and open-minded, as reflected in the care that he takes with the group’s secret and ensuring their safety.
- Sophie is David’s friend whom he met when he was a child.
- Sophie is a well-adjusted, happy child, despite being labeled as an Abomination because of her extra toes.
- She evolves into a brave survivor of the Fringes who returns the favour of helping David, exactly when he needs it.
- Joseph is David and Petra’s father.
- He is an important member of the Waknuk community even before his birth because his father, Elias Strorm, was one of the earliest settlers in Waknuk. Their home, called Waknuk, was built from an original home in the area.
- Joseph, based on Elias’ legacy, was the largest landowner in Waknuk.
- He also acts as a magistrate and preaches in church, ensuring that all within his control set a high example for the orderly, law-abiding, God-respecting community of Waknuk.
- He lived by the idea of the true image and the teachings of Nicholson’s Repentances.
- He is uncompromising in his values, as seen in the fact that he hunted his children, his flesh and blood, when they were discovered to be deviants.
- Michael is a member of the ‘think-shape’ group.
- He becomes their unofficial leader in adulthood based on his sharp thinking and strategizing, as witnessed by his pretending to hunt his fellow Deviants, while secretly feeding them information to ensure their escape.
- He is the most formally educated member of the group, who shared his educational journey with the group.
- Anne is selfish because she puts the group at risk by marrying a norm and sharing the group’s secret.
- Sally is the weak link in the group because she breaks when she is tortured and gives up Petra, David, and Rosalind.
- Katherine is compassionate. She is captured, along with Sally, and implores the group to forgive Sally because she has endured a great deal.
- Walter is the first of the group to die. He was suddenly just absent, and Uncle Axel’s investigation revealed that a boy had suffered an accidental death on a farm around the time of Walter's disappearance from the group.
- Mark disappears after David, Rosalind, and Petra flee Waknuk. It is implied that he was either captured or died.
- The Sealand Lady is arrogant. She believes that the people who can ‘Think-Shape’ are evolved and therefore superior to the ‘norms’.
- Her belief in her superiority is revealed in the way she speaks to the group; her language is very high-flown.
- She is patient because she ensures that she gets to Petra, despite the communication issues.
Mrs. Wender, Sophie's mother, is a loving mother figure who is desperate to protect her daughter. Her character's purpose is to contrast with David's cold mother.
John Wender, Sophie’s father, loved her very much, as seen in his anxiety over Sophie’s friendship with David. His role is to highlight what a true father looks like, in contrast to the religious dogmatic father that he has.
Elias Strorm is the patriarch of the Strorm family/ unyielding in his support of purity/ very Godly. His purpose is to highlight the reason behind Joseph Strorm’s dogmatic nature, as well as to serve as a foreshadowing of the fact that he hunts down his children in the name of purity.
Emily Strorm is David and Petra’s mother, and she is hard-hearted and brainwashed by her husband. She is the very opposite of a loving and caring mother, as seen in her clinical response to the treatment of the wounds that David suffered as a result of the punishment that he received from his father.
Aunt Harriet is Emily’s sister. She is a true mother who, ironically, has not been able to produce perfect children that conform to the image of man. She cares so much for a child that is days old, yet her sister, Emily, is cold to her children.
PLOT
Chapter 1
David explains that when he was young, he would dream of a city without knowing what a city was. He would even see the waterfront and boats, without knowing what that was, as well. He would see things flying in the sky, and carts without horses. He would 'see' this place in the daytime, but sometimes at night as well, when lights lay like strings of glow worms along the shore. He asked his sister, Mary, about it, but she said that no such place existed. She suggested that he might be dreaming about the world of the past, where the Old People lived before God sent Tribulation. She, however, warned him never to speak of this dream to anyone else because no one else, whether sleeping or awake, had these pictures in their head. David took her advice because people disapproved of differences, even his left-handedness was problematic, and he had quite forgotten about the dreams as they decreased over the years. His sister’s advice stuck, however, and he applied this caution to the curious understanding that he had with his cousin Rosalind, until he met Sophie. He was nearly ten years old and had gone out on his own to play on the bank (highway). He was sliding down a part of the bank when someone greeted him. It was a strange girl, which was an anomaly because there would be gatherings where everyone from miles around would meet, so everyone knew each other. Introductions were made, and the stranger, Sophie, was invited to play.
On Sophie’s third go down the slide, however, her foot got stuck. After trying to twist, then pull the foot out with the shoe on, David concluded that the shoe had to be taken off. Sophie, despite being in pain, adamantly refused. However, between the increased pain and David’s rational reasoning, she consented to take off the shoe, but only if David did not look. She could not get the shoe off, however, and had to ask David for help, with a promise that he would never tell. The foot looked queer, twisted, and puffy, and he hadn’t noticed, then, that it had more than the usual amount of toes. David got the shoe out of the cleft, but Sophie could not get it back on her foot. David concluded that they had to get help, and she said no, she would crawl, and she did. In the meantime, with Sophie’s directions, he located her home. He got her mom, and they went to Sophie. The mom asked Sophie if David saw, and she answered in the affirmative. Sophie then climbed on her mother’s back, and they went to Sophie's home. David watched Sophie’s mother tend to the injured foot and did not realize that Sophie’s additional toe went against the commandments and precepts. When Sophie was tucked away upstairs, her mother talked with David. She asked him never to tell anyone about Sophie’s foot, and he agreed. David observed that her thoughts were jumbled and panicked and tried to think to her, to no avail. He asked if he could see Sophie again, and she said yes, if he could reach their home without anyone knowing. It was on his way home that the definition of man clicked into place. According to this document, Sophie was a blasphemy against the true image of God. David was perturbed because there was nothing frightful about Sophie. She was an ordinary girl. There must be a mistake; one extra could not make one hateful in the sight of God.
Chapter 2
He reached home the usual method, through the woods, and was very watchful for wild creatures. He cut across the yard when old Jacob’s back was turned, climbed through a window, and made his way cautiously to his room. David then tells us about his grandfather, Elias Strorm. He came from the East at 45 years old to settle in underdeveloped Waknuk. The story is told that he left because the East was sinful, but the contrasting tale is that he left because the East would not have him. He was a dominating man with respect for God on his lips and the fear of the devil constantly in his heart. Soon after he started his house, he got a wife who was 25 years younger. He crushed her spirit, and she died soon after the birth of her second child. Joseph Strorm, David’s father, was the mirror image of Elias Strorm. Joseph married after Elias died and chose a woman who aligned with his values. Their house was called Waknuk because it was the first house in the settlement, built on the remains of the Old People. Joseph Strorm was the largest landowner, acted as a magistrate, and preached in church. He ensures that all within his control set a high example for the orderly, law-abiding, God respecting community of Waknuk.
In David's house, life centered around the living room/ kitchen. His mother kept the room clean, and the only decorative feature was plaques with sayings from the Repentance on the walls, for example, 'Only the image of God is the norm' and 'Blessed is the norm'. David was very familiar with these words long before he could read. David then reports on Offences, emphasizing that it was a big deal. It warrants prayers and the public execution of the Offence, which could be a two-headed calf or four-legged chicken, even the destruction of a harvest. The Strorm household had more slaughtering and burnings than the average household because Joseph Strorm was a careful and pious man who had a keen eye for Offences, unlike persons with elastic principles. David learned quickly that Offences were things that did not look right, like their parents or parent plants. If it happened in humans, it was called Blasphemy or Deviation. Waknuk had a high purity rate, until it meandered into Wild Country, where the chance of breeding true was less than fifty percent, and then the Fringes, where everything was erratic. Beyond the Fringes was the Badlands, which no one knew anything about. The Fringes were problematic, however, because Deviations would raid Waknuk, in organized bands, to steal the supplies they needed. Mostly, though, they led a comfortable life in Waknuk. David then tells us about his mother’s family tree, which consisted of five girls and two boys. There was also Uncle Axle, his aunt’s husband and David’s best friend. David's half-uncle, Rosalind's father, lived next door, and we learn that David lived on the most prosperous farms in an equally prosperous district.
Chapter 3
David slipped away, after school, to see Sophie at least once or twice a week. One day, he took her on his side of the bank to see the steam engine. They sat and discussed the wonders of the Old People, the fantastic things they made, and whether or not they could fly. They then went to Sophie’s house, where they encountered Mr Wender, back from one of his trips. David considered him his friend, though he would sometimes find Mr Wender watching him uneasily. One day, at his own home, David recalls an incident where he wished that he had a third hand. His father was outraged and lectured him sharply, and sent him to his room, after praying for his soul. That night, he dreamed that his father killed Sophie. If John and Mary Wender were present when David woke up from the dream, crying and in a panic, they would have felt less anxious about his friendship with their daughter.
Chapter 4
Uncle Axle discovered David ‘talking’ to Rosalind. Uncle Axle made him promise to keep it a secret and that they would not ‘talk out loud’ to make the thought shapes clearer - it was just too dangerous. Uncle Axle also insisted that Rosalind make the promises. David didn’t tell him about the others because he seemed so worried, but he resolved to make them promise as well. David put the matter to Rosalie and the others, and all were in agreement to do as Uncle Axle said. This decision made them a group because of the formal admission of their responsibilities towards each other. It was their first step in corporate self-preservation. Then there was an invasion from the Fringes. This invasion differed from the other minor skirmishes because they were organized. The men of Waknuk managed to beat them, however. Two of the prisoners were taken to David’s compound, and he ran up to view them, only to be shocked that one of the men was the mirror image of his father. The Joseph look-alike observed David intensely, then looked up to see Joseph, and hatred poured out of his eyes. Joseph became ashen and had to return inside. When the prisoner dismounted the horse, David saw that he had long, skinny arms and legs that resembled a spider. The 'spider-man' asked David who he was before he was carried off. David later learned that they had escaped back into the Fringes, and he never asked his father about the strange ‘spider-man’.
The excitement in Waknuk mounts when Uncle Angus Morton, Rosalind's father, acquires two great horses, which initiates a dispute between him and Joseph. When Joseph laid eyes on the horses, he went straight to the inspector with a request that they be destroyed as Offenses. The inspector said that they were government-approved; therefore, he could do nothing about them. Joseph argued tirelessly, but to no avail, especially when the Daker’s cat incident - killing the tailless cat while the case was still under review - was brought up. He could do nothing but seethe because while the Dakers’ cat had no value at all, the great horses were quite costly. All this frustration at home has led David to leave home to visit Sophie. Sophie did not attend school, so David spoke to her about what he learned from books and school. He teaches Sophie that the world is big and probably round. The civilized part of the world was Labrador, Waknuk being a part of it, and it is by the sea. It was a place that not a lot of people that he knew, save Uncle Axel, had seen. To the south, or south/west of Labrador, were the Fringes and then the Badlands. It was also said that many years ago, Labrador was a cold, uninhabitable place, only good growing trees and mysterious mining. People guessed, but no one knew how long ago that was - a thousand, two thousand years or more. There was no telling how many generations had passed their lives like savages between the coming of Tribulation and the start of recorded history. Only Nicholson’s Repentances had come out of the wilderness of barbarism, and only the Bible had survived the time of the Old People. Except for these two books, anything further back than three centuries was lost. The name Labrador came from oral history. There was a dispute over whether only Labrador and Newf were populated because everywhere else was thought to be Badlands, suffering the full weight of Tribulation.
David thought, altogether, that not much seemed to be known about the world, but it was more interesting than Ethics. Ethics was mankind’s climb back into grace, but the way was filled with difficult and faint trails. Only the authorities, ecclesiastical and lay, could be the guides. The penance was Tribulation, but the reward was restoration of the Golden Age. Ethics could be condensed into this thought: the duty and purpose of man in this world is to fight unceasingly against the evils that Tribulation loosed upon it. Above all, he must see that the human form is kept true to the divine pattern so that one day it may be permitted to regain the high place in which, as the image of God, it was set. David didn’t talk to Sophie about this part of Ethics, though, not because he classified her as Deviant, but because she was not classified as the true image. There were many other things to talk about, anyway.
Chapter 5
No one troubled about David if he remained out of sight, and the season was setting a purity record because only Angus’ field was burned. Joseph believed that this was retribution for the acquisition of the great horses. David was able to spend a lot of time with Sophie because everyone was busy. One day, they were at their usual spot, and a boy came over to play with them. He saw one of Sophie’s footprints, with her six toes, despite David’s attempt to clear it. The boy, Allan, demanded to know who Sophie, who had disappeared behind a bush, was. He started a fistfight with the boy to keep him from going after Sophie. It was working until Sophie came back and hit the boy over the head with a stone in David’s defence. They rushed back to the Wender house. David recapped the story to Mr. Wender, who told Mrs. Wender that they had to leave. David asked Mrs. Wender why they hadn’t just cut off the extra toes when she was a baby, but they said people would have seen the scars and known. David asked if he could go with them. The Wenders discussed it, for they feared for David in his loveless household, but decided against taking him because Joseph Strorm would not give up the hunt for his son. They asked him to stay in the house till morning, to give them a better chance to escape, and Sophie gave him a lock of her hair as a parting gift. David stayed the night, as promised. He was interrogated the next day, however, and whipped mercilessly by his father. He cracked under the abuse and felt ashamed and guilty for telling the adults about his friend.
Chapter 6
David woke up to Rosalind and the others checking in on him. He told them about Sophie, and they wrestled, unsuccessfully, with the concept that an abomination was not atrocious. They all fell asleep, leaving David alone. He dreamt of his father killing Sophie, then he dreamt of the city, and it soothed him. His mother checked on him in the morning in a detached and disapproving way; it was Mary who took care of him. She told him to stay on his belly for the day, and he complied, planning his escape during his hours of rest. Then, the inspector came and spoke to him, and he got a lecture about aiding and abetting a fugitive. He asked David why he didn’t report Sophie, and he told him about the dream of his father killing Sophie, like an Offence. The inspector tells him that Abominations weren’t handled like that, but would not clarify how they were handled. Joseph came in and reported that they had been found, and David broke down in tears. Uncle Axel calmed him and told him that it was not his fault; they were picked up by a patrol, quite by accident.
David then told Uncle Axel that he was running away and asked for advice about the Fringes. Uncle Axel dissuaded him by stating that if he presented the normalcy certificate to officials, they would send him right back to Waknuk, and survival in the Fringes was not optimal. He recommended that David stay, and things might look different when he’s older. David asked Uncle Axel about the world outside of Waknuk, and his response was ‘godless’. David told him that he was disappointed in him because his answer was as he imagined Joseph’s answer would be, uninformative. So Uncle Axel told him about the world outside of Waknuk; to the north east, there was a land where the women were strong and kept the men in cages until the age of 24, after which they ate them. He describes the Straits of Newf as essentially Badlands, with everything being classified as deviational/ Black Coasts, which was an extreme form of the Badlands, it’s barren and glows. A man called Marther wrote about the Black Coasts, and he was reprimanded for implying that deviations were performing a work of reclamation and many other heresies, which resulted in a ban on further exploration. Amid this upsetting situation, a ship that was given up for lost returned with gold, silver, copper ornaments, and spices. These spices, however, were controversial because there was no way to know if they were the true image. Whatever they were, they were profitable enough for ships to sail south in search of them.
Uncle Axel then confirmed that the lands in the south are not civilized. A lot of people aren’t afraid of Deviations; in some places, Deviations will feel as if they are normal. For example, there’s a hairless tribe that believes hair is the devil’s mark. One tribe has white hair and pink eyes, and another tribe has webbed fingers and toes. In yet another tribe, only women who are multibreasted can have children. He speaks of an island where the people could pass for the true image, if it weren’t that some strange deviation had turned them all black. There’s even a race that has shrunk to two feet high, grown fur and a tail, and has taken to living in trees. Some tribes are friendly, some tribes are not. Other tribes speak differently, but if you listen closely, you will find that the words are similar to our own, just pronounced differently, and everyone has the same legends of the Old People. Also, most importantly, all the tribes think that they are the true image. Uncle Axel pondered that the Bible does not have a definition of man; it comes from Nicholson’s Repentances, so one wonders if Nicholson knew the true image.
David asks if there are any cities, like the one in his dream, out there in the world. Uncle Axe said no. He says that after a point, the ships have to stop because the sea is filled with weeds with stems like cables that ships cannot pass through. Uncle Axel tells him that no one really knows the true image; David and Rosalind might be closer to it than everyone else. That’s when David reveals that there are eight more children like him. There were actually nine of them, but one just dropped out. He asked Uncle Axel to check on the absent child because the group was afraid. He consented to do so and reminded David that no one really knew the true image. David decided not to run away from home; the difficulties looked formidable.
Chapter 7
The arrival of Petra, David’s little sister, was a surprise to him. He heard the cry in the night, which remained unacknowledged until the inspector confirmed that it was a human baby in the true image. Everyone was tense because the inspector was late; he would come when he could, and we learn that the last two instances of his mother’s ‘illness’ yielded no certificate. If this occurred a third time, his mother could be sent away. The inspector arrived mid-afternoon and took some time in forming his judgement. They got their certificate, despite the inspector's ‘slow’ pace, to aggravate Joseph Strorm. The bell was rung to announce the baby, then everyone gathered in the kitchen for the prayer of thanksgiving.
One day, David was hiding in the room beside his parents’ bedroom to avoid being given an afternoon chore when he saw his Aunt Harriet roll up. She brought her uncertified baby with her and asked David’s mother, Emily, to switch her certified baby with her uncertified baby. This was to facilitate Auny Harriet's uncertified baby getting a certificate, ensuring that Auny Harriet would not be cast out for this third offense. Emily said no, and Joseph, who arrived on the scene, gave Aunt Harriet a righteous lecture. Aunt Harriet listened and said that she would pray that God send charity into this hideous world, sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. Aunt Harriet wondered if it was God’s will that a child should suffer and its soul be damned for a little blemish of the body; she prayed that the hearts of the self-righteous be broken. Emily cried when Aunt Harriet left, saying that Harriet might not have been aware of what she was doing. Joseph then lectured her too, at length, about the importance of purity. Aunt Harriet’s body was later found in the river, and there was no mention of a baby.
Chapter 8
David had dreams about Aunt Harriet, who was never mentioned again, after they mentioned her name in evening prayers. He had dreams about her for a while and would pray to be normal. Uncle Axel cornered him one day, when he noticed how sad he was, and David tearfully told him about what he witnessed between Aunt Harriet and his mother. David revealed his fear of being discovered, and Uncle Axel assured him that no one would find out his secret, and he, Uncle Axel, wouldn’t tell. David brought up the member of their group who had disappeared, and Uncle Axel reported that a 9-year-old boy, Walter Brent, had been killed in an accident, just around the time that their group member had disappeared. Uncle Axel told David that there is no physical component to David’s difference, so if he watched himself, they would never find out. He also reiterated that no one knows the true image. He also questioned the desire to recapture what the Old People had, implying that Tribulation might have been their mistake. Essentially, he said that we might try being ourselves and build for the existing world, instead of for one that is gone.
Uncle Axel said that David, Rosalind, and their group have a new quality of mind. He advised David to accept and see what use he can make of it while trying to survive. Praying it away is not useful. David told the others about Walter Brent, and they were relieved. He also realized that Walter might have been a distant relative; his grandmother’s name was Brent. The group decided that it was wise to learn each other’s names, so there was Michael, Sally, Katherine, Mark, Anne, and Rachel (including David and Rosalind). They were all around the same age and lived in proximity to each other. There were others, but they were faint. Michael was then sent for further schooling in Kentak, where the distance initially affected reception, but some weeks of practice had them back on track, so the others learned a lot from him. They also helped him with hard concepts, so the group was pleased that he consistently remained at the top of his class. This, however, brought the added complication of them having to remember what they should not know. There were bad moments, of course, but they were able to live out the next six years, through caution, luck, and quick recoveries. That is, until they discovered that eight had become nine.
Chapter 9
David discovered that his baby sister was one of them when she nearly drowned in the river. He was working in the field, taking a break, when he was ‘struck’ and went pelting towards the river. Then he saw Rosalind pelting towards the river as well. He saved his sister, who had the power to command the group. A crowd eventually came, because people were curious about why David and Rosalind were running away from their respective locations. They were initially suspicious, but when both Rosalind and David confirmed Petra’s loud screaming, they became uncertain. That night, David dreamed that his father slaughtered Sophie. Subsequent attempts by the group to make contact with Sophie failed, and they surmised that panic had triggered her mental screaming. They agreed not to warn Sophie about their perilous situation, but to keep trying to make contact with her. Michael was particularly dissatisfied that he could not use his gift for good and be accepted for it.
The year before Petra’s discovery, there was a large number of Offences. Elijah, the farmhand, explained to David that the increase in offenses can be blamed on the recent laxity in the approach to offenses; they were being punished. He explained the extreme measures of the past, like whipping a woman if she produced a Deviant. The woman would be uncertified, outlawed, and sold if she had three Deviants, and if there was trouble, she would be burnt. He asked Uncle Axel if many people held Jacob’s views, and he confirmed that the old ones do. The middle-aged are on the fence but will tip to the extreme side if the bad seasons increase. He suggested that bad seasons occur due to the weather; a bad winter with gales from the south west will increase the deviation rate. He says if there are back-to-back bad seasons, people will start listening to the old ones, like Jacob, and start looking for scapegoats. This is exactly what happened the year the group discovered Petra. They were extra careful for about a week, and things settled. That is, until Anne announced that she was getting married.
Chapter 10
Anne announced that she was marrying Allan Ervin, the boy who had informed on Sophie many years ago. The group was alarmed. Michael tried to dissuade her with the argument that it would be like marrying a cripple. Anne, however, was adamant because she wanted a family, and there were more girls than boys in the group. They tried to convince her that marrying a norm would mean misery because you were separated by something wider than a language and would always be guarding against inevitable slips. Anne would not budge and ended all communication with them. David compared his relationship with Rosalind to the possibility of Anne and the norm, and concluded that it was impossible. David spoke to Uncle Axel about it, and he agreed with the group. The issue was that Anne wanted Allan so badly that she was almost mad with it. David confirmed that she had stopped thinking properly. Uncle Axel said that sooner or later she would reveal their secret. He implied that they had to eliminate the threat to them. She was endangering the lives of eight people to fulfil her desire. David explained that they could not harm Anne; it would be self-harm.
Anne persisted with the lack of communication, got married, and lived for months without any impact on the group. David and Rosalind, too, wanted to get married, but there was the matter of the feud between Joseph Strorm and Uncle Angus Morton. They had lived for a year under Anne’s threat, pondering how they could be together, when Allan was found dead, with an arrow through his neck. Everyone tried to reach Anne, but she blocked all communication. Her sister, Rachel, tried to get an encrypted note to her explaining that the group had nothing to do with Allan’s death, but she ripped up the note without reading it. Michael told everyone to prepare to run, and Rachel told everyone that Anne said that she knew who had killed her husband, then kicked everyone out of her house. The next morning, Rachel found Anne hanging from a beam in her bedroom. Anne had left a note for the inspector on a table that outlined the group's deviance, even Petra, and declaring that one of them had killed Allan. Allan’s death was deemed unsolvable, and Anne’s suicide was tragic. They did not fully relax, especially Michael, because one of them was found to be not strong enough.
Chapter 11
All was well; it was a record year for purity records, and even Old Jacob was positive. All was serene, interrupted only by Petra’s decision to have an adventure in the woods. Her call came as suddenly and unexpectedly as before; it did not have the violent panic of the first call, but it was intense. The issue was that Petra's call was consistent, with no breaks for the others to communicate and plan, and so they all converged in the woods. The result was that a stranger encountered them and was suspicious. Petra’s signal continued into the night until she fell asleep. The group discussed the incident and made a plan to prevent a repeat of the group's convergence. David then took Petra fishing to teach her to communicate in think shapes. He played a game with her and discovered that she could send and receive; it’s just that she was so loud. They had another lesson the next day, and everyone was encouraged, except for when Petra got excited and got very loud. These lessons also brought the discovery of others, far, far away.
Uncle Axel met with David and told him that he and Rosalind were being investigated. He also revealed that Allan had known about them by way of Anne and that he, Uncle Axel, had killed Allan. After David told him the events around the death of Petra’s pony, Uncle Axel volunteered to look into Jerome Skinner, the suspicious 'norm'. The group conferred and decided to do nothing, act normal, for now. The only suspects were David, Rosalind, Petra, Sally, and Katherine. David was to ensure that Petra was not questioned at all costs. If he couldn’t save Petra, he was to kill her rather than have her sterilized and banished to the Fringes. Rosalind and David were to ensure that they were prepared to run with Petra.
Chapter 12
David did an initial packing and fell asleep planning what to gather the next day. He was, however, awakened in the night by Petra, by Rosalind's request. They had to leave. Katherine and Sally were taken almost simultaneously, so they had to leave immediately. David and Petra fled to the meeting spot, and David learned that Rosalind had everything in place for them to flee Waknuk; they were trying to wake David so that the escape could begin. They met, and the journey ensued with everyone being carried by the great horses that Rosalind and her mother had prepared. David wondered if his own mother would be glad that he took Petra from harm’s way. They stopped to rest, with David taking first watch, and Michael contacted David for a status report. He told David that taking the great horses might not have been the best decision because they were conspicuous, and there were increased patrols due to the Fringe's raids. He reported that the powers were very agitated about their existence, knew a lot about them, and were sending posses out to capture them. Michael said he and Mark would join one group each and file false reports to put a wrench in the search.
Michael advised David not to use a gun because their pursuers were listening out for it, so they had banned its use in the posse. David said he didn't have one, anyway. He then woke Rosalind to keep watch and went to sleep beside Petra. He woke to a frantic Rosalind, who had killed a man to protect them. They waited out the day, planning to move at night, but then a cry of agony hit all of them. They broke Katherine, and Sally begged them not to blame her because she couldn’t help it. She was being tortured. Sally shared what she told the pursuers; there were only she, Katherine, David, Petra, and Rosalind. Thought shapes were difficult to do, and the range was short. Later in the day, Michael contacted the group to report that they were officially classified as Deviants with no rights. The pursuers were very alarmed because they presented as normal and had been living among them for over 20 years. There is a reward out for their deaths and a larger reward if they are taken alive. Michael surmised that the pursuers wanted to learn more about them to eradicate them. They were a threat to the survival of the 'norms' because they could think together and outwit them; stamping them out was a matter of survival. Rosalind asked if Katherine and Sally would be killed, and Michael said no, they were captives and relatives and friends would not react well to that, but Rosalind, Petra, and Rosalind could be killed because strangers would just view them as Deviants. Based on this information, they decided to go to the Fringes.
Petra was upset, therefore blocking them telepathically with her distress, because she did not want to go to the Fringes. This distress was based on the tales of Old Maggie, Hairy Jack, his family, and other ominous nursery threat characters that lurked in the Fringes. They were able to calm her enough for Michael to get through, thankfully, and he tried to soothe her as well by dispelling her fears about the people who inhabited the Fringes. Midway through his dialogue, however, Petra asked him about the other person who was mixing up his think shapes. Petra told them that the person wants to know who she is. The adults discussed it and told her to go ahead and inform the person. She warned them that she would have to be very loud because the person was very far away. Rosalie helped Petra to spell, and they were able to tell the person where they were, and the person could do the same in return. It was useless, though, because none of the parties were familiar with the names of the places. David then realized that the person came from the city of his dreams when Petra described the person’s home. They kept going, then stopped to rest in a glade for a little while. Michael then told them that they had to move because their trail had been discovered. They fled, but encountered a man.
Chapter 13
The man shot at them, they shot at him, but ended up hitting the horse, which ended up throwing off the rider. They rode until they reached Wild Country, the increase in Offenses marked the transition, and continued into a field. They rode until they found cover under some trees. It was peaceful until Petra initiated a conversation with the stranger without warning anyone. The stranger asked Petra to ask them to try to hear her, but they could not. So the stranger ended up relaying, through Petra, that Petra must be protected at all costs due to her power of projection, which was unheard of without special training. Michael realized that the stranger was surprised that this power of projection came from such a primitive locale. Rachel gave a sad report on Sally and Katherine; things were not well with them. They were wondering if Sally was dead because she was unconscious for so long, and something was wrong with Katherine’s mind. Michael instructed David to kill both Petra and Rosalind if they were caught. Petra asked why she and Rosalind had to be killed if they were caught, and he explained that death was better than the cruel treatment that they would receive if captured.
While they were preparing to leave the tree canopy, Petra told the group about Sealand, where everyone could think in shape and did not hurt each other over it. The lady was the best at it and had two babies who showed great promise with this power of projection. Petra relayed that the lady said that she, Petra, was the best at it. People worked hard to think-shape if they could not, because it was a desirable trait in Sealand. Petra must, therefore, have babies who would carry on the trait. The lady said that they must feel sorry for the people without the think-shape skill because they will always be one-at-a-times and never think-togethers. They travelled along as quietly as they could, as proposed by Michael, until a gunshot sent the great horses hurling into the woods on a nightmare ride. The horses relaxed after a while and slowed to a pace where Rosalind could take control of the reins. They tried to contact Michael to have an idea of what was happening, but could not reach him. David was pondering leaving the great horses and going on foot when they were attacked.
Chapter 14
David woke in the panier, and he and Rosalind shared a tender, think-shape moment before Michael interrupted them for an update. Rosalind told him that Fringe's people attacked them, and one had fallen directly on David and knocked him out. They were currently prisoners on the same great horses that Michael was telling them to get rid of. Michael told them that the posse was coming into the Fringes to get them. David started a conversation with one of the Fringes people, who shared with him that his side, David's, was hanging on to the old ways and thoughts and needed to let go. They had learned nothing from Tribulation. The Old People thought that they were gods and suffered for it. Life is change, and God sent them Tribulation to see that. The Fringe's man believes that things would settle into something new. His kind, David's, trample anything new because they think that they are perfect. David asked him why they were taken, and the Fringe's man was unsure; he only knew that this happened to anyone new who entered the Fringes. David then conferred with Michael, and they agreed that they would reveal the thought-shape as their deviation but play it down in terms of range, people, and communication level. Petra then told them that the Sealand people are near. The group warned her not to mention them.
David told the Fringes guard that his people were following them, and he said that this would suit their ends. He then noticed that Petra did not need so much force to think-speak to the Sealand lady, so he and Rosalind strained to hear and caught something. Rosalind sent a question, and the Sealand lady projected louder. Rosalind updated her on their situation, and she advised them to exaggerate how different they were on the inside, be cautious, agree with everything they say, and protect Petra. She was valuable because they had never seen that level of power, in her projection, in a child. The Sealand lady said that they are the New People who can ‘think-together’ and create a world that is better than the Old People’s. She said that the Old People destroyed themselves because they had no consensus. They could agree in small groups but not in large groups. This led to vast problems, and then they buried their heads in the sand. She told Rosalind that they were isolated on two islands, where the effects of Tribulation were less. Then a strain of people who could think together evolved. They trained the weakest, interbred, and evolved. Both David and Michael surmised that the New People thought a lot of themselves, and Michael was skeptical that they could reach them in time to be of any help.
Michael alerted them that the posse was heading out to hunt them now. They finally reached their destination and were taken to the leader, David’s Uncle. He was the eldest of the Strorm brothers, but at three or four, his limbs grew exponentially, so his certificate was revoked and he was sent away, or so the story was told. The uncle filled in the detail that he went missing when they came to get him because he had a mother who loved him and a nurse who was fond of him. The uncle was displeased that David was unwilling to fight for Waknuk, but he had felt no ownership of it because he would have to flee one day. Uncle revealed that they knew about the group; they have their ways. The uncle wondered why they were so adamant about catching them, and David told him that they feared them because they could not be identified as different, so they needed to find out who else was a Deviant. With a threat hanging over their heads, Petra told them that over 100 men were coming after them. The uncle asked if Joseph was with them, and David said no. He was disappointed. He then turned his attention to Rosalind. David attacked him, and he ordered that David be turned out of the village and shot if he didn’t get the message. He went but tried to double back and got beaten up for his troubles.
Chapter 15
Sophie saved him. He immediately contacted Michael, who told him that the girls were safe and asleep. Sophie said that her uncle was in the fighting, so Rosalind is safe for now. David explained his deviance to her, and she said that her mom had seen something different in him, the way he understood her before she spoke. He told her that her mom had a bit of his deviance without knowing. Sophie was sad that Gordon wanted Rosalind, because then he wouldn’t want her. They waited until dark, with David trying to explain his deviance to Sophie, then she took him to her house. While she was getting him food, he contacted Michael and learned that the posse had stopped for the night because it was too dark. Michael confirms that they are desperate to find them because they believe that there are more of them scattered around Waknuk, and they must be identified. He said that Rachel thinks that something happened to Mark because he just stopped, like Walter Brent, and she is afraid. She is the only member of the group left in Waknuk. Sophie came back with food and ate heartily until Petra woke up, and her elation literally knocked the food out of his mouth. She and Rosalind thought that he was killed. He and Rosalind melded minds, and Michael said it’s not decent for third parties. Rosalind said that she would kill herself before she let Gordon touch her, and Michael told her nonsense; she would kill him first. He asked the Sealand lady when she could reach them, and she said 16 hours. David got Sophie to rescue them.
Chapter 16
Sophie told Rosalind to pick the cross from her and Petra’s dress and suggested that they stay in her house because they would never look for them there. If they left, they would assume they had killed the guard and attempt to find them quickly. She suggested that they stay with her for two or three days, and then she would see them out. Sophie and Rosalind had a standoff, with Sophie admitting that she wanted David, but her desire was useless. Petra ended up comforting her. David woke to Michael’s report of a fight and how the posse was heading their way. David said that they couldn’t move from their location because they were in hiding. He asked if they could count on Petra’s Sealand friend. The Sealand friend said yes, she was eight and a half hours away. She then described the devastation that she was witnessing as she journeyed to them: a wilderness of black glass leading into Badlands, and it frightened Petra, who thought they would turn back. Rosalind soothed her. Michael then asked about Rachel, and Petra spoke to her. She had heard nothing from Mark, was scared and distressed, and wanted Michael. Petra had caught Rachel’s 'behind thoughts' about Michael, and he told her to pretend not to have noticed them.
Sophie took care of them, and David reported that the ambush had failed, and Sophie surmised that the men must be three hours away. Sophie then asked Michael if her father was in the posse, and the answer was yes. The implication misses Petra, but David is angry and wonders if he should honour his father or kill him. The Sealand lady says to leave him be. He and his kind are fossils. Life is change, and they reject evolution at their own peril. The finished image is a sacrilegious myth. The Old People brought Tribulation and were fragmented by it; people like Joseph Strorm are the remaining fragments. Sophie asked if there was something she should know, and Petra said that she should not worry about her father because he did not understand. They told Sophie that she was Petra’s friend. Sophie observed that many of the men were returning, so she went out to scout for information. David asked the Fringes’ men's location so he could ensure that Michael was out of harm’s way. He was able to tell Michael to hang back at the river. Gordon then called Sophie, and she went outside to speak to him.
Time passes, and they wait out the fighting. The Sealand lady says she can cut her time by an hour, and the Fringe's men mess up their ambush. Meanwhile, David and Rosalind were watching the fighting from Sophie’s cave. They witnessed Joseph, Gordon, and Sophie’s death from their perch, then Petra heard a weird noise. Everyone stopped to look up in the sky, and Michael tried to use that moment to get to his group, but became caught in the spiderwebs with the other fighters. The Sealand lady told him to lie down and remain still. He obeyed while others around him, animals included, thrashed about until they became exhausted and stuck, literally. A rock got stuck on David’s hand in the cave, and he instructed Petra and Rosalind to go deeper into the cave. David saw the ship land, but then a web got in his eyes and he had to keep them closed.
Chapter 17
Michael was wondering if he should have made a run for it, David was apprehensive, and Rosalind had to soothe Petra and keep her calm. All of them were caught in the web. The Sealand lady freed Michael first, then he directed them to the cave. The white suited figure sprayed him, then moved on to spray Petra and Rosalind. He looked in wonder at the flying object, and Michael climbed into the cave. The woman removed her mask, and her skin was perfect. Her reaction to Petra was tinged with awe. She was ready to go, but only three could go. Michael wanted to stop and pick up Rachel, but they did not have enough fuel. They then learned that everyone was dead. The Sealand lady explains that it is a necessity to keep ourselves alive. David asked Petra to tell Rachel that he’s coming to get her in three to four days, to take her away. She is so happy. Michael would make the journey with Rachel to Sealand. The city was just as David imagined or dreamed, and Petra was so excited that she had to apologize to the city of Sealand for her loudness.
Chapter 1
David explains that when he was young, he would dream of a city without knowing what a city was. He would even see the waterfront and boats, without knowing what that was, as well. He would see things flying in the sky, and carts without horses. He would 'see' this place in the daytime, but sometimes at night as well, when lights lay like strings of glow worms along the shore. He asked his sister, Mary, about it, but she said that no such place existed. She suggested that he might be dreaming about the world of the past, where the Old People lived before God sent Tribulation. She, however, warned him never to speak of this dream to anyone else because no one else, whether sleeping or awake, had these pictures in their head. David took her advice because people disapproved of differences, even his left-handedness was problematic, and he had quite forgotten about the dreams as they decreased over the years. His sister’s advice stuck, however, and he applied this caution to the curious understanding that he had with his cousin Rosalind, until he met Sophie. He was nearly ten years old and had gone out on his own to play on the bank (highway). He was sliding down a part of the bank when someone greeted him. It was a strange girl, which was an anomaly because there would be gatherings where everyone from miles around would meet, so everyone knew each other. Introductions were made, and the stranger, Sophie, was invited to play.
On Sophie’s third go down the slide, however, her foot got stuck. After trying to twist, then pull the foot out with the shoe on, David concluded that the shoe had to be taken off. Sophie, despite being in pain, adamantly refused. However, between the increased pain and David’s rational reasoning, she consented to take off the shoe, but only if David did not look. She could not get the shoe off, however, and had to ask David for help, with a promise that he would never tell. The foot looked queer, twisted, and puffy, and he hadn’t noticed, then, that it had more than the usual amount of toes. David got the shoe out of the cleft, but Sophie could not get it back on her foot. David concluded that they had to get help, and she said no, she would crawl, and she did. In the meantime, with Sophie’s directions, he located her home. He got her mom, and they went to Sophie. The mom asked Sophie if David saw, and she answered in the affirmative. Sophie then climbed on her mother’s back, and they went to Sophie's home. David watched Sophie’s mother tend to the injured foot and did not realize that Sophie’s additional toe went against the commandments and precepts. When Sophie was tucked away upstairs, her mother talked with David. She asked him never to tell anyone about Sophie’s foot, and he agreed. David observed that her thoughts were jumbled and panicked and tried to think to her, to no avail. He asked if he could see Sophie again, and she said yes, if he could reach their home without anyone knowing. It was on his way home that the definition of man clicked into place. According to this document, Sophie was a blasphemy against the true image of God. David was perturbed because there was nothing frightful about Sophie. She was an ordinary girl. There must be a mistake; one extra could not make one hateful in the sight of God.
Chapter 2
He reached home the usual method, through the woods, and was very watchful for wild creatures. He cut across the yard when old Jacob’s back was turned, climbed through a window, and made his way cautiously to his room. David then tells us about his grandfather, Elias Strorm. He came from the East at 45 years old to settle in underdeveloped Waknuk. The story is told that he left because the East was sinful, but the contrasting tale is that he left because the East would not have him. He was a dominating man with respect for God on his lips and the fear of the devil constantly in his heart. Soon after he started his house, he got a wife who was 25 years younger. He crushed her spirit, and she died soon after the birth of her second child. Joseph Strorm, David’s father, was the mirror image of Elias Strorm. Joseph married after Elias died and chose a woman who aligned with his values. Their house was called Waknuk because it was the first house in the settlement, built on the remains of the Old People. Joseph Strorm was the largest landowner, acted as a magistrate, and preached in church. He ensures that all within his control set a high example for the orderly, law-abiding, God respecting community of Waknuk.
In David's house, life centered around the living room/ kitchen. His mother kept the room clean, and the only decorative feature was plaques with sayings from the Repentance on the walls, for example, 'Only the image of God is the norm' and 'Blessed is the norm'. David was very familiar with these words long before he could read. David then reports on Offences, emphasizing that it was a big deal. It warrants prayers and the public execution of the Offence, which could be a two-headed calf or four-legged chicken, even the destruction of a harvest. The Strorm household had more slaughtering and burnings than the average household because Joseph Strorm was a careful and pious man who had a keen eye for Offences, unlike persons with elastic principles. David learned quickly that Offences were things that did not look right, like their parents or parent plants. If it happened in humans, it was called Blasphemy or Deviation. Waknuk had a high purity rate, until it meandered into Wild Country, where the chance of breeding true was less than fifty percent, and then the Fringes, where everything was erratic. Beyond the Fringes was the Badlands, which no one knew anything about. The Fringes were problematic, however, because Deviations would raid Waknuk, in organized bands, to steal the supplies they needed. Mostly, though, they led a comfortable life in Waknuk. David then tells us about his mother’s family tree, which consisted of five girls and two boys. There was also Uncle Axle, his aunt’s husband and David’s best friend. David's half-uncle, Rosalind's father, lived next door, and we learn that David lived on the most prosperous farms in an equally prosperous district.
Chapter 3
David slipped away, after school, to see Sophie at least once or twice a week. One day, he took her on his side of the bank to see the steam engine. They sat and discussed the wonders of the Old People, the fantastic things they made, and whether or not they could fly. They then went to Sophie’s house, where they encountered Mr Wender, back from one of his trips. David considered him his friend, though he would sometimes find Mr Wender watching him uneasily. One day, at his own home, David recalls an incident where he wished that he had a third hand. His father was outraged and lectured him sharply, and sent him to his room, after praying for his soul. That night, he dreamed that his father killed Sophie. If John and Mary Wender were present when David woke up from the dream, crying and in a panic, they would have felt less anxious about his friendship with their daughter.
Chapter 4
Uncle Axle discovered David ‘talking’ to Rosalind. Uncle Axle made him promise to keep it a secret and that they would not ‘talk out loud’ to make the thought shapes clearer - it was just too dangerous. Uncle Axle also insisted that Rosalind make the promises. David didn’t tell him about the others because he seemed so worried, but he resolved to make them promise as well. David put the matter to Rosalie and the others, and all were in agreement to do as Uncle Axle said. This decision made them a group because of the formal admission of their responsibilities towards each other. It was their first step in corporate self-preservation. Then there was an invasion from the Fringes. This invasion differed from the other minor skirmishes because they were organized. The men of Waknuk managed to beat them, however. Two of the prisoners were taken to David’s compound, and he ran up to view them, only to be shocked that one of the men was the mirror image of his father. The Joseph look-alike observed David intensely, then looked up to see Joseph, and hatred poured out of his eyes. Joseph became ashen and had to return inside. When the prisoner dismounted the horse, David saw that he had long, skinny arms and legs that resembled a spider. The 'spider-man' asked David who he was before he was carried off. David later learned that they had escaped back into the Fringes, and he never asked his father about the strange ‘spider-man’.
The excitement in Waknuk mounts when Uncle Angus Morton, Rosalind's father, acquires two great horses, which initiates a dispute between him and Joseph. When Joseph laid eyes on the horses, he went straight to the inspector with a request that they be destroyed as Offenses. The inspector said that they were government-approved; therefore, he could do nothing about them. Joseph argued tirelessly, but to no avail, especially when the Daker’s cat incident - killing the tailless cat while the case was still under review - was brought up. He could do nothing but seethe because while the Dakers’ cat had no value at all, the great horses were quite costly. All this frustration at home has led David to leave home to visit Sophie. Sophie did not attend school, so David spoke to her about what he learned from books and school. He teaches Sophie that the world is big and probably round. The civilized part of the world was Labrador, Waknuk being a part of it, and it is by the sea. It was a place that not a lot of people that he knew, save Uncle Axel, had seen. To the south, or south/west of Labrador, were the Fringes and then the Badlands. It was also said that many years ago, Labrador was a cold, uninhabitable place, only good growing trees and mysterious mining. People guessed, but no one knew how long ago that was - a thousand, two thousand years or more. There was no telling how many generations had passed their lives like savages between the coming of Tribulation and the start of recorded history. Only Nicholson’s Repentances had come out of the wilderness of barbarism, and only the Bible had survived the time of the Old People. Except for these two books, anything further back than three centuries was lost. The name Labrador came from oral history. There was a dispute over whether only Labrador and Newf were populated because everywhere else was thought to be Badlands, suffering the full weight of Tribulation.
David thought, altogether, that not much seemed to be known about the world, but it was more interesting than Ethics. Ethics was mankind’s climb back into grace, but the way was filled with difficult and faint trails. Only the authorities, ecclesiastical and lay, could be the guides. The penance was Tribulation, but the reward was restoration of the Golden Age. Ethics could be condensed into this thought: the duty and purpose of man in this world is to fight unceasingly against the evils that Tribulation loosed upon it. Above all, he must see that the human form is kept true to the divine pattern so that one day it may be permitted to regain the high place in which, as the image of God, it was set. David didn’t talk to Sophie about this part of Ethics, though, not because he classified her as Deviant, but because she was not classified as the true image. There were many other things to talk about, anyway.
Chapter 5
No one troubled about David if he remained out of sight, and the season was setting a purity record because only Angus’ field was burned. Joseph believed that this was retribution for the acquisition of the great horses. David was able to spend a lot of time with Sophie because everyone was busy. One day, they were at their usual spot, and a boy came over to play with them. He saw one of Sophie’s footprints, with her six toes, despite David’s attempt to clear it. The boy, Allan, demanded to know who Sophie, who had disappeared behind a bush, was. He started a fistfight with the boy to keep him from going after Sophie. It was working until Sophie came back and hit the boy over the head with a stone in David’s defence. They rushed back to the Wender house. David recapped the story to Mr. Wender, who told Mrs. Wender that they had to leave. David asked Mrs. Wender why they hadn’t just cut off the extra toes when she was a baby, but they said people would have seen the scars and known. David asked if he could go with them. The Wenders discussed it, for they feared for David in his loveless household, but decided against taking him because Joseph Strorm would not give up the hunt for his son. They asked him to stay in the house till morning, to give them a better chance to escape, and Sophie gave him a lock of her hair as a parting gift. David stayed the night, as promised. He was interrogated the next day, however, and whipped mercilessly by his father. He cracked under the abuse and felt ashamed and guilty for telling the adults about his friend.
Chapter 6
David woke up to Rosalind and the others checking in on him. He told them about Sophie, and they wrestled, unsuccessfully, with the concept that an abomination was not atrocious. They all fell asleep, leaving David alone. He dreamt of his father killing Sophie, then he dreamt of the city, and it soothed him. His mother checked on him in the morning in a detached and disapproving way; it was Mary who took care of him. She told him to stay on his belly for the day, and he complied, planning his escape during his hours of rest. Then, the inspector came and spoke to him, and he got a lecture about aiding and abetting a fugitive. He asked David why he didn’t report Sophie, and he told him about the dream of his father killing Sophie, like an Offence. The inspector tells him that Abominations weren’t handled like that, but would not clarify how they were handled. Joseph came in and reported that they had been found, and David broke down in tears. Uncle Axel calmed him and told him that it was not his fault; they were picked up by a patrol, quite by accident.
David then told Uncle Axel that he was running away and asked for advice about the Fringes. Uncle Axel dissuaded him by stating that if he presented the normalcy certificate to officials, they would send him right back to Waknuk, and survival in the Fringes was not optimal. He recommended that David stay, and things might look different when he’s older. David asked Uncle Axel about the world outside of Waknuk, and his response was ‘godless’. David told him that he was disappointed in him because his answer was as he imagined Joseph’s answer would be, uninformative. So Uncle Axel told him about the world outside of Waknuk; to the north east, there was a land where the women were strong and kept the men in cages until the age of 24, after which they ate them. He describes the Straits of Newf as essentially Badlands, with everything being classified as deviational/ Black Coasts, which was an extreme form of the Badlands, it’s barren and glows. A man called Marther wrote about the Black Coasts, and he was reprimanded for implying that deviations were performing a work of reclamation and many other heresies, which resulted in a ban on further exploration. Amid this upsetting situation, a ship that was given up for lost returned with gold, silver, copper ornaments, and spices. These spices, however, were controversial because there was no way to know if they were the true image. Whatever they were, they were profitable enough for ships to sail south in search of them.
Uncle Axel then confirmed that the lands in the south are not civilized. A lot of people aren’t afraid of Deviations; in some places, Deviations will feel as if they are normal. For example, there’s a hairless tribe that believes hair is the devil’s mark. One tribe has white hair and pink eyes, and another tribe has webbed fingers and toes. In yet another tribe, only women who are multibreasted can have children. He speaks of an island where the people could pass for the true image, if it weren’t that some strange deviation had turned them all black. There’s even a race that has shrunk to two feet high, grown fur and a tail, and has taken to living in trees. Some tribes are friendly, some tribes are not. Other tribes speak differently, but if you listen closely, you will find that the words are similar to our own, just pronounced differently, and everyone has the same legends of the Old People. Also, most importantly, all the tribes think that they are the true image. Uncle Axel pondered that the Bible does not have a definition of man; it comes from Nicholson’s Repentances, so one wonders if Nicholson knew the true image.
David asks if there are any cities, like the one in his dream, out there in the world. Uncle Axe said no. He says that after a point, the ships have to stop because the sea is filled with weeds with stems like cables that ships cannot pass through. Uncle Axel tells him that no one really knows the true image; David and Rosalind might be closer to it than everyone else. That’s when David reveals that there are eight more children like him. There were actually nine of them, but one just dropped out. He asked Uncle Axel to check on the absent child because the group was afraid. He consented to do so and reminded David that no one really knew the true image. David decided not to run away from home; the difficulties looked formidable.
Chapter 7
The arrival of Petra, David’s little sister, was a surprise to him. He heard the cry in the night, which remained unacknowledged until the inspector confirmed that it was a human baby in the true image. Everyone was tense because the inspector was late; he would come when he could, and we learn that the last two instances of his mother’s ‘illness’ yielded no certificate. If this occurred a third time, his mother could be sent away. The inspector arrived mid-afternoon and took some time in forming his judgement. They got their certificate, despite the inspector's ‘slow’ pace, to aggravate Joseph Strorm. The bell was rung to announce the baby, then everyone gathered in the kitchen for the prayer of thanksgiving.
One day, David was hiding in the room beside his parents’ bedroom to avoid being given an afternoon chore when he saw his Aunt Harriet roll up. She brought her uncertified baby with her and asked David’s mother, Emily, to switch her certified baby with her uncertified baby. This was to facilitate Auny Harriet's uncertified baby getting a certificate, ensuring that Auny Harriet would not be cast out for this third offense. Emily said no, and Joseph, who arrived on the scene, gave Aunt Harriet a righteous lecture. Aunt Harriet listened and said that she would pray that God send charity into this hideous world, sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. Aunt Harriet wondered if it was God’s will that a child should suffer and its soul be damned for a little blemish of the body; she prayed that the hearts of the self-righteous be broken. Emily cried when Aunt Harriet left, saying that Harriet might not have been aware of what she was doing. Joseph then lectured her too, at length, about the importance of purity. Aunt Harriet’s body was later found in the river, and there was no mention of a baby.
Chapter 8
David had dreams about Aunt Harriet, who was never mentioned again, after they mentioned her name in evening prayers. He had dreams about her for a while and would pray to be normal. Uncle Axel cornered him one day, when he noticed how sad he was, and David tearfully told him about what he witnessed between Aunt Harriet and his mother. David revealed his fear of being discovered, and Uncle Axel assured him that no one would find out his secret, and he, Uncle Axel, wouldn’t tell. David brought up the member of their group who had disappeared, and Uncle Axel reported that a 9-year-old boy, Walter Brent, had been killed in an accident, just around the time that their group member had disappeared. Uncle Axel told David that there is no physical component to David’s difference, so if he watched himself, they would never find out. He also reiterated that no one knows the true image. He also questioned the desire to recapture what the Old People had, implying that Tribulation might have been their mistake. Essentially, he said that we might try being ourselves and build for the existing world, instead of for one that is gone.
Uncle Axel said that David, Rosalind, and their group have a new quality of mind. He advised David to accept and see what use he can make of it while trying to survive. Praying it away is not useful. David told the others about Walter Brent, and they were relieved. He also realized that Walter might have been a distant relative; his grandmother’s name was Brent. The group decided that it was wise to learn each other’s names, so there was Michael, Sally, Katherine, Mark, Anne, and Rachel (including David and Rosalind). They were all around the same age and lived in proximity to each other. There were others, but they were faint. Michael was then sent for further schooling in Kentak, where the distance initially affected reception, but some weeks of practice had them back on track, so the others learned a lot from him. They also helped him with hard concepts, so the group was pleased that he consistently remained at the top of his class. This, however, brought the added complication of them having to remember what they should not know. There were bad moments, of course, but they were able to live out the next six years, through caution, luck, and quick recoveries. That is, until they discovered that eight had become nine.
Chapter 9
David discovered that his baby sister was one of them when she nearly drowned in the river. He was working in the field, taking a break, when he was ‘struck’ and went pelting towards the river. Then he saw Rosalind pelting towards the river as well. He saved his sister, who had the power to command the group. A crowd eventually came, because people were curious about why David and Rosalind were running away from their respective locations. They were initially suspicious, but when both Rosalind and David confirmed Petra’s loud screaming, they became uncertain. That night, David dreamed that his father slaughtered Sophie. Subsequent attempts by the group to make contact with Sophie failed, and they surmised that panic had triggered her mental screaming. They agreed not to warn Sophie about their perilous situation, but to keep trying to make contact with her. Michael was particularly dissatisfied that he could not use his gift for good and be accepted for it.
The year before Petra’s discovery, there was a large number of Offences. Elijah, the farmhand, explained to David that the increase in offenses can be blamed on the recent laxity in the approach to offenses; they were being punished. He explained the extreme measures of the past, like whipping a woman if she produced a Deviant. The woman would be uncertified, outlawed, and sold if she had three Deviants, and if there was trouble, she would be burnt. He asked Uncle Axel if many people held Jacob’s views, and he confirmed that the old ones do. The middle-aged are on the fence but will tip to the extreme side if the bad seasons increase. He suggested that bad seasons occur due to the weather; a bad winter with gales from the south west will increase the deviation rate. He says if there are back-to-back bad seasons, people will start listening to the old ones, like Jacob, and start looking for scapegoats. This is exactly what happened the year the group discovered Petra. They were extra careful for about a week, and things settled. That is, until Anne announced that she was getting married.
Chapter 10
Anne announced that she was marrying Allan Ervin, the boy who had informed on Sophie many years ago. The group was alarmed. Michael tried to dissuade her with the argument that it would be like marrying a cripple. Anne, however, was adamant because she wanted a family, and there were more girls than boys in the group. They tried to convince her that marrying a norm would mean misery because you were separated by something wider than a language and would always be guarding against inevitable slips. Anne would not budge and ended all communication with them. David compared his relationship with Rosalind to the possibility of Anne and the norm, and concluded that it was impossible. David spoke to Uncle Axel about it, and he agreed with the group. The issue was that Anne wanted Allan so badly that she was almost mad with it. David confirmed that she had stopped thinking properly. Uncle Axel said that sooner or later she would reveal their secret. He implied that they had to eliminate the threat to them. She was endangering the lives of eight people to fulfil her desire. David explained that they could not harm Anne; it would be self-harm.
Anne persisted with the lack of communication, got married, and lived for months without any impact on the group. David and Rosalind, too, wanted to get married, but there was the matter of the feud between Joseph Strorm and Uncle Angus Morton. They had lived for a year under Anne’s threat, pondering how they could be together, when Allan was found dead, with an arrow through his neck. Everyone tried to reach Anne, but she blocked all communication. Her sister, Rachel, tried to get an encrypted note to her explaining that the group had nothing to do with Allan’s death, but she ripped up the note without reading it. Michael told everyone to prepare to run, and Rachel told everyone that Anne said that she knew who had killed her husband, then kicked everyone out of her house. The next morning, Rachel found Anne hanging from a beam in her bedroom. Anne had left a note for the inspector on a table that outlined the group's deviance, even Petra, and declaring that one of them had killed Allan. Allan’s death was deemed unsolvable, and Anne’s suicide was tragic. They did not fully relax, especially Michael, because one of them was found to be not strong enough.
Chapter 11
All was well; it was a record year for purity records, and even Old Jacob was positive. All was serene, interrupted only by Petra’s decision to have an adventure in the woods. Her call came as suddenly and unexpectedly as before; it did not have the violent panic of the first call, but it was intense. The issue was that Petra's call was consistent, with no breaks for the others to communicate and plan, and so they all converged in the woods. The result was that a stranger encountered them and was suspicious. Petra’s signal continued into the night until she fell asleep. The group discussed the incident and made a plan to prevent a repeat of the group's convergence. David then took Petra fishing to teach her to communicate in think shapes. He played a game with her and discovered that she could send and receive; it’s just that she was so loud. They had another lesson the next day, and everyone was encouraged, except for when Petra got excited and got very loud. These lessons also brought the discovery of others, far, far away.
Uncle Axel met with David and told him that he and Rosalind were being investigated. He also revealed that Allan had known about them by way of Anne and that he, Uncle Axel, had killed Allan. After David told him the events around the death of Petra’s pony, Uncle Axel volunteered to look into Jerome Skinner, the suspicious 'norm'. The group conferred and decided to do nothing, act normal, for now. The only suspects were David, Rosalind, Petra, Sally, and Katherine. David was to ensure that Petra was not questioned at all costs. If he couldn’t save Petra, he was to kill her rather than have her sterilized and banished to the Fringes. Rosalind and David were to ensure that they were prepared to run with Petra.
Chapter 12
David did an initial packing and fell asleep planning what to gather the next day. He was, however, awakened in the night by Petra, by Rosalind's request. They had to leave. Katherine and Sally were taken almost simultaneously, so they had to leave immediately. David and Petra fled to the meeting spot, and David learned that Rosalind had everything in place for them to flee Waknuk; they were trying to wake David so that the escape could begin. They met, and the journey ensued with everyone being carried by the great horses that Rosalind and her mother had prepared. David wondered if his own mother would be glad that he took Petra from harm’s way. They stopped to rest, with David taking first watch, and Michael contacted David for a status report. He told David that taking the great horses might not have been the best decision because they were conspicuous, and there were increased patrols due to the Fringe's raids. He reported that the powers were very agitated about their existence, knew a lot about them, and were sending posses out to capture them. Michael said he and Mark would join one group each and file false reports to put a wrench in the search.
Michael advised David not to use a gun because their pursuers were listening out for it, so they had banned its use in the posse. David said he didn't have one, anyway. He then woke Rosalind to keep watch and went to sleep beside Petra. He woke to a frantic Rosalind, who had killed a man to protect them. They waited out the day, planning to move at night, but then a cry of agony hit all of them. They broke Katherine, and Sally begged them not to blame her because she couldn’t help it. She was being tortured. Sally shared what she told the pursuers; there were only she, Katherine, David, Petra, and Rosalind. Thought shapes were difficult to do, and the range was short. Later in the day, Michael contacted the group to report that they were officially classified as Deviants with no rights. The pursuers were very alarmed because they presented as normal and had been living among them for over 20 years. There is a reward out for their deaths and a larger reward if they are taken alive. Michael surmised that the pursuers wanted to learn more about them to eradicate them. They were a threat to the survival of the 'norms' because they could think together and outwit them; stamping them out was a matter of survival. Rosalind asked if Katherine and Sally would be killed, and Michael said no, they were captives and relatives and friends would not react well to that, but Rosalind, Petra, and Rosalind could be killed because strangers would just view them as Deviants. Based on this information, they decided to go to the Fringes.
Petra was upset, therefore blocking them telepathically with her distress, because she did not want to go to the Fringes. This distress was based on the tales of Old Maggie, Hairy Jack, his family, and other ominous nursery threat characters that lurked in the Fringes. They were able to calm her enough for Michael to get through, thankfully, and he tried to soothe her as well by dispelling her fears about the people who inhabited the Fringes. Midway through his dialogue, however, Petra asked him about the other person who was mixing up his think shapes. Petra told them that the person wants to know who she is. The adults discussed it and told her to go ahead and inform the person. She warned them that she would have to be very loud because the person was very far away. Rosalie helped Petra to spell, and they were able to tell the person where they were, and the person could do the same in return. It was useless, though, because none of the parties were familiar with the names of the places. David then realized that the person came from the city of his dreams when Petra described the person’s home. They kept going, then stopped to rest in a glade for a little while. Michael then told them that they had to move because their trail had been discovered. They fled, but encountered a man.
Chapter 13
The man shot at them, they shot at him, but ended up hitting the horse, which ended up throwing off the rider. They rode until they reached Wild Country, the increase in Offenses marked the transition, and continued into a field. They rode until they found cover under some trees. It was peaceful until Petra initiated a conversation with the stranger without warning anyone. The stranger asked Petra to ask them to try to hear her, but they could not. So the stranger ended up relaying, through Petra, that Petra must be protected at all costs due to her power of projection, which was unheard of without special training. Michael realized that the stranger was surprised that this power of projection came from such a primitive locale. Rachel gave a sad report on Sally and Katherine; things were not well with them. They were wondering if Sally was dead because she was unconscious for so long, and something was wrong with Katherine’s mind. Michael instructed David to kill both Petra and Rosalind if they were caught. Petra asked why she and Rosalind had to be killed if they were caught, and he explained that death was better than the cruel treatment that they would receive if captured.
While they were preparing to leave the tree canopy, Petra told the group about Sealand, where everyone could think in shape and did not hurt each other over it. The lady was the best at it and had two babies who showed great promise with this power of projection. Petra relayed that the lady said that she, Petra, was the best at it. People worked hard to think-shape if they could not, because it was a desirable trait in Sealand. Petra must, therefore, have babies who would carry on the trait. The lady said that they must feel sorry for the people without the think-shape skill because they will always be one-at-a-times and never think-togethers. They travelled along as quietly as they could, as proposed by Michael, until a gunshot sent the great horses hurling into the woods on a nightmare ride. The horses relaxed after a while and slowed to a pace where Rosalind could take control of the reins. They tried to contact Michael to have an idea of what was happening, but could not reach him. David was pondering leaving the great horses and going on foot when they were attacked.
Chapter 14
David woke in the panier, and he and Rosalind shared a tender, think-shape moment before Michael interrupted them for an update. Rosalind told him that Fringe's people attacked them, and one had fallen directly on David and knocked him out. They were currently prisoners on the same great horses that Michael was telling them to get rid of. Michael told them that the posse was coming into the Fringes to get them. David started a conversation with one of the Fringes people, who shared with him that his side, David's, was hanging on to the old ways and thoughts and needed to let go. They had learned nothing from Tribulation. The Old People thought that they were gods and suffered for it. Life is change, and God sent them Tribulation to see that. The Fringe's man believes that things would settle into something new. His kind, David's, trample anything new because they think that they are perfect. David asked him why they were taken, and the Fringe's man was unsure; he only knew that this happened to anyone new who entered the Fringes. David then conferred with Michael, and they agreed that they would reveal the thought-shape as their deviation but play it down in terms of range, people, and communication level. Petra then told them that the Sealand people are near. The group warned her not to mention them.
David told the Fringes guard that his people were following them, and he said that this would suit their ends. He then noticed that Petra did not need so much force to think-speak to the Sealand lady, so he and Rosalind strained to hear and caught something. Rosalind sent a question, and the Sealand lady projected louder. Rosalind updated her on their situation, and she advised them to exaggerate how different they were on the inside, be cautious, agree with everything they say, and protect Petra. She was valuable because they had never seen that level of power, in her projection, in a child. The Sealand lady said that they are the New People who can ‘think-together’ and create a world that is better than the Old People’s. She said that the Old People destroyed themselves because they had no consensus. They could agree in small groups but not in large groups. This led to vast problems, and then they buried their heads in the sand. She told Rosalind that they were isolated on two islands, where the effects of Tribulation were less. Then a strain of people who could think together evolved. They trained the weakest, interbred, and evolved. Both David and Michael surmised that the New People thought a lot of themselves, and Michael was skeptical that they could reach them in time to be of any help.
Michael alerted them that the posse was heading out to hunt them now. They finally reached their destination and were taken to the leader, David’s Uncle. He was the eldest of the Strorm brothers, but at three or four, his limbs grew exponentially, so his certificate was revoked and he was sent away, or so the story was told. The uncle filled in the detail that he went missing when they came to get him because he had a mother who loved him and a nurse who was fond of him. The uncle was displeased that David was unwilling to fight for Waknuk, but he had felt no ownership of it because he would have to flee one day. Uncle revealed that they knew about the group; they have their ways. The uncle wondered why they were so adamant about catching them, and David told him that they feared them because they could not be identified as different, so they needed to find out who else was a Deviant. With a threat hanging over their heads, Petra told them that over 100 men were coming after them. The uncle asked if Joseph was with them, and David said no. He was disappointed. He then turned his attention to Rosalind. David attacked him, and he ordered that David be turned out of the village and shot if he didn’t get the message. He went but tried to double back and got beaten up for his troubles.
Chapter 15
Sophie saved him. He immediately contacted Michael, who told him that the girls were safe and asleep. Sophie said that her uncle was in the fighting, so Rosalind is safe for now. David explained his deviance to her, and she said that her mom had seen something different in him, the way he understood her before she spoke. He told her that her mom had a bit of his deviance without knowing. Sophie was sad that Gordon wanted Rosalind, because then he wouldn’t want her. They waited until dark, with David trying to explain his deviance to Sophie, then she took him to her house. While she was getting him food, he contacted Michael and learned that the posse had stopped for the night because it was too dark. Michael confirms that they are desperate to find them because they believe that there are more of them scattered around Waknuk, and they must be identified. He said that Rachel thinks that something happened to Mark because he just stopped, like Walter Brent, and she is afraid. She is the only member of the group left in Waknuk. Sophie came back with food and ate heartily until Petra woke up, and her elation literally knocked the food out of his mouth. She and Rosalind thought that he was killed. He and Rosalind melded minds, and Michael said it’s not decent for third parties. Rosalind said that she would kill herself before she let Gordon touch her, and Michael told her nonsense; she would kill him first. He asked the Sealand lady when she could reach them, and she said 16 hours. David got Sophie to rescue them.
Chapter 16
Sophie told Rosalind to pick the cross from her and Petra’s dress and suggested that they stay in her house because they would never look for them there. If they left, they would assume they had killed the guard and attempt to find them quickly. She suggested that they stay with her for two or three days, and then she would see them out. Sophie and Rosalind had a standoff, with Sophie admitting that she wanted David, but her desire was useless. Petra ended up comforting her. David woke to Michael’s report of a fight and how the posse was heading their way. David said that they couldn’t move from their location because they were in hiding. He asked if they could count on Petra’s Sealand friend. The Sealand friend said yes, she was eight and a half hours away. She then described the devastation that she was witnessing as she journeyed to them: a wilderness of black glass leading into Badlands, and it frightened Petra, who thought they would turn back. Rosalind soothed her. Michael then asked about Rachel, and Petra spoke to her. She had heard nothing from Mark, was scared and distressed, and wanted Michael. Petra had caught Rachel’s 'behind thoughts' about Michael, and he told her to pretend not to have noticed them.
Sophie took care of them, and David reported that the ambush had failed, and Sophie surmised that the men must be three hours away. Sophie then asked Michael if her father was in the posse, and the answer was yes. The implication misses Petra, but David is angry and wonders if he should honour his father or kill him. The Sealand lady says to leave him be. He and his kind are fossils. Life is change, and they reject evolution at their own peril. The finished image is a sacrilegious myth. The Old People brought Tribulation and were fragmented by it; people like Joseph Strorm are the remaining fragments. Sophie asked if there was something she should know, and Petra said that she should not worry about her father because he did not understand. They told Sophie that she was Petra’s friend. Sophie observed that many of the men were returning, so she went out to scout for information. David asked the Fringes’ men's location so he could ensure that Michael was out of harm’s way. He was able to tell Michael to hang back at the river. Gordon then called Sophie, and she went outside to speak to him.
Time passes, and they wait out the fighting. The Sealand lady says she can cut her time by an hour, and the Fringe's men mess up their ambush. Meanwhile, David and Rosalind were watching the fighting from Sophie’s cave. They witnessed Joseph, Gordon, and Sophie’s death from their perch, then Petra heard a weird noise. Everyone stopped to look up in the sky, and Michael tried to use that moment to get to his group, but became caught in the spiderwebs with the other fighters. The Sealand lady told him to lie down and remain still. He obeyed while others around him, animals included, thrashed about until they became exhausted and stuck, literally. A rock got stuck on David’s hand in the cave, and he instructed Petra and Rosalind to go deeper into the cave. David saw the ship land, but then a web got in his eyes and he had to keep them closed.
Chapter 17
Michael was wondering if he should have made a run for it, David was apprehensive, and Rosalind had to soothe Petra and keep her calm. All of them were caught in the web. The Sealand lady freed Michael first, then he directed them to the cave. The white suited figure sprayed him, then moved on to spray Petra and Rosalind. He looked in wonder at the flying object, and Michael climbed into the cave. The woman removed her mask, and her skin was perfect. Her reaction to Petra was tinged with awe. She was ready to go, but only three could go. Michael wanted to stop and pick up Rachel, but they did not have enough fuel. They then learned that everyone was dead. The Sealand lady explains that it is a necessity to keep ourselves alive. David asked Petra to tell Rachel that he’s coming to get her in three to four days, to take her away. She is so happy. Michael would make the journey with Rachel to Sealand. The city was just as David imagined or dreamed, and Petra was so excited that she had to apologize to the city of Sealand for her loudness.
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Wyndham, John. The Chrysalids. England: Penguin Books Limited, 1955.
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Wyndham, John. The Chrysalids. England: Penguin Books Limited, 1955.
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