Earthseed

it would have been on flat ground, and overhead, just beyond wispy clouds, she could see ribbons of water and the leafy green tops of trees made tiny by the distance. The Hollow was like the inside of a sphere, an enclosed world. A diffuse yellow light permeated the area. A finch chirped nearby; Zoheret glimpsed a nest in the tree’s limbs.
    She took a deep breath, smelling the odors of grass and leaves and flowers, and noticed that she was not alone on the hill. A few paces below her, a boy sat, his back to her, his arm resting on a pack. She took another breath. The air of the corridors always seemed stale and sterile after she returned from the Hollow.
    Ship had first brought all of them here several years ago, allowing them to remain for short periods of time as long as they stayed near the entrances. They had been prepared for the experience, since they had all spent some time wired up while Ship reproduced in their minds the images and sensations of a natural environment. But those experiences had been like dreams compared to the Hollow itself. The dangers she had encountered while wired—the bear, the deep waters of the lake, the dark woods where one could easily get lost—had been insubstantial. Here, they were all too real. She remembered Etienne, who had wandered off alone to the lake, and who would have drowned if Ship’s voice had not guided the others to the lake in time.
    Home, she thought. Earth lived in the Hollow, and humankind had always called Earth home. It was what human beings were made for; Ship had told them that. The world they were moving toward was like Earth; it would be another home. They would become part of that world and would grow to love it as their ancestors had loved Earth.
    Ship was always talking of it. “Don’t you ever wonder,” Lillka had said, “why Ship’s always harping on it? Nature, our destiny, being in harmony with our world.” Lillka, of course, preferred the library to the Hollow.
    Zoheret walked down the hill. “Gowon,” she shouted to the boy, wondering why he was there alone. He looked up and smiled. He wore beige pants and a brown shirt almost as dark as his skin. “What are you doing?”
    “Nothing.” He gestured at the pack. “Manuel and Ho went into the woods—they dumped this here and told me to watch it for them.”
    “Well, you don’t have to. They could have left it in the corridor.”
    Gowon shook his head. “When those guys tell you to do something, you do it.” He glanced up at the tree. “Ship can’t hear us if we keep our voices low.”
    “Ship’ll shut down some of its sensors if you ask it to.”
    “I know, but I don’t like to ask. Ship starts to think you’re hiding something.”
    “Are you?” Zoheret asked. “Hiding something, I mean. You must be if you don’t want Ship to hear.”
    “I’m not. I just don’t want to talk to it now.” Gowon ran a hand over his stiff black hair. “I’ll tell you what Manuel and Ho think.”
    “Manuel and Ho.” Zoheret sat down. “Those two are just looking for trouble. You shouldn’t bother with them.”
    “I suppose I should bother with Anoki and Willem instead.”
    “Don’t make fun of Anoki.”
    “I’m not. I don’t care about his limp—it’s his attitude I can’t take. He’s so gloomy. Willem’s the only kid who’s dumb enough to put up with it.” Gowon let his mouth hang open and widened his brown eyes, then flapped his arms.
    Zoheret tried not to laugh. “Stop it.” She pushed against his shoulder.
    “That’s how he looks. Does Ship actually think somebody like Willem is going to stay alive when we get where we’re going?”
    “He will if we help him.”
    “He’s retarded, Zoheret. He’s never going to get better.”
    “It could have happened to you. You could have been born like Willem. Would you want people laughing at you?”
    Gowon shrugged. He stretched out his legs and pointed his toes. “Poor Willem.” He said it as though he did not care. “Manuel likes you.”
    “What?”
    “He likes you. I can tell. He thinks you have a nice face.”
    “Don’t be stupid.” Zoheret suddenly felt flustered. She looked down at the ground so that Gowon could not see her eyes. “Anyway, I don’t like him.” She was blushing; she could feel her cheeks growing warm. “Anyway, he’s with Bonnie.”
    “They don’t get along so much now. He got what he wanted from her. Bonnie had a big argument with Ship about it. Ship told her she should have more