Conversations And History

Genesis, PART ONE, V.

This chapter is divided into three sections differentiated by Arabic numerals:

in the first, unnumbered, section, Laurinda Ashcroft converses with Omar Hamid;

in 2, Laurinda addresses the global population;

in 3, she walks alone and converses with Terra Central.

We learn some history:

the nearby church has stood for over a thousand years and existed in the Puritan period, which places some approximate limits on how far in our future Laurinda's period can be;

Laurinda lives in a preserve which was preceded, a hundred years previously, by a plantation and, before that, there was an industrial town;

the plantation was ended when its "...useful genetically engineered monstrosities became obsolete." (p. 36);

because of the changes proposed by Terra Central, the basic credit issue will be slightly reduced, the Siberian forest will return to steppe, North Africa will return to desert, a volcano will destroy the Gardens of Hawaii, places of recreation and solitude will be lost  and some residents will be displaced.

Now we understand why there is opposition.