Wind In Kith Town

Starfarers, 21.

Kenri Shaun walks through Kith Town:

"Kenri went down Aldebaran Street. A cold gust hit him; the northern hemisphere was spinning into autumn. He hunched his shoulders and jammed hands in pockets." (pp. 172-173)

"A maple stirred overhead as he turned at the Shaun gate, its leaves crackling in the wind." (p. 178)

After leaving his parents, Kenri reflects that Kith Town is not really changeless. It has been affected by wars, mobs and new proclamations:

"Kenri shivered in the autumn wind and walked fast." (p. 187)

That wind has stayed with him from p. 172 to p. 187 and has become metaphorical. He shivers both because of the wind and because of his reflections. Leaving Kith Town, he enters the Earthling neighbourhood where conditions are indeed bad.