Free Reconception: The Fall by Deborah Greenspan Page A

and
easily eroded, however, that only the most hardy of plants could
grow.
    Garret was saddened at the millions of years it
would take for natural processes to replace the billions of tons of
topsoil that had been lost during the industrial era. The 100
million years it would take to replace the extinctions was also
incomprehensible. It looked like whatever survived in this new
world had to be tough and resilient, including him.
     

CHAPTER 8
     
    Mountain People: 2128
     
    What constantly surprised and delighted Evie the most
about the Mountain people's living quarters, was her ability to
walk in and out at will. Anytime she wanted to, she could just get
up and go outside. There was so much to see, and it was all so
unlike anything she'd known before. They'd used natural materials
inside: wood, tile, and glass, and had built inside the hill for
energy efficiency. The house was cool in summer and warm in winter.
They'd arranged skylights and light wells throughout so that it
wasn't dark, except at night, and then they usually went
outside.
    The house was huge, and accommodated over 200
people, she'd been told. There were many common rooms, both large
and small, and sleeping quarters rambled all through the hillside
like a rabbit warren. The best part for her were the kitchens.
Growing up as she had, where sustenance came out of a vat, she was
enthralled by the preparation of real food.
    The cooking areas were communal, and everyone did
their share of the work, even Evie, once she'd found something she
could do. She liked the way they were open to the outside and soon
discovered the solar ovens that were one of the reasons for this
location. There was no rule against anyone coming in for a snack,
if they wanted one, and she did that too. Each of the members of
the tribe had to spend a portion of every day involved in the
growth, storage or preparation of food. Evie was amazed at how much
had to be done.
    There were many private dining rooms in varying
sizes that gave off the main dining room. Her first meal without
Garret she ate in a private dining room with just Eye of Eagle—who,
she'd learned, was called Eagle, for short—Teller, Flowers, Iron
Hand and some others whose names she couldn't remember.
    Flowers was delicate and soft spoken, deferring to
the others. Evie learned she was the mother of Holly, the little
girl she'd met the night before. The children seemed to run free
anywhere they liked, and Evie wondered about that. How did they
educate them when they were so boisterous? She'd never seen
children like that.
    Children in the habitat were disciplined almost from
birth. Everything they did was programmed to be educational. Here
the children were more spontaneous and she found them charming, but
wondered if they weren't a little too wild.
    After lunch, she wandered about inside, looking into
different rooms. Her assumption that they didn't use computers was
proved false when she stumbled on a room full of PC's. Apparently
they used computers, but, unlike the habitats, the machines weren't
pervasive. Behind the computer room was another door that was
locked. Since she hadn't found any locked doors before, she went
looking for someone to open it.
    Most of the mountain people napped after lunch and
it wasn't until an hour later that she found Teller working with
some children on the porch. They were all singing as loudly as they
could, and Teller was, unsuccessfully, trying to get them to
produce some harmony. She laughed when she saw Evie. "How are you
doing? Do you like it here?" she asked.
    "I do," Evie replied. "It's all so new. I have so
much to learn."
    "Why?" Teller asked, dismissing the children.
    "Because I need to know what's happening here, so
that I can do something to contribute to it. I mean, I'm working
with recombinant DNA. You know what that is, don't you?"
    Teller sighed. "Yes, I know what it is. It's the
science of altering nature."
    Taken aback, Evie paused. "Well, I guess you could
look at it