53 pages • 1 hour read
Octavia E. ButlerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Content Warning: This section features discussion of child abuse, graphic violence, suicidal ideation, physical abuse, and racism.
Seth Dana helps his brother Clay prepare their new property in the desert. Seth buys it to help Clay, a latent son of Doro, escape the mental static from others. Clay suffers, and Seth hopes that the isolation of this ranch will save him. Clay wants to be independent, but Seth commits to staying with him until he can find a woman to watch after him. Seth takes their van to buy supplies in town, but as he drives, he feels a headache come on, followed by a mental attack that leaves him in anguish. He tries to repel it but hears an order, “Come” (73). He feels drawn to Forsyth, California. He will go and bring Clay along.
Rachel Davidson, a “faith healer,” is sick after following her latent cousin Eli’s advice to heal without draining those around her. She stays behind at the hotel as he leads his own service but soon decides to join him. She is an active telepath and forces Eli to introduce her. As Rachel takes the stage, the crowd’s adoration feeds her, and she soon shakes off the sickness.
By Octavia E. Butler
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