Fifteen-year-old Tay lives on Rannoch, a
distant planet covered with water, where undersea
podsorlivingchambersprovidelifesupportforuptothreepeople—
usuallytwoadultsandonechild.Taylearnsthatherparentsare
expectinganotherchildandthatshemustmarryandmoveintoa
podofherown.Upset,shethrustsherportablebreathingtubeinto
herthroatventandslamsoutofthepod.
Swimming past the school, she remembers learning about the his-
tory of Planet Rannoch. One day the class viewed an ancient Video
that showed the Survey StarshipMacmillanarriving from Planet
Earth.Thestarshipsmashedintoashockwaveofradiationfromthe
solarsystem’ssunanddisintegrated.Theluckyoneswhoseescapepods
landed on the planet engineered underwater homes and genetically
adaptedtheirbodiesforlifeinthesea.
Suddenly it all comes flooding back to Tay—what she is swim-
ming away from, the future that she can’t escape—marriage to one
ofthreeavailablepodmates:Forth,Eden,orEsk.Shepowersoff,
kickinghard,herstrokesfueledbyangerandfrustration.IllustratedbyRenatoAlarcão
HER MOTHER’S WORDS hammered in her head—another
child...therewon’tberoom...you’llhavetoleave... anotherchild...
Shehadtogetawayfromthatvoice.
Butwherecouldshego?TotheKinglas’pod?TotheLinnhes’? To
Esk’smum’s?She’dbeabletogoinside,sincethenumberofpeople
breathingtheairinanyoftheirpodswouldmostlikelybedownto one.
Twoatthemost,dependingonwhichofthegrownupswerehome. She
shookherhead.Noneofherfriendswerewhatsheneeded.Carrand
Tummelwouldjustgiggleandprobablybejealousunderneath.Even
though they were in her Grouping, they were both a year younger than
shewas—leavinghomewasstilljustagametothem.AndEsk,her best
friend—howcouldhermotherhaveconsideredputtinghisnameon her
matinglist?Shedidn’tevenwanttothinkabout him that way.In Search Of ...
by Joan Lennon Part2
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