Fledgling

by Octavia E. Butler

“You don’t care what you pry into, do you?”

Haha

I thought it sounded more like slavery than symbiosis.

it was a relief.”

“Your first doesn’t want any other life, girl, no more than Joel does. The only difference is Joel knows it. Wright is still finding out.”

I care about them more than I thought I could care about anyone.

having them scares me.” “Good,” he said. “It ought to. Pay attention. Help them when they need help.” He paused. “Only when they need help.”

Emphasis on only

“I think he’ll want to do more once he’s been with you for a while. He’ll want to write or teach or something. Too much energy in that boy for him be to just some kind of house-husband.”

Haha

When that’s done, my symbionts will be able to do what they want to do.”

Leontyev family

Martin

Zoë and Helena Fotopoulos

Martin

Haha

Konstantin and Vladimir,

“Shori, we’re your mothers’ fathers. You’ve known us all of your life.”

Haha

Nice

“I’ll have to get to know you all over again. And you’ll have to get to know me. I can’t even pretend to be the person I was before the injury.”

Haha

unless they’re directly involved, people aren’t usually called to Councils of Judgment unless their children are adult and mated.”

The Braithwaite eldermothers are Joan, Irene, Amy, and Margaret.

“They are the daughters of your father’s father’s father,”

Zoë and Helena Fotopoulos

Joan and Margaret Braithwaite

One was brown-haired—the first brown-haired Ina I’d seen—

I realized that I wanted Joan and Margaret to think well of me, to like me. That was important somehow. Their scent was definitely influencing me. Was it something they were doing deliberately, I wondered. Could they control it? Could I?

I was fairly sure his longing made him seem even more ill-mannered than my ignorance made me.

Haha

“Those two got married last week,”

Ice

“Eden,

Arun

“I have no coherent idea of what does work.

“You could be adopted into one of your secondary families.

First adoption, then mating.”

I’ll bet the immigration process and adjustment of status was interesting. What do the Ina do about taxes and social security records? Question

work for them. Learn from them.

“When this business is over, spend a year or two with each of your secondary families if they’ll permit it. They can teach you and you can guard them.

Later, when you come of age, you might even adopt a sister from among their more adventurous young daughters before you mate. Find a young girl who feels lost among too many sisters and eager to go out on her own.”

Some day our native language will be forgotten.”

It seems to be some combination of religion, metaphor, and history.”

Like the Bible

We rarely traveled because it was so uncomfortable and so dangerous. Not only were there highwaymen, but local authorities who had to be bribed, and there was always, always the sun.

Haha. E-nail and large comfortable cars, not to mention Helicopters and private planes.

“Your scent … do you deliberately use it to influence people? I mean, can you control the way it affects people or who it affects?” She laughed aloud, laughed for several seconds, stopped, then laughed again. Finally, she said, “Shori, child, I’m an old woman! My scent is barely interesting compared to yours. I don’t want to imagine what you’ll be like by the time you come of age.”

Haha. But she doesn’t answer the very interesting question of intentionality and control.

Daniel

Peter and Thomas Marcu

two large wood-paneled rooms, a room-sized closet, and a big bathroom.

That could be fun

I had no memory of ever having seen such an opulent bathroom, but there was nothing in it that confused me.

“You would be tied to me, wouldn’t you? You would be infertile with other Ina.”

“I’ve witnessed seven Councils of Judgment,”