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"The officers think they’ve found someone who can help us," the Pilot says "A man who knew the person who planted these fields and is willing to talk about it"

The two of us cross the grassy ditch between the field and the dusty road Spirals of barbed wire fence in the area But I can already see the lilies

They stick out at aard angles from the little hills and valleys of turned-over dirt, but there they are--white floaving banners over the cure I reach through the wire and turn one toward us; its shape is perfect Three curved petals make up the bloom, with a trace of red on the inside

"The Society plowed the up behind us "But this spring, they all came up" He shakes his head "I don’t kno ht to coue"

"You can eat the bulb for food," the Pilot says "Did you know that?"

"No," the man says

"Who planted the fields before the Society bulldozed them over?" the Pilot asks

"A man named Jacob Childs," the man says "I’m not supposed to remember that the fields were plowed under, but I do And I’m not supposed to remember that they took Jacob away But they did"

"We need to arrange a careful harvest of these bulbs," the Pilot says "Can you help us with that? Do you know people ould be willing to work?"

"Yes," says the "

"We’ll bring our own people in, too," the Pilot says "But we need to get started iht wind ruffles the flowers They’re little waves dancing in their green bay of grass

Days later, I’ another round of cures to Central when the Pilot’s voice coain His voice startlesof his co shouldn’t have given hined h to where I need to be that I can do what I have to do

"There’s no record of the man named Jacob Childs," the Pilot says "He’s vanished"

"That’s not surprising," I say "I’ hi him out to die"

"I also had them run a search for Patrick and Aida Markham," the Pilot tells "

"Thank you for taking the time to look," I say There are plenty of us ant to know about fah the data

"I can’t have you looking for them now," the Pilot says "We still need you and your ship for the cure"

"I understand," I say "I’ll look for them on my own tiht now," the Pilot says "Your rest hours are intended to be exactly that We can’t have you flying exhausted"

"I have to find theh Anna, I learned what Patrick and Aida traded and sacrificed--eventhat I could never have questioned him about before "Isn’t there anyone," I say, "that you still have to find?"

I’ve gone too far The Pilot doesn’t answer

I look down at the dark land below and the bright lights coht where they should be

In the weeks that I’ve been flying out the cure, I’ve stopped in every Province in the Society several times over

Except Oria

The Pilot won’t let any of us land in the Provinces where we’re from, because we’ll know too e the pattern of the cure

"There were people I had to find," the Pilot says finally, "but I knehere I needed to look This is like trying to find a stone in the Sisyphus River You don’t even knohere to begin It would take too long Now But later, you can"

I don’t answer him We both know that later often means too late

The cure works, and so does Cassia’s sorting, telling us where to go next We’re saving the optimal amount of people She tells us what she thinks we should do, the computers and other sorters corroborate it--herin this world

But we’re not saving everyone Of the still who go down, about eleven percent do not come back at all And other patients succu the ship in lower

"I thought I made it clear that you couldn’t look for them now," the Pilot says

"You did," I say "I’ I ?" the Pilot asks me