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Below this we see a second group of three naible: Ida Jaxon, Elton West, and a person named as "The Colonel," evidently a s we see the single word "Reuess is that these individuals may have perished in some kind of battle, perhaps one in which the fate of the Colony itself was deter, however, that is theis much less sophisticated, and exposure to the elenificantly, wear-pattern analysis indicates that these s date to about 350 AV, well after the settleree opinion holds that these ital enhancement reveals names well known to all

May I have the final slide?

Of Amy, the Girl from Nowhere, there is no mention Perhaps we shall never learn who she was, if she existed at all

There is much we do not understand We don’t knoho these people were We don’t knohat role they may have played, if any, in the extinction of the paramutational race known as virals And we don’t knohat beca, I hope, will open the door to addressing some of these mysteries But even more, what I wish is for all of us to come aith a deeper appreciation of the most fundamental questions that define us History is more than data, more than facts, s are reater end History is a story--the story of ourselves Where do we come from? How have we survived? How can we avoid the mistakes of the past? Do we matter, and if we do, what is our proper place upon the earth?

I shall put the question another way: Who are we?

In a very real and pressing sense, the study of the North American Quarantine Period is far ation of the past It is--and I think everyone in the roo the long-term health and survival of our species This is all the -awaited return to that feared and vacant continent

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For Logan Miles, age fifty-six, professor of millennial studies and director of the Chancellor’s Task Force on North A A very goodstart Hundreds of scholars are in attendance; press interest is intense Before he reaches the door of the ballroom, a wall of reporters surrounds him What does it all mean, they want to know, these names on the stone? Were the twelve disciples of Amy real people? What will be the effect on North A to be delayed?

"Patience, everyone," Logan says Flashbulbs fire into his face "You knohat I do, neithervia a rear exit off the kitchens It is a pleasant autu off the harbor; high above, a pair of airships float serenely, acco of their s his son to mind; Race, a pilot in the air service, has just been proreat achievean pauses to take in the air beforetoward the caer by the steps, forty or fifty of thens: "NORTH AMERICA = DEATH," "SCRIPTURE IS LAW," "THE QUARANTINE MUST STAND" Most are older--country people, adherents to the old ways Ay, as well as a scattering of Disciples, woray robes tied with a simple cord at the waist, their heads shorn in the manner of the Savior They have been there for ht AM, as if clocking in for a job At the start, Logan found the, but as time went by, their presence acquired a quality of doonored

The walk to his office takes ten minutes, and he is both pleased and surprised to find the building practically empty Even the department secretary has flown the coop He makes his way to his office, on the second floor In the past three years, he has become an infrequent visitor; most of his work is now in the capitol, and he sometimes doesn’t set foot on ca his visits to North America, which have devoured whole months With its walls of bookshelves, enore to o--and overall atmosphere of professorial seclusion, the room always reminds him of both how far he’s come and the unlikely role that has been thrust upon him He has reached a kind of pinnacle; yet it is still true that from time to time he misses his old life, its quiet and routine