Dawn

The group of humans is now in the training room, which appears as a vast tropical forest. The sky looks like the Earth sky and there is a wide river, and huge trees everywhere. There are abundant flora, insects, and small animals.

Nikanj tells Lilith that they will be given tools later, but for now they are to get used to the place and settle in more firmly with their ooloi. Lilith warns Nikanj that some of the group will build boats and try to escape, because they believe they are on Earth. Nikanj replies that anyone who tries to leave will find the walls of the room and return. The only way out is to learn to be self-sufficient in this environment so they can be returned to Earth. Lilith thinks that Nikanj must know that the humans will try to run once back on Earth, though it talks about mixed settlements of humans and Oankali, with genetically-mixed children.

Lilith avoids going back to the others for the moment. Most of the group are tolerating each other and are bonded to their ooloi, though Curt and Gabriel remained highly drugged. In a way, Lilith admires their ability to resist the conditioning.