Dawn

Lilith wakes up and goes to bathe, trying to get rid of the sour smell on herself. When she emerges from the bathroom, Nikanj comments that she soon won’t notice the smell. It also tells her that it gave her the ability to open walls in their living quarters. She can also exit the quarters, but cannot open other walls. Lilith asks Nikanj why it did this and it answers, “To give you what I could. Not another long sleep or solitude. Only this” (103).

Lilith bitterly thinks about how helpless she is, that she is being allowed some freedom because she is unable to do any damage. She can keep herself occupied until she is forced to do the work chosen for her, which will probably get her killed. As she has these thoughts, Nikanj lies down and starts to tremble. Lilith ignores it and goes to find food, then starts to open the wall and go outside.

Lilith stops and returns to Nikanj’s side, realizing that its sensory arms have begun to come in. As Lilith offers Nikanj food, it eats and says that it is glad that it completed the change to Lilith before this process started. It had known that its transformation was coming, but Lilith had been too angry for it to tell her.

Lilith feels compelled to stay near Nikanj’s side and asks to see its budding sensory arms, which are lumpy flesh under its other arms. Nikanj says that it does not hurt and feels like the equivalent of human sexual arousal. Nikanj thanks Lilith for coming back, saying her presence helps it feel better. Lilith feeds Nikanj and promises to stay with it. Nikanj says that his parents will be alerted to its metamorphosis by the walls of the room and they will send for its mates, who will carry it to their new home. It asks Lilith to help carry Nikanj: “That will tell them the first thing they need to know about you” (105).

Nikanj’s mates, Ahajas and Dichaan, arrive and carry away Nikanj, who has fallen into a deep sleep. Ahajas is the female, Dichaan the male, and they are siblings, as is customary with the Oankali, though Jdahya and Tediin were cousins. Ooloi are not related to their mates. Lilith helps carry Nikanj to a vehicle and Nikanj’s family and mates all communicate through the tentacles together. Nikanj had explained to Lilith that this could pass messages basically at the speed of thought, which Lilith thinks of as the closest thing to telepathy. Tediin bids Lilith goodbye and says that it has been a good trade having her with them. Lilith will not see her again, as only Kahguyaht, being of the same sex as Nikanj, will be able to come visit it during its metamorphosis. Like Lilith, Kahguyaht smells “neutral” to Nikanj and will not cause Nikanj to feel inappropriate sexual stimulation, as male or female Oankali would.

Finally, Jdahya comes up to Lilith, telling her that she will be welcome in her new home: “You’re rare—a human who can live among us, learn from us, and teach us. Everyone is curious about you” (107). Jdahya says that the walls will be adjusted by Dichaan so that Lilith will be able to open them, which Lilith is grateful for. Still, she is nervous and afraid. Jdahya tells her to stay close to Nikanj and do what it has trusted her to do.

Lilith is given another bare room to live in with Nikanj, though it sleeps most of the time. Lilith is so bored that she is almost glad when Kahguyaht comes to visit. She is surprised that Kahguyaht brings her some rough paper and some pens. These are marked with American brand names and were reproduced by the Oankali from prints of centuries-old originals. Lilith learns that the Oankali recreate non-living items from prints in addition to living beings. Kahguyaht also surprises Lilith with some ancient books.

Kahguyaht treats Lilith with less sarcasm and condescension now that she is helping to care for Nikanj. Lilith learns more about Oankali biology. Kahguyaht shows Lilith the lumpy swelling that will become Nikanj’s sensory arms. Lilith asks Kahguyaht about the sensory hands, saying that Nikanj had mentioned them.

In an odd tone, Kahguyaht acknowledges that there is such a thing. It extends one of its sensory arms and says that it is large and strong in order to protect the inner sensory hand. As Lilith watches, the semitransparent skin at the end of the sensory arm begins to change and a slender, pale object emerges. This object enlarges to what looks like a hand with eight tentacles around a palm, much like a starfish. The sensory hand emits a flowery scent that Lilith finds disagreeable, so she backs away. Kahguyaht tells her that humans, like Oankali, bond to one ooloi, so its scent makes her uncomfortable since she is bonded to Nikanj.

Kahguyaht tells Lilith that it had opposed choosing her as the human to “parent” the first group to be Awakened, but now it thinks that it had been wrong to feel that way. Lilith is shocked to learn that she is expected to act as the “mother” of the first human group. Kahguyaht says that she will help her people in the way that she is helping Nikanj; Lilith replies that the humans won’t want her help and that the Oankali don’t understand humans as well as they think they do. When Kahguyaht says that Lilith does not understand Oankali at all, she angrily tells him to put her back to sleep and choose someone else. Kahguyaht tells her, “Your children will know us, Lilith. You never will” (112).