Dawn

Back in the narrative present, Lilith waits for her captors to speak to her. She gives up and almost falls asleep, when the usual quiet, androgynous voice speaks her name. Lilith realizes that the voice is not coming from above as usual but from a figure in a corner of the room. The figure appears to be a thin, long-haired man, wearing clothing similar to her own. The shadowy figure tells her he is here to take her outside.

Lilith starts to approach the figure but senses that something is wrong. The figure tells her, “I’m not a man […] I’m not a human being” (12). The being explains that it is an extraterrestrial, a male of its species. Lilith asks to see him in a brighter light. Lilith realizes with a shock that what she thought was long hair is actually tentacle-like protrusions, which are all over the being’s head. Lilith is horrified and repulsed by the way the “hair” moves toward her, making her think of Medusa. The being, expecting her reaction, says that the tentacles are sensory organs that move in response to stimuli.

The being explains that they are orbiting the Earth in a kind of vast spaceship and that all surviving humans that were left after the war were brought on board the ship. Lilith asks if there is anything left on Earth and the being replies, “Oh, yes. Time and our efforts have been restoring it” (15). The being says that Lilith and the other surviving humans will eventually be returned to the Earth and that Lilith will understand why over time.

The being insists that Lilith look at him, so she forces herself to do so and asks his name. Kaaltediinjdahya lel Kahguyaht aj Dinso is the being’s name, but he says that he can be called Jdahya. Jdahya tells Lilith that his people have learned much about humans and decided to save the survivors, though it has been millions of years since his species has stopped another species’ act of self-destruction.

Lilith tells Jdahya, “I don’t understand why I’m so…afraid of you” (17). Jdahya replies that he is here to help her become more comfortable with him. Lilith asks how long she has been asleep; Jdahya replies about 250 Earth years. Lilith is overwhelmed by this and goes silent. Jdahya tells her that mistakes were made as his people learned about humans, including the length of Lilith’s isolation and enforced sleep. Lilith enquires about the little boy, Sharad, who was with her for one Awakening, asking if she can see him. Jdahya tells her, “You’ll be able to see him when you can walk among us without panic. This is your last isolation room. When you’re ready, I’ll take you outside” (19-20).

Lilith cannot sleep while Jdahya is in the room with her, but he refuses to leave or let her sleep behind the bed, where she cannot see him. Lilith asks about the scar on her abdomen; Jdahya tells her that she had a cancerous growth that would have killed her, but one of his relatives removed it. Jdahya comments that this relative was neither male nor female, but a third sex, called ooloi. The ooloi studied the dead and dying humans on Earth and came to understand human anatomy, observing through sensory special organs down to the genetic level. This specific ooloi was able to induce Lilith’s body to reabsorb the cancerous growth.

Jdahya offers Lilith a bowl of food and she forces herself to slowly approach and take it from his hand, shaking so much that she spills half the stew. Lilith cannot understand her xenophobia and why she is so filled with panic at the sight of Jdahya. Determined to rid herself of this feeling as quickly as possible, she asks what Jdahya’s people call themselves. Jdahya replies that they are called the Oankali, which means, among several things, traders. When asked what they trade, Jdahya replies, “Ourselves,” and doesn’t elaborate.

Lilith remarks that Jdahya seems very much like a human man and he remarks that he had lived with a human doctor, who taught him the ways of humans: “She was like a fourth parent to my siblings and me. It was hard to watch her age and die. Your people contain incredible potential, but they die without using much of it” (24).

Finally, Lilith is able to bring herself to touch Jdahya, whose skin feels smooth and cool. Jdahya is holding his tentacles still to help Lilith bear touching him, but when she tells him to move them as he would naturally, she is again repulsed. When Lilith wonders why she can’t get over her aversion to Jdahya, he tells her that his people felt an even stronger aversion to the human doctor who came to live with them. Jdahya reaches out and takes Lilith’s hand and she is able to bear his touch.