51 pages • 1 hour read
Octavia E. ButlerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Akin wonders why his family hasn’t come for him, but he realizes that the people in Phoenix appreciate his presence. Gabe introduces him to the work being done in the village, showing him the textile mill and the blacksmith. Gabe also shows Akin the village’s money, which has a phoenix emblem that symbolizes rebirth. Akin accidentally calls this mythology a lie, upsetting Gabe. However, Gabe eventually laughs, relieved that Akin is just like a “real” kid who makes mistakes.
Two new children—constructs like Akin—arrive in Phoenix, having been captured and sold. This excites Akin, and he asks to meet them. Akin and the new children explore each other. He discovers they are siblings—one human born and one Oankali born. The elder displays signs of femaleness, while Akin predicts that the younger, influenced by the sibling’s femaleness, will be male.
The humans, accompanied by Akin and the new children, Amma and Shkaht, venture into the mountains for reasons unknown to Akin. During their night camp, Akin overhears a discussion among certain human adults—notably, one called Neci—about the idea of severing new children’s tentacles while they are still young.
By Octavia E. Butler
Bloodchild and Other Stories
Octavia E. Butler
Dawn
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Fledgling
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Kindred
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Parable of the Sower
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Parable of the Talents
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Speech Sounds
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The Evening and the Morning and the Night
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Wild Seed
Octavia E. Butler