Part 6 — Chapter 2

Summary

• The character has landed on a beach at Caiette in the summer of 1994 which appears unchanged since his last visit in 1912 when he was disguised as a priest.
• Looking at the ocean and the neighborhood reminds him of his mother and her fascination with Earth's ocean. Despite that, he can't feel any attachment to it.
• Following coordinates on his device, he walks into a forest which causes him discomfort due to the soft ground, catching branches, and wet ferns.
• At his destination, he sees a maple tree which has grown over 82 years. The tree evokes a feeling of reverence in him.
• He waits in a thicket for Vincent Smith, listening to the sounds of the forest which is dissimilar from the constant noise of his moon cities.
• Hours pass, he is thirsty and uncomfortable, but eventually Vincent Smith, a 13-year-old girl with bright blue hair and a camera, arrives.
• When Vincent points her camera upward, reality breaks and Gaspery finds himself in the as well as the past, in Oklahoma City Airship Terminal with Vincent, Olive Llewellyn and Edwin St. Andrew.
• The simultaneous experience of two different moments in time leaves Gaspery terrified and disoriented, but he remains unseen by Vincent. He brings himself back to the reality by focusing on the physical sensation of wet mud on his hands and knees.