Chapter Eighteen
Earth
“No one realized they had aged until they saw their reflections. They just thought it happened to other people.”—The Librarian’s diary.
James the Strong’s magnificent silhouette was overlooked by the discovery of Earth, and yet again he sulked.
Soon, reflectors (now called “mirrors”) were all the rage, and any Settler worth a jot owned not only a mirror but several—large and positioned to catch the sunset at every angle going. And once a language adapter was developed, a whole new world opened up to the planet.
Within a year, the Settlers were peering into the mirrors, reflecting parts of lives Victorians called private. They stared into living rooms, bedrooms, restaurants, and conference halls, quickly picking up the difference between a bribe and a tip, interf
