Future Home of the Living God

Cedar shares a room with Little Mary, who quizzes her about the baby. When Little Mary asks about Phil, Cedar is hit by a “wave of feeling” (138). She describes Phil in detail, though she does not know whether he is alive. As she talks, she feels as though “a presence” (138) visits her and casts a protective shadow over her.

Mary Potts wakes Cedar, who tells her mother that she wants to stay on the reservation rather than travel further north to Canada. Sera is concerned by her daughter’s desire to remain on the reservation. Mary and Cedar sit on the porch and talk about how Mary gave up Cedar for adoption. Mary was around 16 years old at the time. She now accepts that this was the path her life was meant to take.

Cedar and Sera talk about the future. Cedar would like to stay on the reservation, but Sera insists that Glen will find a safe place for her, even though they have not heard from him for some time. Sera reminds Cedar that the Church of the New Constitution is fighting a war with terrifying new drone technology, including bug-sized robots and dust-mote-sized listening devices. The tribe has turned to vintage technologies such as radio and telegraphs to communicate with the outside world. A barter system replaces money at markets, where there is a truce against violence. The only condition is that pregnant women are banned from attendance. Cedar confesses to Sera that she still loves Phil, even though he betrayed her. Sera reveals that the survival rates for babies are “dropping lower every month” (143). Cedar tries to relax and assures herself that Sera is simply worried about Glen. As they talk, Cedar realizes that Sera is very scared.

Eddy sings and plays a hand drum to confuse the surveillance robots. He wants to write a song for Cedar’s baby. He is carefully building a new society on the reservation, and the outsiders do not bother them, as Eddy oversaw the seizure of a National Guard arsenal at a nearby military base and formed two new militia regiments. The casino, tribal bank, and existing supplies are sufficient to support the community. The situation has hardened Eddy, and this newfound grit helps him to cope with his depression.

Inside the house, Eddy gives Cedar the replica rifle bought by Phil. She knows that this means Phil has visited the reservation, though he has “gone again” (146). Cedar is unwilling to learn how to shoot the rifle. She tells Eddy about the murder of Orielee. Eddy recommends that they give Cedar a new identity to protect her from any legal ramifications. He asks whether she would like to be Mary Potts again. He assures Cedar that the saint to whom Mary built a shrine is watching over the reservation’s pregnant women. Cedar wants to pray at the shrine, and the next morning, Eddy drives Mary and Cedar there. Cedar wraps herself in a blanket and prays to the saint, and the prayer helps alleviate her fear. As she stands up, a tiny enemy drone flickers past her ear, and Cedar worries that she was seen.

Cedar feels her baby growing heavier. She finds herself becoming increasingly irritated by Sera’s incessant cleaning. Sera accuses Cedar of taking all her hard work for granted, while treating her biological family with nothing but pleasantness. Cedar and Sera argue. Cedar asks Sera about her adoption and learns that Glen is her biological father. Cedar is overwhelmed but knows that this is true. She realizes that Sera has convinced Glen to hide the truth from her and she resents the “unnecessary deception” (149) that has kept her from knowing about her real father.

Unsure what to do, Cedar walks away and sits down beside Grandma Virginia, who tells her a story about a man named Cuthbert who “could really eat” (149). Grandma Virginia tells how she nearly married Cuthbert, but how she had sex with a devil in her dream every night. She kills the devil in her dreams and plans to marry Cuthbert. However, by murdering the devil in her dream, she brought the devil to life. He competes with Cuthbert in a footrace, the extreme effort of which causes Cuthbert to suffer a fatal heart attack. Eventually, Grandma Virginia finishes the story: She married someone else. The story distracts Cedar from her recent conflict.

Later, Eddy secretly takes Cedar to the tribal offices to give her a new identity. As she becomes Mary Potts, she reflects on her actual identity. She is no longer certain who she is.

Cedar surveys her hiding place in Mary’s house. If there is a raid on the reservation, she will need to hide. She does not know what to do with the replica rifle and spends most of her time asleep.

Cedar is awoken by a strange sound in Little Mary’s bedroom. She grabs her rifle and hears dogs barking in the distance. A computerized apparition of Mother appears in the doorway and surveys the room. Mother cannot see Cedar, who hides behind the bundles of Little Mary’s filthy clothes. Cedar is not sure whether she is dreaming or awake.

In the middle of the night, Cedar wakes up with Phil’s hand over her mouth. He drags her out of Little Mary’s room, telling Cedar that “they’re coming back” (153). Phil takes Cedar to a car and tells her that they will hide at the Potts family gas station to wait for a van that is heading north later in the week. Cedar is too groggy and confused to argue. When they reach the gas station, Phil removes his shirt to show Cedar his torture scars. He thought he was a hero, he explains, but he has since realized that he is not. He knows that people are coming because he was with them after they tortured him. Cedar remembers her grandmother’s story about a devil. She doesn’t trust Phil.

The next morning, Eddy appears at the gas station and lets Phil and Cedar into a room locked by a steel door. Phil explains his capture, torture, and release (indeed, while they talk, Cedar struggles to look at Phil, who is barely recognizable from the beating). Once free, he contacted Eddy and gave the tribe all of Cedar’s supplies. When Phil found a woman living in Cedar’s old house, he knew that she was the same woman who abducted Cedar and many other women. Phil explains that the woman accidentally burned down the house, herself inside, while drunk, and the hidden alcohol and ammunition exacerbated the fire.

Phil spent more time with Mother and the Church henchmen, but he stole a car and escaped. He assures Cedar that she is wanted by the Church because her baby is one of “the originals” (156)—a baby conceived before the collapse. Cedar suddenly realizes she is carrying a person inside her. Phil explains that he understands why groups would be so invested in closely monitoring pregnant women, given that the world has descended into “biological chaos” (157). He proposes a plan: If the baby is born healthy, he says, he and Cedar could be rich and in charge of the new society. Disgusted, Cedar calls for Eddy.

There is no raid on the reservation, and Cedar begins wondering whether she hallucinated Mother’s appearance. Phil ran away as soon as Cedar rejected his plan. Cedar helps to pluck a turkey in preparation for a big tribal Thanksgiving meal. Many religious pilgrims and worried people are passing through the area, seeking shelter. They are permitted to camp on the reservation but are treated with caution. However, the tribe eventually feeds everyone regardless of their trepidation.

Cedar and Mary slip out under the cover of darkness to pray at the shrine. An unseen group of assailants grabs Cedar mid-prayer, binding her hands and placing her inside a van. Mary chases after as it drives away. Inside the van, a man and a woman explain to Cedar that they need the reward money for turning her in.

Despite her predicament, Cedar assures her unborn baby that they will “be all right” (159). Her captors take her to a makeshift hospital inside an abandoned prison.

Placed inside a cell, Cedar receives a set of clothes that appear blood-stained. Her captors believe her new identity of Mary Potts, but Cedar realizes she is a wanted person and worries that they might discover her real name. However, she notes that her captors seem poorly organized and poorly equipped.

Each day, the imprisoned pregnant women attend yoga classes and practice breathing exercises. As Cedar takes part, memories of people she has killed or harmed fill her mind. She insists that she is “not afraid” (159).

Two male guards wearing dirty, ripped uniforms escort Cedar out of her cell. They take her to a room that has been temporarily repurposed as a photography studio. The photographer Miguel greets Cedar as though she is “the loveliest woman in the world” (159). At Cedar’s request, he dresses her as the Blessed Virgin. Later, the women eat unidentifiable food. Cedar approaches a collection of photographs on the wall, but another pregnant woman stops her, claiming that looking at the pictures brings bad luck.

Cedar sleeps often and talks to the other prisoners. According to rumors, the Church now abducts all women of childbearing age. One woman named Estrella was arrested for shoplifting and sent to the prison facility, and was then forcibly inseminated. She envies Cedar’s natural pregnancy. As the guards take away another woman, the pregnant prisoners all hum the same mournful song together, “a hymn of war and a march of peace” (161). Cedar prayers for herself and her fellow prisoners. Eventually, she examines the photographs of the women. Each photo is inscribed with a birth and death date, as well as the slogan, “She served the future” (162). The wall of martyrs horrifies Cedar.

Mother appears on the television every day, and watching her is mandatory. She talks to the pregnant women about religion and their role in society. The women are told to join hands and pray with Mother, who promises the women forgiveness and eternal life. Cedar knows that the women will not leave the prison alive.

Cedar goes for an ultrasound. She has become numb to everything, including fear. Before the ultrasound can begin, however, the electricity goes out, and Cedar talks honestly with the technician. The technician, a fellow prisoner, explains that women are struggling to survive childbirth because of an autoimmune response; women’s immune systems have begun to attack their babies during labor, lowering both mothers’ and children’s survival rates. The doctors have orders to prioritize the child’s survival. Cedar returns to her cell without an ultrasound.

Cedar spends her nights dreaming about saints and spirits. During the day, she walks around the exercise yard with Estrella. The women plant flowers in the yard to try and bring some beauty to their existence. The plants and insects in the world seem unrecognizable from what they once were. The biological order has unraveled. Vines planted in pots grow to massive sizes and threaten to overgrow the building.

Not all the women die during childbirth, but those who do are buried outside the prison walls. Cedar sees the gravesite from a window. She misses her family and knows that they cannot rescue her from this prison. She reads pages of Eddy’s book to comfort herself.

The weather turns grey and indifferent. Cedar feels as though her child is so large that the birth must be imminent.

Cedar receives daily check-ups from the doctors. One of the female doctors seems familiar to Cedar but she dares not ask for the woman’s name. One day, when they are finally alone together, the doctor slips Cedar a note. Instantly, Cedar recognizes her as Jessie, the nurse from her earlier imprisonment. Later, Cedar learns that Jessie helped to smuggle a living Agnes out of the hospital in a body bag.

Cedar pretends to be in poor health so that she can see Jessie. Cedar plans to escape and Jessie assures her that she will take care of the baby once Cedar fakes her own death.

Cedar contemplates the word “mother” (168) and resolves to stay alive.

Cedar’s labor begins “right on time” (168).

Cedar goes into labor without Jessie present. Cedar hallucinates and prays through the pain, and her baby is eventually born alive. Immediately drugged, Cedar slips into unconsciousness.

Cedar recovers from childbirth but remains imprisoned. She writes to her son in her notebook, teaching him about the way the world was “in the before” (169). She shares her parents’ memories of the world during the collapse, as the seasons alter and settle into a new pattern. Other women go on hunger strikes or attempt suicide. Cedar has not seen Jessie in a long time; she hopes that Jessie has taken her baby somewhere safe. She describes a snowfall and wonders where her child will be during “the last time it snows on earth” (170).