can be greatly harmed or even killed if something goes through her. Royals are clearly unliked by the current government of Aressa Sessamo, who overthrew royal rule long ago. Because of this, royals' lives are highly restricted and only Rigg and his mother know that Param is still alive. She spends almost all her time invisible. After associating himself with the city and getting to know how things run while he is in captivity, Rigg decides to become a scholar and studies in the libraries for long hours every day. He befriends Olivenko, a city guard, and spends a lot of time with him at the libraries. Rigg's mother the Queen, now stripped of her rights and authority by the People's Republic, sets into motion a scheme to restore herself to the throne and have General Citizen become the king. They must have Rigg and Param killed to prevent them from competing with their claim. Meanwhile, Umbo and Loaf have made their way to Area Sessamo from O by land. They reunite with Rigg, Param, and Olivenko and escape the city together just in time. Traveling across the land away from the danger of Citizen and the Queen, they decide the only way to truly get away is to cross the wall, an invisible field that encircles the known world and drives all those who enter it insane. With their time manipulation powers, they travel backward to a time before the wall existed, although the ability to go back to the present rests with Umbo, who therefore cannot travel with them. Param, with her time-slicing ability, helps him escape with General Citizen and his soldiers at their backs. The group sets out for food and water in the unknown region beyond the wall but meets a man identical to Rigg's adopted father from Fall Ford. He reveals that he and Rigg's father were robots (expendables) and that all the humans were descendants of colonists from Earth. He then says that the humans from Earth would be sending another ship shortly to make contact with them, setting in motion the plot of the next book. Writing Process In the acknowledgments at the end of the book, Card tells of a small part of the writing process. Unlike his other books, he wrote the chapters far apart and needed more help from his continuity editors than normal. References External links Booklist, Pathfinder