Chapter Nine Summary

Several days later, in Chapter 9, Marina accompanies Dr. Buni and Nancy to the trees that produce the fertility compound. In the clearing, there are groups of small trees growing near one another, with small mushrooms growing at the base. Marina watches as Lakashi women scrape their teeth along the trees, eating the soft bark. One small girl is led to the trees by older women, indicating she has begun menstruating. She learns that despite appearances, there is only one tree, where the root system replicates itself, resulting in the high numbers of visible trunks. The root system poisons the earth so that nothing else, except the hallucinogenic mushrooms called Rapps, can grow. The trees, Martins, are secondary to the scientists, although they carry the fertility factor. The doctors know that if the location is revealed, the area will be overrun by...