Earth Abides

The next morning, the children gather for school, but Ish dismisses the class—forever. He cuts a branch from a tree and whittles it into a bow, stringing it with rawhide—his first step toward severing the group’s dependence on the Old Times. Soon, all the children are whittling their own bows. One day, Ish’s son Walt returns with a rabbit he’s shot—their first kill without benefit of Old Times technology.

In time, the children’s enthusiasm for bows and arrows wanes, but Ish is satisfied that he introduced them to a valuable bit of technology, one they will never forget. As the year draws to a close, they gather once again at the flat rock and carve “Year 22” into its face. They can’t decide what to name it, so Ezra suggests they don’t give it a name at all.

The years pass. The eldest children now participate in group meetings. George, Maurine, and Evie die. After much debate, they join with another community to the north. Emma falls ill and dies, and with her death, much of the Tribe’s moral strength dies too. Ish marries a woman from the other clan, although more for practicality than love. She bears children, but his feelings for her are distant. At the end of the 43rd year, Ish and Ezra are too old to carve the year into the flat rock, and no one takes up the responsibility, ending that tradition.

In time, Ish’s wife leaves him for a younger man. Ish and Ezra, the two surviving members of the original Tribe, sit and reminisce about the past. Emma, they suggest, was perhaps the most important member of the group.

A new tradition begins: Some of the young men bring offerings to Ish in exchange for his wisdom. One day, Ezra too dies, and Ish finds himself alone.

One day in the future, Ish meets his great-grandson, Jack. He carries a bow and a quiver of arrows, their craftsmanship now perfected over the years. With no historical reference point for the Old Times, and no knowledge of pre-plague civilization, Jack relies on mythology: The “Old Ones” made the bridges and houses, and perhaps the generation before created the hills and the sun. When Jack argues that copper arrowheads are better than silver for killing cattle and lions, Ish grows irritated at the young man’s unquestioning surety, but he checks his anger. Superstition has its place if it helps them survive. When Ish asks Jack if he’s happy, he answers yes, and his words trigger a memory of someone Ish once knew. When Ish comes out of his reverie, Jack is no longer there, and Ish wonders if the encounter happened another day or another season entirely.

Ish is awakened one morning by Jack, who hustles him out of the house. A wildfire threatens to engulf the neighborhood. When Ish forgets his hammer, Jack runs back into the burning house to retrieve it. Jack and his friends ask Ish where they would be safe from the fire, and he suggests the flat rock where nothing grows. There, they huddle under the rocks. Ish has witnessed the destruction of two worlds: first, the great civilization, and now, his small, post-plague world. Ish observes the young men: They are clad in animal skins and moccasins, and they speak a slightly varied form of English. Ish wishes he could live another 1,000 years, to be a spectator to the unfolding of history.

Digression: Over time, each local clan develops its own rituals, languages, and mythologies. Some are hunters, some raise crops, but over time, the clans will “cross-fertilize.” Then, a new civilization will be born, and with it, “new wars.”

Ish observes the carefree interaction between the men, and he attributes it to the downfall of civilization. Fewer men means less competition. Eventually, the fire burns out, and they move south. They camp on the grounds of the old university, the library looming in the distance.

Ish wakes the next morning, more lucid than he’s been in a while. Reflecting on his life, he believes he has lived virtuously for the most part. After breakfast, they meet other members of the Tribe, which has decided to relocate, away from the fire hazard. The old streets and landmarks mean nothing now, so the Tribe navigates by the sun. Ish finds his bearings and realizes they are headed toward the old Bay Bridge. Along the path, they encounter a mountain lion, but they calmly avoid a confrontation. Carrying Ish on their backs, the men cross the bridge.

Mid-span across the bridge, Ish regains consciousness, aware that he has had a seizure. The men try to communicate with him, but he cannot hear them or respond. Finally, he understands—they want him to bequeath his hammer to one of them. He realizes he is dying and offers the hammer to Jack. He looks around at the hills of the Bay Area and sees permanence, the earth that will outlive all humanity and to which his body will be committed. He recalls a phrase from Ecclesiastes: “Men go and come, but earth abides” (337).