Larkin notes that while her parents lived an isolated life in the community of Acorn, Lauren was keenly interested in the events taking place in the world around them. In her journal from the autumn of 2032, Lauren describes her efforts to access the news. Because of this, she knows that while climate change is still wreaking havoc and causing disease, things seem to be stabilizing somewhat. There are also many wars, and slavery is becoming more common in the United States, especially due to the invention of sophisticated new electronic collars. Lauren also pays particular attention to recent discoveries surrounding space travel and scientifically assisted reproduction because she continues to plan for Earthseed with the goal of establishing communities on other planets. In November 2032, Jarret wins the presidential election, and Lauren discovers that she is pregnant. 

In December 2032, Lauren, Dan Noyer, and some other members of the Acorn community go to the town of Eureka to meet with a man who sells enslaved people because they have heard that he might have Dan’s sisters. It turns out that the slaver does not, but Lauren is astonished to see that one of the slaves the man is selling is her brother Marcus.