Chapters 10-12 Summary

The quote opening Chapter 10 explains how a civilization can crumble when its people don’t share a purpose and vision.

In June 2026, Keith visits from the city where he now lives with fellow squatters in an abandoned building. He tells Lauren he survived by killing and robbing a man, and she’s shocked. She wouldn’t last long out there, he warns her. The city is full of “paints,” or people with painted skin, addicted to a street drug called pyro that makes them enjoy setting fires. Despite Keith’s confidence, he dies a violent death in August 2026.

The Garfields leave Robledo for Olivar, a nearby coastal town recently bought by international corporation KSF. The corporation promises jobs and food to Olivar residents. Lauren and her father assume that, since KSF offers such low salaries, its employees will be trapped in debt. Labor laws no longer protect workers.

Lauren decides to travel north and start an Earthseed community. Eventually, she wants to teach others to read and write. She titles her collective Earthseed verses “The Books of the Living.”

But Lauren’s life changes again when her father disappears without a trace in November 2026. Lauren preaches at the Sunday church service, and her message urges the neighborhood to persist and take care of one another. Privately, however, she believes her message was a funeral for both her father and the community.

Chapters 10-12 Analysis

The rising action in these chapters leads readers to the coming crises facing Lauren and Robledo. In a change Lauren didn’t predict, her father—her main source of stability—is gone. She follows his example by taking on a leadership role in Robledo and preparing to put her own faith into action by traveling north. She grounds her faith in daily reality rather than hope for the afterlife, so she titles the collected Earthseed verses “The Books of the Living.”

Another more universal coming-of-age experience for Lauren is the loss of her childhood cohort, as members of her peer group decide the paths they’ll take in adulthood. While Keith chose freedom without security, others choose security without freedom by moving to a company-controlled town. Lauren recognizes the power dynamics at work in KSF’s purchase of Olivar. The company will provide for workers’ basic needs—a tempting offer for struggling workers in Robledo—but keep them indebted and powerless.