Chapter Seven
Collared and in chains, Delila arrived on a midnight train at a northern most colony of the State where Degas’s factory was located. After a short journey overland to a dock beside gently lapping water, she was pulled down into the stinking hold of a scow and then transported across some body of water to an island, where Degas’s factory stood, half ancient monolith to older worlds, and half a result of the haphazard concoction of bricks, motor and boards common from such architecture in the less advanced North.
There was a mysterious quality about the Island, for its lushness defied the region’s otherwise bleak aspect. However, Delila saw none of this, since she was briskly spirited away from the boat to the factory before her eyes could adjust to the odd pre-dawn light ab
