Jam had felt the disintegration of the lowest five levels of earth in the gumbling tremors that followed. The vacuum left behind sucked in the higher levels into the gentle arc of a cradle. His first thought was of Jane and he closed his eyes in anguish.

Now it appeared that she survived after all. It could be false hope, and it felt nothing like their former identity sharing, but Jam willed it to be what he hoped for.

He headed for home, having been caught in the center of the city when the transition occurred. Besides, he found himself walking with a tilt and looked out to the west to see the horizon now slightly bowed concave. That could be it.