In the aftermath, nothing may ever be the same. What Borne will lay bare to Rachel as he changes is how precarious her existence has been, and how dependent on subterfuge and secrets. For the Company, it seems, may not be truly dead, and new enemies are creeping in. She begins to feel a protectiveness she can ill afford.īut as Borne grows, he begins to threaten the balance of power in the city and to put the security of her sanctuary with Wick at risk. For Borne makes Rachel see beauty in the desolation around her. Borne, learning to speak, learning about the world, is fun to be with, and in a world so broken that innocence is a precious thing. Yet, against her instincts - and definitely against Wick's wishes - Rachel keeps Borne. There is an attachment she resents: in this world any weakness can kill you.

Borne reminds Rachel of the marine life from the island nation of her birth, now lost to rising seas. Borne as salvage is little more than a green lump - plant or animal - but exudes a strange charisma. One day, Rachel finds Borne during a scavenging mission and takes him home. Rachel ekes out an existence in the shelter of a run-down sanctuary she shares with her partner, Wick, who deals his own homegrown psychoactive biotech. The city is dangerous, littered with discarded experiments from the Company - a biotech firm now derelict - and punished by the unpredictable predations of a giant bear. In Borne, a young woman named Rachel survives as a scavenger in a ruined city half destroyed by drought and conflict. 'But like a person, you can be a weapon, too.' 'Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy was an ever-creeping map of the apocalypse with Borne he continues his investigation into the malevolent grace of the world, and it's a thorough marvel.' - Colson Whitehead

Borne by vandermeer