Messenger

Ramon hurries by Matty and Seer, calling out that new people are arriving and there's a pretty girl with them. Both Matty and Seer decide to go welcome the newcomers. While people used to arrive alone or in pairs, now, they often arrive in large family groups. The new arrivals are often terrified and damaged in some way, though all are hopeful. Matty smiles as a greeter takes down the names of the newcomers, and he notices the pretty girl holding the hand of an ill-looking young boy. Matty and Seer whisper that the group may be so large because they've heard rumors that Village is closing. Matty then turns and sees a small group, led by Mentor, approaching. They chant, "Close. Close. No more."

Everyone, especially the newcomers, is uncomfortable with this. Leader arrives, calmly greets the newcomers, and asks the greeters to settle them in their new homes. After the group leaves, Leader thanks those who were welcoming and then turns to Mentor. He notes that while dissent is an important right in Village, it's inappropriate to scare newcomers, especially when the meeting is in four days. Leader asks Mentor directly for his opinion. Matty studies Mentor, who's deep in thought, and notices that Mentor's birthmark seems somehow lighter. He reasons that it's just because Mentor is tanned, but thinks that there are other strange changes in Mentor. He also seems somehow taller, but Matty thinks that Mentor is just standing up straighter than usual.

Mentor tells Leader that they'll see what happens in the meeting, and Matty thinks that Mentor's voice also sounds different. Matty notices a puzzled look on Leader's face as the crowd begins to disperse. As Matty turns to follow Seer home, he hears someone calling out that Trade Mart is tomorrow night. Matty decides he's going to attend.

The narrator explains that when Seer first arrived in Village, injured and ill, he listened to other people talk about going to Trade Mart. He decided early on that since he had nothing to trade, there was no reason to try. He later went to observe and told Matty how dull it was, as people just traded old trinkets for new ones. In the present, Seer says with concern that something has changed and now, trading is secretive. Matty says that he asked Ramon what his parents traded for the Gaming Machine, but Ramon didn't know and said his mother acted like she had something to hide.

Seer says again that something is different and that even Leader is worried. Matty tells Seer that he wants to go watch so he can figure out what's happening. With a laugh, Matty promises Seer that he won't trade—he doesn't think he has anything to trade anyway. Sighing, Seer says that Matty has more things than he thinks he does, and people will want what he has. Matty thinks that this is true; he briefly wonders if he can trade his strange power away, but he decides that he promised Seer and will only watch.