Spoiler Alert: From Chapter 17 of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower

Embrace diversity.
Unite–
Or be divided,
robed,
ruled,
killed
By those who see you as prey.
Embrace diversity
Or be destroyed.

August 3-6, 2027

Lauren and her companions leave Highway 118 to “look for” and connect with Highway 23, headed south, with the intention of connecting with the 101, which will take them north.  Lauren sees a big fire in the hills to the east.

On August 4, they stop at a commercial water station that is relatively safe by the standards of the time.

On August 5, the fourth day of walking, they reach the ocean.  Penny Richards locates this confidently as the 101 at Ventura.  So far they have walked about 60 miles.  None of them had ever seen the ocean before, in spite of living so close to it, because automobile travel has become so rare and the roads are not safe for bicyclists and pedestrians.

It’s here at the ocean, on August 6, that Lauren, Zahra, and Harry pick up new companions, a family: Travis, Natividad, and infant Dominic.