In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 86-91

They rescued some insiders from the fate
of insiders whose carrier had died.
From interviews they learned what the things ate
and what was hard to get from the outside.

This market research led them to begin
collecting things the carriers required.
They’d knock on doors and find nobody in,
the leases having long ago expired.

The failure of electric power grids
had rendered useless all the links and nets,
so people had to entertain their kids
without PCs or television sets.

Attempts to stay alive when all was dark
had not involved disposing properly.
A bit of hope, a momentary spark,
would not be wasted on such luxury.

The carriers, to make their fancy brains,
had need of substances like silicon.
For transistors, they’d trade their surplus grains.
They’d let the hated humans cross their lawn.

And thus the splinter group began to trade
in used appliances and sundry goods.
They learned where they could find the highest grade:
the very best suburban neighborhoods.

The fate: This refers to the last part of Canto I, where we were informed that the insiders are unlikely to survive without the protection of the carriers. After many generations in confinement, as it were, I suppose they would have no chance at all. In Canto II, 4797 predicted her insiders would pour out, suggesting she knew she was about to die, but she did not speculate about what would happen to them after that point.

©2010 Louis A. Merrimac