Part Three

Utah, 2070

34. A Pedestrian Street in Orem, Utah

The street is very animated.

Most women wear subdued but elegant and comfortable clothes. Sometimes, one carries a hat or some other ornament, but…

35. The Center of Vows

Inside the dome, holographic projections of women and men approach the newcomers to inform and direct them. The hosts and hostesses wear the same kind of clothes as the visitors they accost. What lies beyond remains invisible.

32. A Private Room in a Restaurant

Thirty women and two men are sitting at tables with glasses, cups, and a few bottles of water and wine.

Inanna stands up.

INANNA

Although none of us has been apprehended or even bothered, the…

Interlude

25. The Raids

A Water Purification Center in Bogotá (Colombia)

The desolated road is lit by a row of street lamps spreading a yellow light and is bordered by a long wire fence, behind which one distinguishes large…

39. A Villa

The living room is very modern, with large window bays overlooking the town and a magnificent sunset. Inanna, 62, is sitting on a couch and watches the news on a big screen built into the wall. In front of her, with her back to the screen, Asherah, 64, is lost in her thoughts.

41. In a Bedroom

The room is almost entirely in the dark.

Asherah (64) suddenly straightens up in her bed. Sweat beads on her forehead. She’s panting, her eyes filled with terror.

Inanna emerges beside her and takes her in her arms to reassure her.

33. Asherah’s Apartment

Inanna is lying on a large bed, a book in her hands. The door to the bathroom is open.

INANNA

Anyway, you did very well tonight. Well done! It always impresses me to see the passion that inhabits you when you speak about things you…

Epilogue

40. The Nightmare

Dunes by the seaside 
Asherah (8) is running in the dunes. She seems to float in the landscape. Forms are fuzzy in the bright yellow sunlight.

29. Flashback — Building (Jalawla, Iraq, 2014)

A group of men belonging to Daesh, dressed in black and armed, arrives on the landing leading to the apartments on the second floor of the building.

One of them shouts a few orders in Arabic, and the group splits in two, half of them going to the right, the others to the left.

31. Flashback — In the Street

The inhabitants of the building have all been gathered in the street. The men of Daesh separate the young women and the children from the rest. Children are forcibly pulled out of the arms of their mother when these are judged to be too old. Women and children cry and yell.