The classic YA science fiction adventure by Nebula and Locus Award-winning author Pamela Sargent The ship hurtles through space. Deep within its core it carries the seed of humankind. Launched by the people of a dying Earth over a century ago its mission is to find a habitable world for the children--fifteen-year-old Zoheret and her shipmates--whom it has created from its genetic banks. To Zoheret and her shipmates Ship has been mother father and loving teacher preparing them for their biggest challenge: to survive on their own on an uninhabited planet without Ship s protection. Now that day is almost upon them...but are they ready to leave Ship? Ship devises a test. And suddenly instincts that have been latent for over a hundred years take over. Zoheret watches as friends become strangers--and enemies. Can Zoheret and her companions overcome the biggest obstacle to the survival of the human race--themselves?