High above the earth orbits the starship Basilica. On board the huge vessel is a sleeping woman. Of those who made the journey, Shedemai alone has survived the hundred of years since the Children of Wetchik returned to Earth.
She now wears the Cloak of the Starmaster, and the Oversoul wakes her sometimes to watch over her descendants on the planet below. The population has grown rapidly--there are cities and nations now, whole peoples descended from the who followed Nafai or Elemak.
But in all the long years of watching and searching, the Oversoul has not found the thing it sought. It has not found the Keeper of the Earth, the central intelligence that also can repair the Oversoul's damaged programming.
Earthborn (1995) 420 pages by Orson Scott Card.
This is the fifth (and concluding) volume of the Homecoming series. I was really happy that no Nafai/Elemak battle. There was a recurring theme in the first four books that Elemak would get mad, insanely mad, and try to kill Nafai. Nafai would survive, but he couldn't use the same tactics or he would lose control of his supporters. They would follow Elemak instead of him. Four books and Elemak never changed.
Earthborn was a start contrast. Here we have the "good" children Akma and Mon, being brave and heroic as little children, then as adults they are the ones who are causing strife.
I'll back up. 40 million years ago (from their vantage, our future) the Earth was depopulated and colony ships were sent to hundreds of worlds. On Harmony a computer "oversoul" was left orbiting the planet, keeping the people from destroying themselves on a massive scale. This was done by making people avoid thinking of ways to speed transportation, make weapons, etc. The oversoul was getting old, not quite as sharp, things were beginning to get built on Harmony that might eventually lead to massive war. So it got together a band of 16 people and got them to go to the original starships that brought the colonists so that they could go back to Earth and get advice from the Keeper of Earth.
By the time Earthborn begins, 500 years have passed on Earth since Nafai, Elemak, etc. returned, and found two new sentient species had risen.
