Chapter 21 of Project Daedalus is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Project Daedalus is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"We have one last chance here to deal with this problem. Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control. The decisions will no longer be ours. Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed. Surely you know what that means, for us both.
Chapter 21 of Project Daedalus is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.”
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading “Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.”
plural of “decision” — the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading “The decisions will no longer be ours.”
the one or ones belonging to us
From this reading “The decisions will no longer be ours.”
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “"We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.”
save from ruin, destruction, or harm
From this reading “Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.”
the day after today
From this reading “Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.”
On the present night.
From this reading “Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.”
In this reading “"We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
power to direct or determine
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
plural of “decision” — the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading The decisions will no longer be ours.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
immediately past
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
for more time
From this reading The decisions will no longer be ours.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
not any; not one
From this reading The decisions will no longer be ours.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
the one or ones belonging to us
From this reading The decisions will no longer be ours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
save from ruin, destruction, or harm
From this reading Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
the day after today
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
On the present night.
From this reading Tonight I attempted to salvage the situation and failed.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Tomorrow the _oyabun's_ people arrive, and then they will be in control.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "We have one last chance here to deal with this problem.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Surely you know what that means, for us both.
Chapter 21 of Project Daedalus by Thomas Hoover holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 21 holds 410 sentences of Project Daedalus, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Project Daedalus by Thomas Hoover exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 21 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Project Daedalus by Thomas Hoover on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12245 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34320 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34320, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2449 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Project Daedalus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Project Daedalus to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Project Daedalus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
