Childhood's End Part 2: The Golden Age / Chapter 5 Summary

  • The day finally arrives for the Overlords to reveal their physical forms to the world, and the world is stoked.
  • A ship touches down, and Karellen asks two children to come up the gangway and meet him first.
  • The gangway pulls the children into the ship, and after twenty seconds, Karellen emerges with one on each shoulder.
  • There's no mistaking the "leathery wings, the little horns, the barbed tail" (5.18): Karellen looks just like a generic heavy metal band mascot—or demon, as they are officially known.