Ford presents an alternative picture of what a multicultural society could be like. This is not the American immigrant experience, or the melting pot. It's a society that welcomes outsiders with warmth and song. Harmony there doesn't require assimilation. A peaceful solidarity built through shared struggle against an occupying army. An economy operating more on mutual aid than competition. The governor and police officer seem like afterthoughts.
The central dilemma of the story comes because the expats know the incoming…
