Time is the focus of Shevek's work, but it is also an important driving force in this novel. The story is told with a kind of tension between present and past, with the actual plot moving forward through Shevek's activities on Urras but underscored by moments from his past. Each chapter in "the present" is accompanied by one from "the past," showing how connected the time periods really are. In fact, it is Shevek who introduces the concept of past, present and future being interwoven; early in their relationship he tells Takver that they have arrived at their present time because of things that happened in their respective pasts, things that both led them to and prepared them for the present. As a physicist who studies time, Shevek believes that past, present and future exist.....
