In Woman on the Edge of Time, Piercy uses language to create the idea of ​​a climb towards knowledge and the discovery of an unknown truth that will save the present . With Luciente's help, Connie will go from dystopia, New York, to utopia, Mattapoisett. Piercy continually alludes to traveling north or ascending. "Mariana had been uprooted from a village near Namiquipa, Los Calcinados, and emigrated with her family to Texas to work in the fields... When Connie was seven, they moved to Chicago..." (Piercy, 37) . Ironically, this ascent towards knowledge and the future is not progressive, nor linear. Rather, it is circular and backwards. Piercy uses the names of his characters as well as the “common” language of Mattapoisett to examine the direction of the future. Names are emphasized and are of great importance to the novel. Names like Lucien and Orion create a heavenly or cosmic tone to the novel. Luciente is Connie's guide from the future. She is the light that guides Connie on her ascent into the future. “...