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Summary
Part One, Chapters 4-5
H.S. Curie journal entry
Curie reflects on the cultural audit scythes must undergo annually. In this society, everyone has a genetic index that indicates racial origins. Though people have become increasingly mixed-race over the years, the regional leader of the scythes, the High Blade, punishes scythes who show prejudice in their gleaning selections. Curie believes this is a valid concern but feels there is still inherent bias in the system, such as using Caucasoid as the first number in individual cultural indexes.
Chapter 4: Learner’s Permit to Kill
After Citra and Rowan both accept Faraday’s offer, he presents the apprenticeship rules to them. During the apprenticeship they have no right to glean, but they will be present during gleanings and can assist if requested. Faraday also tells them that scythes are obliged to behave ethically and morally, even though they’re above the law, and he forbids them from developing a romantic attachment with each other. Their training will involve academic subjects as well as hands-on killcraft instruction. During the apprenticeship, they will live in Faraday’s simple home with him, adopt his modest lifestyle, and distance themselves from their old lives. Citra and Rowan both receive apprentice armbands, and Faraday explains that their families all receive one year of immunity from gleanings. After arriving at Faraday’s home, they go to the market for groceries, and Rowan and Citra are testy with each other. The apprenticeship pits them against each other, but Rowan insists that they can compete for the job while also taking care of each other in an otherwise isolating experience.
H.S. Curie journal entry
According to Curie, the world’s greatest accomplishment was eradicating government, not death. The Thunderhead functions as an impartial, effective means of government, thereby replacing corrupt politicians. Though people initially feared that the Thunderhead would seize control of the government, eventually people willingly allowed it to control them because it had proven so fair and effective. The only aspect of life not controlled by the Thunderhead is death and the scythes. People recognized that choosing who dies required human qualities the Thunderhead may not possess. Curie understands the reasoning but questions whether the Thunderhead should not also determine who dies, rather than leaving this decision in the hands of humans.
Chapter 5: "But I'm Only Ninety-Six. . ."
Citra quickly realizes how strange it is to run errands with a scythe. People react to Faraday’s presence in the store, whether by avoiding him or fawning over him. Faraday does have one friend who is genuinely happy to see him. This friend works in the coroner’s office, and Faraday grants her immunity every other year. Citra picks out some junk food, which draws the disapproval of both Faraday and Rowan. Rowan, meanwhile, picks practical synthetic staples that Citra criticizes. Two teenagers—potential “unsavories,” or what remains of criminal society—lurk nearby as they shop. One of the teens covertly kisses Faraday’s ring, granting himself immunity for a year. Faraday terrifies him by threatening to hunt him down and glean him after a year, but privately confesses to his apprentices that he is content to let the teenager suffer in suspense rather than follow through on his threat.
Citra and Rowan are horrified when Faraday tells them that Mrs. Becker, a woman they see in the parking lot, is the next person he will glean. They travel to the woman’s job, and Faraday offers her a fatal pill but says that she can choose when to activate it. He asks both his apprentices to administer the pill, and they refuse, which pleases him. Citra and Rowan are both disturbed by how uneventful the death is, and they are equally shocked when Faraday informs them that they will be attending the funeral.
Analysis
The fact that scythes have very little oversight requires them to display strong ethical principles on their own initiative, a professional responsibility that both Curie and Faraday take seriously. As Curie’s journal notes, scythes function outside of the Thunderhead’s control, which puts them in a category that transcends legal consequences. This largely unchecked freedom greatly concerns Curie. Nonetheless, as Faraday explains to his apprentices, scythes are not free to do as they please and they must hold themselves to a higher standard to do their work fairly. Faraday is especially keen to ensure his apprentices are not gleeful sadists and insists that they have an obligation to attend the funerals of those they glean. Though Rowan and Citra have both seen Faraday at work earlier in the book, they learn far more about his pragmatic but principled approach to scything once they become his apprentices. He takes great pains to adhere to mortal-age statistics in his work rather than demonstrating bias in his selections, and though he is firm with those he gleans, he is not unkind or disrespectful.
These chapters introduce more information about the post-mortal world’s method of government and question how effective this system is by showing how unchecked and far-reaching the Thunderhead and Scythedom’s powers are. The Thunderhead is allegedly a neutral administrator free of corruption or human bias, but it functions without any checks or balances. Nothing exists to obstruct its work if it decides to go too far. Scythedom operates with equal impunity, even outside the parameters of its own realm of death. There is no legal mechanism in place to challenge or oversee either. Highly ethical scythes like Faraday are very aware they must self-police their own actions and operate on a high standard, but Curie’s journals introduce the concept of the inevitability of human corruption, infighting, and self-interest in their discussion of politics. In just the same way as it is inevitable for politicians to succumb to greed and misdeeds, so too is it inevitable that not all scythes will follow the rules.
This section raises the question of whether the Thunderhead is truly as altruistic as society seems to think it is. The Thunderhead strives to be fair, and this society has worked hard to eradicate prejudice and poverty as a result. However, as these chapters indicate, even with a system like the one overseen by the Thunderhead, actually achieving these admirable goals is not a given. The cultural index system of eradicating prejudice still has blind spots and innate biases built into its foundation, and some scythes still violate the rules by showing bias in whom they select for gleaning or to whom they grant immunity. As Faraday notes to his apprentices, poverty no longer exists in this world, but that does not stop some people, such as himself and his neighbors, from willingly choosing it as a lifestyle. Though the characters frequently praise the perfection of the world they live in, the story itself reveals a far more complicated reality. Juxtaposing these conversations about the nature of this post-mortal world, this section suggests the Thunderhead has limitations and flaws that this society has not recognized.
Faraday’s lifestyle evokes the imagery of religious monasticism and protects his reputation and professional ethics in the process. Faraday takes great pains to practice an ascetic lifestyle. Though he does not pay for his groceries or support himself, he cautions his apprentices against taking advantage of others and practices what he preaches by living modestly. His behavior mirrors the vows of poverty that monks and nuns have traditionally followed in their quests for spiritual enlightenment. Faraday’s simplistic lifestyle also sets him apart from the post-mortal world, which is proud of its technological advancement and abundant material goods. As such, Faraday’s decision to consciously choose an ascetic lifestyle reveals his wisdom and ethical standards. As Citra notes, people often seem eager to butter up Faraday, assuming he will be more likely to spare them. Faraday himself also explains that scythes can get in trouble for appearing to practice favoritism. By devoting himself to a life of relative poverty, even in a world where poverty no longer exists, Faraday protects himself from bribery and accusations of favoritism. Faraday’s ascetic lifestyle is as much a part of his commitment to ethical gleaning as is his reliance on pairing statistics with random selection.
