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Summary
Part Two, Chapters 15-17
H.S. Curie journal entry
Curie reflects on how estranged scythes are from the Thunderhead, which does not interact with them the way it does with other people. Scythes can only use the Thunderhead as a database, while non-scythes are able to interact with it. Curie assumes the Thunderhead observes the growing factionalism and corruption in Sycthedom and wonders if it despises them or just ignores them. She is not sure which would be worse.
Chapter 15: The Space Between
Faraday, Citra, and Rowan are shocked by the Conclave’s decision to have the winning apprentice glean the loser. On their grim train ride home, Faraday says the Conclave will ensure there is a winner, so there is no avoiding the judgment. The following day, Faraday leaves Citra and Rowan alone in the house together. Rowan tries to initiate a frank discussion with Citra about their disconcerting new circumstances. Neither really wants to talk about it, but they do share a kiss before telling each other they are not in love.
H.S. Goddard journal entry
Goddard rails against more traditionalist scythes controlling his method of work and thinks scythes should be above the law because they inherently deserve to be. Goddard takes great pride in his mass gleanings, questioning why, in a perfect world, he should not truly love his work.
Chapter 16: Pool Boy
Goddard and his elegy of scythes storm an executive’s mansion, demanding that the executive turn over his estate. One of Goddard’s junior scythes, Volta, uses a touch poison demonstrated at the recent Conclave to kill the mansion’s pool boy. Then Goddard offers the executive, his family, and his remaining staff immunity for a year, but with a catch: Goddard tells them that the executive must resign from his position at his company, and become Goddard’s pool boy.
H.S. Curie journal entry
Curie reflects on the regulations against scythes gleaning each other and the allowance for them to glean themselves. She thinks both rules are a fair way to curb power struggles, though she recognizes that it does not completely prevent them. She admits that what prevents her from gleaning herself is concern about the potentially problematic scythes that may succeed her.
Chapter 17: The Seventh Commandment
BladeGuards, elite security personnel for the Scythedom, wake Citra and Rowan in the middle of the night. Neither Citra nor Rowan knows where Faraday is, and Xenocrates, who has accompanied the guards, tells them Faraday gleaned himself. After arriving at Xenocrates’ log cabin home, which is situated on top of a skyscraper, Citra and Rowan learn more about Faraday’s actions. He jumped off a train platform in front of witnesses. Because he was a scythe, he will remain unrevived since scythes have the right to glean themselves. Citra refuses to believe Faraday would glean himself, but Xenocrates disagrees. He argues that Faraday gleaned himself to release Citra and Rowan from their apprenticeships and spare them the ordeal of the winner gleaning the loser. Rowan blames Xenocrates for Faraday’s death, but Xenocrates insists he was merely following the will of Scythedom. He also informs Citra and Rowan that, though traditionally they would be free from the apprenticeship, other scythes have stepped forward to claim them as apprentices. Over Citra’s objections, Xenocrates informs her she will now train under Curie, while Rowan will be with Goddard.
Analysis
These chapters flesh out Xenocrates as a deceitful but shadowy figure with suspicious loyalties, and his motivations for his actions remain obscure. Citra and Rowan are unsure whether to trust Xenocrates’ sincerity, and his lie about the Conclave is a clue that their instincts are correct. When Rowan accuses him of causing Faraday’s death by forcing his apprentices into a life-or-death competition, Xenocrates claims he only followed the will of the people. However, this is patently false, as only one person initially suggested the idea: Goddard’s follower, Rand. Xenocrates issued the stipulation before any other scythes could express an opinion, through debate or a vote. Though his motivations remain unclear, this quick exchange of dialogue confirms that Xenocrates is a corrupt high-ranking figure that the apprentices should not trust. Xenocrates’ strange home, a humble log cabin that sits atop an imposing skyscraper, symbolizes his inherently indecipherable nature and contrasts sharply with Faraday’s own simple abode that the apprentices must now leave. Regardless of Xenocrates’ motives for his actions, it is undeniable that he is not as transparent about himself as the late Faraday had been.
Though they had previously felt drawn to aspects of Scythedom, Citra and Rowan both now perceive its darker reality, which is reflected in their language usage. The shocking Conclave decision that the winner of the apprenticeship must glean the loser has shattered any idealistic illusions they had about Scythedom. In his internal monologue, Rowan directly identifies the ruling as an act of killing, not gleaning. He recognizes Xenocrates’ decision as an injustice and calls it out as such, not only to himself but also to Xenocrates’ face following Faraday’s death. Though Citra refuses to discuss the situation with Rowan, she also recognizes what has occurred as a terrible injustice. In her brief conversation with Rowan, she acknowledges that one of them will have to kill the other, and she also avoids using the more professional and detached euphemism of “gleaning” to describe the act. The cruel decision also pushes them toward their greatest act of rebellion yet, a forbidden kiss. Nonetheless, the kiss is the only expression of affection they share, suggesting they already see themselves as scythes and intend to follow the rules.
Curie and Goddard’s dueling journal entries foreshadow a more direct conflict between the two as they succeed Faraday as the mentor scythes for his apprentices. Curie’s journals have revealed her to be a perceptive and deep thinker. By contrast, the inclusion of a Goddard journal entry at this stage in the narrative shines light on the sinister elements of Scythedom that Curie has railed against, confirming her fears about the potentially ominous direction in which Scythedom is heading. Goddard is arrogant, bloodthirsty, and slyly manipulative, twisting words to justify his slaughters. Before now, Curie and Goddard had been remote figures. The confirmation that they will serve as replacement mentors for Citra and Rowan sets them up for a more active role in the narrative, while the juxtaposition of their journal entries shows exactly what is at stake in their conflicting beliefs about scything. Their approaches are fundamentally incompatible, and Citra and Rowan are now caught directly in the middle of this conflict.
