Chapter 16: The Pod People

This chapter has the misfortune of containing page 90, the precise point at which I gave up trying to understand what is going on.

But you, dear reader, deserve some explanation. And if I cannot explain to you what is occurring, I may at least give a good rationale for giving up.

In the previous chapter, Zarakakagiah encounters some cave surrounded by a red-glowing light. He tries to push through the red field, and halfway through loses consciousness and experiences the three asterisks of context change.

*          *          *

Next thing he knows, he is surrounded by the Hamartian spies who accompanied him to Plenarius. They are trying to blow something up. (What else is new?) Zarakakagiah foils their plot and heads back to his house to sleep.

(Courtesy asterisks for the reader here.)

*          *          *

Zarakakagiah does not wake up in his house, but inside the red field of the cave. You wouldn't know this by reading the book. The book does not give you courtesy asterisks as I so kindly have done. The book requires you to re-read two chapters several times over to try to figure out what has happened. COW's truths are not for the non-committed.

Inside the cave, Zarakakagiah finds a small Baby Ox, a medium Mama Ox, and a great big Daddy Ox. They are in pods! (They are not in pods. But we will be kind to the chapter title and call them pods so the title can make sense.) The Ox family takes turns answering and not answering Zarakakagiah's questions.

"Whom are you working with?" I kicked old Ox's foot.
"I have nothing to say! He bellowed back.
"Tell me who your fellow conspirators are?" I yelled at him.
"I want leniency, and I will give you the information."

There is so much to unpack in these four statements. What is going on with Ox? Why would he go from refusal to cooperate to bargaining in two sentences? Was it the yelling? Was it yelling a statement in the format of a question? Is the rest of the book just a really long quote from Daddy Ox, as the quotation was never closed?

The Oxes (oxen?) answer enough questions to get some idea of what happened. They are the same person across different times. They want to conquer Plenarius for Hamartia. Plan A was to blow up some temple. They screwed that up. Plan B was to blow up the sun. Somehow they screwed that up. (If you can't blow up a temple, why would you think you could blow up a sun??) Plan C was to blow up King Rets' son. We don't know if that has succeeded yet.

The red force field has some time-protective abilities. This is the particular point where I gave up. I don't understand this paragraph at all, but it is possibly important?

"Whenever a change like this is made, the effects move up and down the timeline. But, since I was within the red walls, my death did not affect me or them." He gestured his head at the other two Oxs. The only way it could affect any of us is, if we passed through that specific point in time outside of the red walls. In this way, it provides a level of safety for whatever action we need to take."

(The mismatched quotes are shortening my life. I guess I will get to reunite with Curt Owens sooner than I thought!)

King Rets is the proto-king of Plenarius. I guess the Oxen and Zarakakagiah are in early Plenarian history? The Oxen demand to have a hearing before the king. Zarakakagiah destroys the red light force field maker with his pocket knife, and they go to the king.

King Rets apparently knows Zarakakagiah, but calls him Zarak. He insists that Zarak has previously shared the four spiritual laws with him, so he may be responsible for the whole kiss ass Plenarian State. Rets executes the Oxen, and Zarak goes poof in another sci fi light blast.

When it comes to understanding this book, concerning the pages, it is
TIME TO TURN BACK