Delgado
In which Kamele and Theo go home.
Immediately, Theo is thrown into a situation that shows how much she’s changed in the six months she’s been away. (Incidentally, considering they spent maybe a week on Melchiza, that means they spent the better part of three months on Vashtara in each direction. Kind of drives home what a serious undertaking the trip was.) The terminal is the kind of chaotic jostling situation that would have been a disaster during her “clumsy” phase, but not only does she not create any disasters, she deftly avoids several that might have been caused by the inattention of the people around her. And the fact that Kamele essentially chose to throw her into this situation by sending her off to get the luggage unattended shows that Kamele trusted she would be able to get through it unscathed.
(On the other hand, the luggage scene also shows Theo with a new habit that’s going to cause her some trouble in Saltation. Continuity!)
Boy, that terminal helper is really inadvertant. Somehow, I doubt that the comment Kamele left on his feedback form was a complimentary one.
I’m pretty sure the reunion in this chapter is the first time in the book we’ve seen the entire family interacting; we’ve had Theo with Jen Sar, Theo with Kamele, and Kamele with Jen Sar, but not all three, for the entire time the family has been living separately. The occasional moments when all three have been in the same place together (such as when Theo showed Kamele and Jen Sar the snake AI) happened off the page — until now, when the family is properly back together.
Wait…you determined they’d only spent one week on Melchiza? Somehow I had the impression it was longer (but I do not have it with me at the moment to double-check).
I found myself distressed that we were not shown a scene or even told about Theo saying good-bye to the norbears on the ship. In fact, after showing such care for the little one who had been her especial “friend,” I had first been distressed that she offered no warning that she would be leaving them for an unknown length of stay on Melchiza. After Melchiza, we are given no indication that she ever thought of them again!
In Chapter 33, one of the restrictions placed on the scholars to make their task more difficult is that they’re only allowed one week of access to the archives. And due to circumstances, they find it prudent to collect Theo and leave as soon as possible after their time with the archives is up. Thus, one week.
That’s right. It sounds familiar now that you explained it again for me.