In the seventeenth and penultimate part of\u00c2\u00a0Pyramids<\/i>, Teppic tries to kill a pyramid. Honestly. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Oh shit, Teppic\u00c2\u00a0did it<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting to me that Pratchett keeps a lot of details away from us in this section. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely not the first time he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done it, so I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like I was being let down. I know there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more to this book, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be too premature about things that could easily be addressed in the final pages of\u00c2\u00a0Pyramids<\/i>. For the most part,\u00c2\u00a0we stick as close as possible to the experience of blowing up a pyramid.\u00c2\u00a0Which sounds weird enough as it is, but it ends up being SO MUCH WEIRDER than I expected.<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first talk about Dios, because I definitely don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all that sorry for what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done, given this:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I gave my life for this kingdom,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the high priest. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I gave it over and over again. Everything it is, I created. I cannot fail it now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fascinating to me that he ends this little moment of his with an appeal to the country as a whole. He can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fail\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it, yet his reasoning immediately before this is entirely selfish. He tries to paint this as some sort of selfless sacrifice, one where he \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gave\u00e2\u20ac\u009d his life to Djelibeybi, but the truth is that he deliberately extended it so that he could exert control over\u00c2\u00a0seven thousand years<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel that bad for him. Plus, how many deaths is he responsible for? How many people were killed when the gods were unleashed on the world? How many were thrown to the crocodiles because of Dios and his need for an unchanging corner of his universe? Even when he faces the very gods he created to oppress people, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel awe and respect. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s furious that THEY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T DO AS HE WILLS THEM TO DO. Which is indicative of his entire outlook on life, I think. He wants to control, and when he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, he becomes enraged.<\/p>\n
But the powers released here are finally (and terrifyingly) greater than Dios. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s neat that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s up to Teppic to stop them. He uses his skills to traverse the pyramid, but that only gets him so far. The last-minute help he receives? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s from his ancestors. LITERALLY. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no metaphorical guidance or metaphysical wisdom. No, his ancestors form a ladder of sorts with their bodies, all so that Teppic can make it to the top.<\/p>\n
I admit that I\u00c2\u00a0was<\/i> hyping myself up for a reunion between Teppic and his father, especially since I thought it would be great for them to have a conversation that was truly honest. That happens with fiction, and admittedly, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t occur all that much with me. I find that I build up expectations when I watch things in real-time and then have to spend ages waiting around for the next book or the next season. AND THEN ALL THE FANFICTION IS READ AND THE HEADCANONS ARE DEVELOPED AND\u00c2\u00a0IT<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ALL DOWNHILL<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s often why you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see me talk about disappointment or expectations unless I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m discussing tropes or archetypes or that sort of narrative junk. But hey, this still is something we all go through! I got it in my head that Teppic and Teppicymon should have a meaningful reunion, and so I felt a little let down when all Teppicymon said was a single sentence. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like this was something promised to me, you know? Plus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible there\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i> something more to their relationship in the final part of the book. I WILL SAVE THE REST OF MY THOUGHTS UNTIL THEN.<\/p>\n
Because EXPLODING PYRAMID. Well, not quite an explosion, right? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an eerie end to the Great Pyramid. I loved this sentence:<\/p>\n
It exploded like an unwound dandelion, silent as starlight, searing as a supernova.<\/p>\n
Just incredible. Pratchett toys with time and sound and the visual representation of an impossible (but very possible) pyramid gently and violently coming apart. Those contradictions are part of the experience, and it helps build the strangeness of the moment, you know? Like a few of the endings to\u00c2\u00a0Discworld\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>novels before this, I was, however, confused by the details. How exactly did Teppic survive? Was it because he was a god? Did him making the sun rise (if I comprehended that correctly) undo the damage of the Great Pyramid? Pratchett cuts fairly quickly to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what? Days later? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how much time passes between Ptaclusp and IIb discovering Teppic and Teppic assuming the throne. I suppose I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily need all the details, as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m definitely interested in what Teppic is going to do now that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s king. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already planning on hosting representatives of the Tsortean and Ephebian armies, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in over his head. But he has been for a long time in this book, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s proved himself to be quite resilient in the face of confusion and difficulty.<\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I want to know. I also want to know what Ptraci has been up to because SHE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BACK! She was with Chidder and Alfonz the whole time, apparently. What does\u00c2\u00a0she<\/i> do now that Teppic is king? UGH, WHY MUST I WAIT \u00e2\u20ac\u2122TIL NEXT WEEK TO FIND OUT.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7YzR1c7CO8<\/p>\n
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