{"id":5257,"date":"2020-08-21T05:00:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=5257"},"modified":"2020-08-10T08:43:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T15:43:57","slug":"mark-reads-the-obelisk-gate-chapter-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2020\/08\/mark-reads-the-obelisk-gate-chapter-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Obelisk Gate’: Chapter 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the ninth chapter of The Obelisk Gate<\/i>, Nassun discovers a new sensation. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Broken Earth<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For extended discussion of abuse<\/b><\/p>\n

So, after reading this, I have two primary questions about this entire plotline:<\/p>\n

1) What is the purpose of this weird Guardian\/orogene comm in the Antarctics?<\/p>\n

2) How much control is the thing inside Schaffa asserting on his life?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Truthfully, I think the actual answer to this question combines these two realities, as I feel the first Schaffa chapter heavily, heavily suggested that this force that saved his life guided him to this place. In some ways, he feels like a literal pawn. That being said, I wanted to analyze this chapter from these two queries, as I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll help me figure out what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on here.<\/p>\n

The Comm of Jekity<\/b><\/p>\n

I just realized that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting parallel between Jekity and Castrima, one that I bet we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d see all over the Stillness. Jekity has been around a long time, but its past is full of loss. It seems every<\/i> comm goes through this at one point in time or another: They thrive. They suffer enormous setbacks. They nearly die out (or they actually do). And someone tries it all over again. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a constant cycle of rebirth and survival, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? In Jekity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, though, I wonder if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a clue to the future. Jekity fell apart because of mistakes, accidents, and a refusal to unify to face a common problem. Is that why this new comm might actually succeed? Because Schaffa has unified everyone around a common goal?<\/p>\n

What is<\/i> that goal? My initial worry came from this bit, describing the ten orogene children who were a part of this comm:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were ten, but when one of the children caused a brief but powerful earthshake amid a temper tantrum one evening, the child vanished. Maite did not ask questions. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good to know the Guardians are doing their jobs.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was easy for me to assume what happened here, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what happened at the Fulcrum: the tenth child was murdered. And even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that Schaffa is not truly reconstructing the Fulcrum in Jekity, there are elements of that system that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still clinging to, like this one. Difficult orogene children are removed from the equation. Right?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, the obedient orogene children remain, and there are nine of them aside from Nassun. The first one she meets says something very, very interesting:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yumenes had the Fulcrum, and Jekity has this: A place where you can be yourself, and always be safe. Schaffa and the other Guardians are here for us, too, remember. This is ours.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But is<\/i> it? Is it truly a place where they can be themselves? What does that actually mean? I questioned this not because I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe the children; I just wondered if they were regurgitating what they were told or if this really was an accurate take on this place. For what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth, as Jemisin introduced me to the other children, they seemed happy. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a sense of the same competitive, nasty energy that we see in The Fifth Season<\/i> during the Damaya chapters. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s genuine affection and a desire for friendship here, and the fact that this kids are allowed to pursue this? That<\/i> gives me pause. If anything, I felt the Guardians and teachers of the Fulcrum deliberately sowed discontent among the students so that they wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t team up with one another. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to be the case here. (With one exception! Lashar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coldness towards Nassun has more to do with Lashar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s upbringing and class issues. Okay, maybe \u00e2\u20ac\u0153class\u00e2\u20ac\u009d isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the right designation here, but you get what I mean.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, they do seem to have more freedom than I expected. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re also all self-trained, so to speak. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not taught by other orogenes because there are no adult orogenes anywhere<\/i>. (Which is a fascinating contrast to Castrima.) That also seems by design. Why<\/i>? Why not show them an adult orogene? Or use that source of knowledge? Is it because nearly all adult orogenes were routed through the Fulcrum? Are Schaffa and the other Guardians deliberately trying not to repeat the same means of training? AHHHH, I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T FUCKING KNOW. Later, Schaffa states that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good<\/i> that Nassun and the others are not at the Fulcrum because:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good, because there are\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 things you can do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His face twitches. Flicker of silver through him again, then quiescence. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Things you are needed to do, which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 things that Fulcrum training cannot do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which leads me perfectly to my other question.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Strange Silvery Threads<\/b><\/p>\n

Nassun mentions these whenever she can sense that there is something or someone else inside of Schaffa. I believe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intentional that these moments happen only<\/i> when discussing orogeny. Is the thing inside Schaffa deliberately guiding him towards a certain plan with the orogenes? But that also makes me wonder about agency: Is Schaffa himself changing his mind when he addresses orogenes differently? Or is he being forced <\/i>to do so? Honestly, I think both<\/i> are happening, and probably at the same time, too! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to tell in each instance, though my guess is that the silver flicker is this being exerting its will power on Schaffa. So, Schaffa is a direct pawn, of sorts, right?<\/p>\n

Except then\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 lord. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a masterful use of suspense here in this chapter as Jemisin repeatedly inches Schaffa closer and closer to discovering who Nassun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom is. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d actually get to that point within the chapter, but the text escalates continuously as Nassun reveals more and more about her upbringing to Schaffa.<\/p>\n

And then she lets him know more than she is even aware of:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153She got really quiet. Then she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcAre you sure you can control yourself?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 And she took my hand.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She bites her lip then. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She broke it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Schaffa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s breath pauses, just for an instant. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your hand?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was speechless. I just kept staring at the book as the reality of this reveal washed over me. She did the same thing, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. She did exactly<\/i> what Schaffa did to her in order to instill fear of disobedience. For Essun, that was how Schaffa loved her, and so, she imitated it. This is the cycle of abuse, made painfully literal here. It was an astounding and upsetting thing to read, and it explains so much. These techniques worked, yes, and Nassun became terrified of revealing her orogeny, but there was no real love exchanged here. None. Nassun did not look to her mother like Essun looked to Schaffa.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And this<\/i> is where I believe Schaffa himself\u00e2\u20ac\u201dnot his controller\u00e2\u20ac\u201dreacts genuinely. He tells Nassun that that was wrong<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He is staring at the ground, and there is a strange look on his face. Not the usual wandering, confused look that he gets sometimes. This is something he actually remembers, and his expression is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 guilty? Rueful. Sad. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrong to hurt someone you love, Nassun.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean I am now going to immediately trust Schaffa, but that seemed genuine<\/i>. I do not think the thing inside Schaffa made him say that. So he does<\/i> feel remorse over what he did to Essun? Perhaps? Lord, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot to unpack, but before I could do that, Jemisin knocked me flat with the absolutely bizarre exchange that happens between Nassun and Schaffa. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still trying to wrap my head around it. See, I could write everything off as a side affect of the thing at the base of Schaffa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s neck that he acquired when he nearly died. But then he says this:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am always hurting, little one. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of what Guardians are.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 literally? Do all Guardians have these silver threads? Have I completely misinterpreted what they are? And why does Schaffa say that these threads will kill Nassun? What the hell is that<\/i> about? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand! Is this what Guardians normally used to kill orogenes? Oh god, the tenth one from Jekity. Was that one killed by whatever those silver threads are? I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW. But Nassun doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fucked up that she has seen so much senseless violence that sensible<\/i> violence is perfectly acceptable to her, you know? And she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll accept it from Schaffa because at least he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s straightforward with her. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better than no reason, right?<\/p>\n

My god THIS KID. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so fucked up by all this, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NOTES<\/b><\/p>\n