Short Fiction · Chapter
Two Way Destiny explained
The narrator and Kallatah find themselves in a dangerous jungle on Dracona, where they are attacked by native poltergeists using mental powers.
What happens
The narrator and Kallatah find themselves in a dangerous jungle on Dracona, where they are attacked by native poltergeists using mental powers. The narrator explains that the natives are angered by Kallatah's capture of a 'Servant of the Mountain' and that they must act to appease them. He kisses her as part of a ruse, and later reveals he is actually the Supreme Councillor and Guide from Terra, leading to a romantic union.
Themes in this chapter
Alien Encounters and Otherness
The chapter features the narrator and Kallatah interacting with the three-eyed, three-armed natives of Dracona, highlighting the theme of encountering and understanding alien beings.
Isolation and Survival
The characters experience a profound sense of isolation and dread when their mental anchors to Earth are stripped away, and they must survive the natives' mental attacks.
Fear of the Unknown
The jungle becomes a trap filled with malevolent forces, and the characters grapple with the terrifying, unknown powers of the native poltergeists.
Characters to notice
- Kallatah
A woman from Tragor who is with the narrator on Dracona; she captures a lizard-like creature, angering the natives, and later learns the narrator's true identity.
- Geipgos
The old tribal chieftain of the Dracona natives; he confronts the narrator and Kallatah over the capture of the Servant of the Mountain.
Key passages
“Freeze that memory chain, shatter the brittle links, and the human mind has no refuge left anywhere in time or space.”
If you break the chain of memories connecting you to home, the mind becomes completely lost.
The narrator reflects on the psychological importance of maintaining ties to Earth.
“They’re poltergeists. They can set fires and move objects from a distance. The power resides in an area of the brain which civilization seems to blunt.”
The natives have telekinetic abilities that civilized humans have lost.
The narrator explains the natives' mental powers to Kallatah.
“To be great and doubt one’s greatness is the surest path to a woman’s heart.”
Humility in a great man is attractive to women.
Kallatah expresses her love for the narrator, appreciating his self-doubt despite his high status.