Short Fiction · Chapter
XIII explained
Tropile, now merged with the Pyramid network, wages a war of disruption against the Pyramids by attacking their communications at a thousand points, taking over their network, and using it to Translate humans into fighters.
What happens
Tropile, now merged with the Pyramid network, wages a war of disruption against the Pyramids by attacking their communications at a thousand points, taking over their network, and using it to Translate humans into fighters. He awakens a telepathic Component named Joey to serve as liaison. Meanwhile, on Earth, Citizeness Roget Germyn wakes to witness an auroral display caused by the conflict, and encounters Gala Tropile, who shares her unspoken concern about her husband. Tropile's mind spans two planets, and he becomes his own environment, beyond human concepts of sanity.
Themes in this chapter
Technology and Dehumanization
Tropile becomes a godlike entity merged with the Pyramid network, losing his human identity as he commands circuits and drafts humans into his army, blurring the line between man and machine.
Power and Corruption
Tropile's absolute control over the network and his fellow humans raises questions about the corrupting influence of power, as he becomes 'lord of two worlds' and operates beyond human morality.
Alienation and Identity
Tropile's transformation into a network entity alienates him from humanity, as he is 'beyond such human affairs as lunacy or its reverse,' while Citizeness Germyn and Gala Tropile grapple with their own sense of loss and disconnection.
Characters to notice
- Glenn Tropile
Now merged with the Pyramid network, he attacks their communications, takes over their circuits, and drafts humans into his army.
- Citizeness Germyn
Wakes to witness the auroral display and encounters Gala Tropile, sharing an unspoken worry about her husband.
- Gala Tropile
Observes the aurora with Citizeness Germyn and hints at Glenn's involvement in the strange events.
- Alla Narova
Her mind communicates with Tropile, urging him to focus on the war.
- Joe Hartman
Referenced as 'Joey,' a ropy-limbed Component with limited telepathy awakened by Tropile and Alla Narova to serve as liaison.
Key passages
“The weakness of a network that reaches everywhere is that it is everywhere vulnerable.”
A network that covers everything is weak because it can be attacked at any point.
Tropile exploits the Pyramids' extensive network by striking at multiple points simultaneously.
“Sanity no longer meant anything to Tropile. He was beyond such human affairs as lunacy or its reverse.”
Tropile had moved past human concepts of sanity and insanity.
Tropile's merger with the network has made him something beyond human judgment.
“An insane man is one who is out of joint with his environment. Tropile was himself his environment.”
While insanity means being out of sync with one's surroundings, Tropile had become his own surroundings.
Tropile's mind now encompasses two planets, making him the environment rather than part of it.