Short Fiction · Chapter
III explained
Hradzka, realizing he is a carrier of a deadly plague from the future, struggles to survive in a primitive world.
What happens
Hradzka, realizing he is a carrier of a deadly plague from the future, struggles to survive in a primitive world. He attempts to find work in a town but is betrayed to the police. After a violent confrontation, he escapes on a police vehicle, fully aware that he is a menace to everyone around him.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Resilience
Hradzka's desperate attempts to find work and evade capture highlight his struggle to survive in a hostile and primitive environment.
Alienation and Otherness
Hradzka's status as a plague carrier and his inability to communicate mark him as an alien threat, feared and hunted by the local population.
Characters to notice
- Hradzka
Hradzka discovers he is a plague carrier, attempts to find work in a town, and escapes after a violent encounter with the police.
Key passages
“He might find some isolated community, conceal himself near it, invade it at night and infect it, and then, when everybody was dead, move in and take it for himself.”
Hradzka considers using his plague to wipe out an isolated community and then claim it as his own.
Reflects Hradzka's growing desperation and willingness to use his deadly condition as a weapon.
“Hradzka became more insistent in his manner, making signs to indicate his hunger and willingness to work.”
Hradzka persists in his pantomime of a deaf-mute seeking employment, emphasizing his hunger and desire to work.
Shows Hradzka's attempt to integrate into society despite his inability to speak the language.
“Without warning, he hurled the water into the policeman’s face, sprang forward, swinging the bucket by the bale, and hit the man on the head.”
Hradzka suddenly throws water in the policeman's face and strikes him with the bucket.
Demonstrates Hradzka's violent reaction when cornered, leading to his escape.