II: A Right-Hand Glove explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• War and Meaninglessness

  Bruce condemns the endless wars of the Change War, calling them 'crueler and stinkinger,' and questions the purpose of fighting for an 'almighty power so bloody ineffectual.'

• Reality and Illusion

  Beau explains the 'Conservation of Reality,' where changes to the past barely alter the future, and Bruce challenges the morality of the Spiders' methods, such as kidnapping Einstein.

• Change and Identity

  Bruce questions whether a Resurrected Doubleganger is truly himself, and the narrator reflects on how he has changed since Dave's death, fearing the Change Winds disturbing the past.

Characters to notice

• Bruce Marchant

  Rages against the Spiders and the Change War, questioning the morality of Resurrection and the purpose of endless conflict. He is calmed by Lili's gift of a glove.

• Lili Foster

  Introduced as the New Girl, she deftly handles Bruce's outburst by providing a glove that fits his right hand, earning his attention and the narrator's respect.

• Unknown Narrator

  Observes the interactions, whispers with Sid, and reflects on the budding romance between Bruce and Lili, recalling his own lost love Dave.

• Sidney Lessingham

  Whispers to the narrator about Bruce's fiery speech and suggests using the New Girl to calm him, showing his manipulative and theatrical nature.

• Erich von Hohenwald

  Reacts to Bruce's mention of Change Death and translates Doc's traumatic mutterings from German, showing his connection to the Nazi past.

• Beau Lassiter

  Engages in philosophical debate with Bruce about the Conservation of Reality and the resilience of nations, defending his vision of a Greater South.

• Doc

  Has a flashback to his time in a Nazi salt mine, chanting in German about salt and a whip, before snapping out of it with a shrug.

• Greta Forzane

  Mentioned only in passing as part of the group, but not directly active in this chapter.

Key passages

• “great men can rarely be Resurrected. Their beings are too crystallized, sir, their lifelines too tough.”

  Beau argues that exceptional individuals are too rigid to be brought back from the dead.

  Beau's explanation of why great men are not typically Resurrected.

• “I believe that most great men refuse to make the bargain with the Snakes, or with us Spiders either. They scorn Resurrection at the price demanded.”

  Bruce counters that great men reject the terms offered by both sides in the Change War.

  Bruce's skepticism about the motives of the powerful.

• “Brother, they ain't that great.”

  The narrator dismisses the idea that great men are truly exceptional.

  The narrator's cynical interjection.

• “When they pulled me out of my line at Passchendaele in '17 ten minutes before I died, I grabbed at the offer of life like a drunkard grabs at a drink the morning after.”

  Bruce describes his desperate acceptance of Resurrection at Passchendaele.

  Bruce's personal account of his Recruitment.

• “But what did I find the Spiders wanted me for? Only to fight more wars, over and over again, make them crueler and stinkinger, cut the swath of death a little wider with each Big Change, work our way a little closer to the death of the cosmos.”

  Bruce laments that his Resurrection only led to more warfare and destruction.

  Bruce's disillusionment with the Spiders' goals.

• “The wind with our name in it may leak through the Door.”

  Bruce warns that Change Death can strike anyone at any moment.

  The concept of Change Death introduced.