The Moon Pool · Chapter
XIV: The Justice of Lora explained
Goodwin, O'Keefe, Olaf, and Marakinoff are brought before Yolara and Lugur in the garden of Lora.
What happens
Goodwin, O'Keefe, Olaf, and Marakinoff are brought before Yolara and Lugur in the garden of Lora. Yolara demonstrates the deadly power of the Shining One by disintegrating Songar with a green ray. She interrogates the strangers about their origins, and Marakinoff and Goodwin carefully conceal the details of the Moon Pool and Throckmartin's quest. The symbol of the vine with five flowers causes a shift in the dwarfs' attitude, hinting at the Silent Ones. Yolara shows interest in Larry, while Lugur claims Olaf for his own purposes, promising him a reunion with his lost wife and child.
Themes in this chapter
Science vs. the Supernatural
The green ray weapon and the disintegration of Songar blur the line between advanced technology and supernatural power, echoing the novel's central tension.
Forbidden Knowledge and Pride
Marakinoff's quest for ancient wisdom and the dwarfs' pride in their power over life and death reflect the dangers of seeking forbidden knowledge.
Sacrifice and Redemption
Songar's execution and Yolara's promise to reunite Olaf with his family hint at themes of sacrifice and the possibility of redemption through death.
Characters to notice
- Yolara
Priestess of the Shining One; demonstrates her power by executing Songar with a green ray; interrogates the strangers and shows romantic interest in Larry.
- Lugur
The red dwarf called 'the Voice'; displays immense strength and ambition; claims Olaf for his own purposes and mocks him with the promise of reuniting with his family.
- Rador
The green dwarf who brought the strangers; explains their lack of fluency in the local tongue and confirms the door's disappearance.
- Larry O'Keefe
Speaks haltingly but charms Yolara with his flattery; translates for Olaf and hides his understanding of the danger.
- Olaf Huldricksson
Feigns ignorance of the local language to conceal his comprehension; flexes his muscles for Lugur and suppresses a shudder at the mention of his lost family.
- Marakinoff
Speaks fluently and takes the lead in answering Yolara; conceals the Moon Pool and car, and makes a secret gesture that startles Lugur.
Key passages
“She dipped down into her bosom and drew forth something that resembled a small cone of tarnished silver. She levelled it, a covering clicked from its base, and out of it darted a slender ray of intense green light. It struck the old dwarf squarely over the heart, and spread swift as light itself, covering him with a gleaming, pale film.”
Yolara produces a silver cone-shaped device that emits a green ray, instantly covering Songar in a pale film and causing his disintegration.
Demonstrates the lethal technology of the Murians, used as a tool of justice or punishment.
“The figure grew indistinct, misty. Tiny sparks in infinite numbers leaped from it—like, I thought, the radiant shower of particles hurled out by radium when seen under the microscope.”
Songar's body dissolves into a mist and then into countless tiny sparks, reminiscent of radium decay.
Goodwin's scientific mind compares the supernatural disintegration to a natural radioactive process.
“I had taken my cue from Marakinoff. If he had eliminated the episode of car and Moon Pool, he had good reason, I had no doubt; and I would be as cautious. And deep within me something cautioned me to say nothing of my quest; to stifle all thought of Throckmartin—something that warned, peremptorily, finally, as though it were a message from Throckmartin himself!”
Goodwin decides to follow Marakinoff's lead and conceal the Moon Pool and his search for Throckmartin, feeling a mysterious inner warning.
Highlights the theme of hidden knowledge and the instinct for self-preservation.
