The Moon Pool · Chapter
XXVIII: In the Lair of the Dweller explained
Goodwin, Lakla, and Larry undergo a disorienting journey through a dimensional passage to witness the Shining One in its lair.
What happens
Goodwin, Lakla, and Larry undergo a disorienting journey through a dimensional passage to witness the Shining One in its lair. Goodwin describes the experience as defying known physics, comparing it to Eddington's relativity. They observe the Shining One's androgynous, shifting face and its seven moons, and later see the frog-men dispose of bodies while luminous globes feed on the dead. Lakla reveals the Portal has opened and closed, and they must hasten to tread the strange road commanded by the Three. They enter a faceted chamber where Lakla uses a crystal keyboard to activate a light-tempest that transports them through rock and gardens, eventually arriving at a translucent green space above the Dweller's domain.
Themes in this chapter
Science vs. the Supernatural
Goodwin struggles to reconcile the dimensional journey with known laws of physics, invoking Eddington's relativity to frame the impossible.
Duality of Human Experience
The Shining One's face is described as both man and woman, human and unhuman, benign and malefic, embodying dualities.
The Power of Light and Energy
The journey is powered by a tempest of light and radiance; the Shining One is a being of light with seven moons and prismatic plumes.
Characters to notice
- Dr. Walter T. Goodwin
Narrator; experiences the dimensional journey and describes the Shining One's appearance; feels despair at seeing Throckmartin and others among the throng.
- Lakla
Handmaiden; guides Goodwin and Larry through the passage; operates the crystal keyboard; commands them to stay steady during the journey.
- Larry O'Keefe
Present with Goodwin and Lakla; holds Lakla's girdle during the journey; pale after witnessing the Medusae feeding.
- Olaf Huldricksson
Mentioned as not being able to take the strange road lest his heart break; remains with Rador.
- Rador
Mentioned as staying with Olaf while the others journey.
- The Shining One
The Dweller; described with an androgynous face, seven moons, and a core of shifting radiance; observed by the trio.
Key passages
“It is with marked hesitation that I begin this chapter, because in it I must deal with an experience so contrary to every known law of physics as to seem impossible.”
Goodwin is reluctant to describe the events because they defy all known physical laws.
Sets up the chapter's focus on the supernatural or extra-scientific.
“Both of man and of woman it was—like some ancient, androgynous deity of Etruscan fanes long dust, and yet neither woman nor man; human and unhuman, seraphic and sinister, benign and malefic—and still no more of these four than is flame, which is beautiful whether it warms or devours.”
The Shining One's face is androgynous and contradictory, embodying both human and alien qualities, like fire that is beautiful whether it helps or harms.
Highlights the theme of duality and the alien nature of the Dweller.
“The radiance behind me grew; was a rushing tempest of light in which I was but the shadow of a shadow.”
The light behind Goodwin intensified into a storm, reducing him to an insubstantial shadow.
Describes the overwhelming sensory experience of the dimensional travel.