Re: Chapter Thirteen - Rendezvous at the Albatross Café

Spoiler warning! This post dives into details revealed through chapter thirteen, so if you haven’t read to this point in the book and don’t want to have any surprises revealed early, turn back now!

Ah, the chapter with the longest title. This is one time that I did enjoy naming something, mostly because I put together a bunch of words I thought sounded cool. But we’re not here just to talk about the random choices I make to amuse myself. Let’s really break down the events that take place here.

Chapter thirteen is a critical chapter for characters, reveals, and The Big Choice. Let’s start with the meeting between Kennedy and Sophia. While Sophia seems to be relatively cool and collected here, that’s likely by design on Sainne’s part. Sainne, as noted, is dragging his feet and still hasn’t met to assess Avery’s condition. Given how stubborn she is, the back and forth about her treatment could also be easily stretched to give himself maximum time. Point being, Sophia is far from out of the woods at this point. And she’s certainly still worried.

After Kennedy hands off the secret pill to her, there is a long moment where she doesn’t take it. Instead, she changes the subject to Kennedy’s feelings and their relationship. The question is why? It seems that she hinges her decision on whether or not to take this pill on Kennedy’s answer. Given that the point of this meeting is in part to rescue her from her situation, it would seem odd for her not to accept help, wouldn’t it? Well, consider a couple of facts about Sophia. She does not particularly trust the institution of the Crown, as it rarely cares about her as a person. She doesn’t exactly know who Kennedy is working for, only that he has reappeared next to agents of the Crown. So even if there are no other options clearly available to her, the thought has to be going through her head: is this really the best plan? Do I really trust these people? Or am I being asked to do something that I can’t?

But this brief interaction is particularly painful to Kennedy. Sophia is right there, but he has to leave her behind again. Even though he knows this is the best option, he’s not happy about it either. He’s desperately uneasy, and that builds throughout the rest of this chapter. So when another path seems to present itself, he can’t resist hopping onto it.

Finding the secret code links several elements throughout the plot. For one, I really needed Blake to have something important to do, and as the designated smart character, it made sense for him to put all this together. He will have one other very important moment in just a moment, but let’s stick with the secret code. Obviously, this ties back into Kennedy’s first interaction with the Charmies back in Chapter 2. At that time, it was an introduction to the factions of this world as well as the point that introduced Kennedy and Scarlett. Lastly, it was the reason for Kennedy and Blake’s suspension. But now we see that it was also an opportunity for a setup for this payoff.

This also ties back into one of the things Bailey adds to the story. Remember, while she was initially conceived of to be a red herring, she’s got a lot more to do. Her attachment to PF9 and the Charmies led her to leave behind this message, which compromised Anarakia’s plans. This gives Kennedy his greatest temptation.

Kennedy is forced to wait while Sophia is in the hands of Sainne. The person he loves the most in the hands of the person he hates the most. He has enough knowledge to act, but instead he has to wait. To endure. And in situations like this, Kennedy doesn’t sit around. This is encapsulated in his last dream – a version of the dream from Chapter One, but now it’s symbolic much more than literal.

And this is where Blake comes back into our breakdown. Blake, who always stands by Kennedy, who ran away with him, who ran into a fight to help him (despite not knowing how to), tells him this is a bad idea. He’s followed him this far, but he can’t follow him further. This is effectively laying out that this is a bad idea on a level Kennedy can’t dismiss or ignore. This isn’t Time Peace, or Randy, or even David telling him not to do this. This is a trusted source. Kennedy has no excuse now. He knows running after Sophia is a bad idea, but he still desperately wants to.

Chapter Thirteen is about bringing everything to a single choice for Kennedy. To stay and endure the wait, or to run off again. Yes into danger, yes against all odds, but against all reason. To risk it all. Now, to be sure, staying and waiting isn’t guaranteed to have everything work out. But it’s got a lot better odds. But that’s not what it’s about to Kennedy. It’s not the odds, despite what he might tell everyone else or even himself. It’s about whether or not he can do something.

This is the moment he is tested, and the rest of the book will be the results of this single decision on his part. So join me again next week where we see just how well he manages with the consequences of this choice in Chapter Fourteen: Return to Crucible Cove.

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