[ Sunday, August 01, 2004 ]
(The synposes continue...)
The Paradox Kid
Book Nine: Fantastic Voyage
Chapter One: Within You
Gabriel is aboard a pirate ship. Its captain is a physicist from the 21st century who harnessed stellar radiation that allows him to shrink to miniature size. The vessel is sailing for the Isles of Langerhans. Gabriel is somehow inside his own body, seeking the infection that is killing him. They are attacked by other doppelganger micronauts, and Gabriel’s shirt is torn, revealing that he has no OmniChron in his chest.
Chapter Two: Wild is the Wind
Gabriel discovers that he is not who he thought he was, that he is merely another of the doppelgangers under the mistaken impression that he was the hero of the tale. (“We are all the heroes of our own stories, are we not?”) They set course for the crystal city, the pulsing heart of this interior world. There they find Father waiting for them. He tells the story of the OmniChron and explains the Methuselah Syndrome. He tells the doppelganger that it is too late. Gabriel is dead.
Chapter Three: Red Sails
We start with Gabriel’s body lying dead; he watches from the exterior, holding the hand of Lady Grinning Soul, as doppelgangers arrive and take him back to Crux and Lady Gabrielle, who has become a wrinkled crone. She attempts to remove the OmniChron, which appears to have gone inert at his passing. She fails each time. He continues to observe her, as well as the reactions of her dwindling numbers of men. He learns that Father is, indeed, long dead now, and he relents at last, going with the Duke’s sister into the afterlife.
Interlude: New Angels of Promise
A photograph in the museum leads Father to tell the story of Gabriel’s mother. He will tell this story only once, so listen closely. He will not stop until he’s through it from end to end. He will not revisit details or answer questions.
Unknown [9:38 PM]
