Plot Summary - Sirens of Titan

Sirens of Titan tells the story of the wide-ranging journey of Malachi Constant, the wealthiest man on Earth, from Earth to Mars to Mercury, back to Earth, and finally to Titan, a moon of Saturn. Along the way, Constant is seemingly mani ulated and controlled by !inston Miles "umfoord, an American aristocrat whose e#istence has been scattered across time and s ace after flying into a war ed region of the solar system while on a s ace flight to Mars. "umfoord builds u a small ci$ili%ation on Mars and leads it into a suicidal mission to take o$er Earth as a relude to introducing a new religion on Earth that teaches that &od is com letely indifferent to the welfare of humankind. 'e uses Constant as a symbolic figure in this faith, and humiliates his erstwhile wife, (eatrice, in a grand s ectacle during which the two of them are e#iled on Titan along with their son, Chrono. )nce on Titan, they learn from an e#traterrestrial called Salo that e$en "umfoord has been mani ulated in a much larger scheme with the seemingly small ur ose of ro$iding Salo with a missing art for his s ace shi . !inston *iles "umfoord, after ha$ing flown his ri$ate s ace shi into something called a chrono-synclastic infandibulum, has had his e#istence stretched out into a s iral through time and s ace. This causes him to materiali%e and demateriali%e at different laces in the solar system at regular inter$als. )ne of these laces is within his large estate in *ew ort, "hode +sland, where his wife, (eatrice "umfoord, li$es. These materiali%ations are known about by the ublic, but nobody has e$er been allowed to witness one until now. The wealthiest man in the world, the layboy Malachi Constant, has been in$ited to meet "umfoord at "umfoord,s s ecific re-uest. Constant,s meeting with "umfoord is disturbing. "umfoord, who can read minds as well as see into the ast and future, tells Constant that he and (eatrice will ha$e a child together on Mars, and that Constant will tra$el from Mars to Mercury, then back to Earth briefly before ending u on Titan. "umfoord tells Constant that there are beautiful women on Titan and gi$es him a hotogra h of three of them. Constant finds them stunning. These are the sirens of Titan. .nable to acce t "umfoord,s redictions, (eatrice and Constant do e$erything in their ower to re$ent them from coming true. +t is no use, howe$er. Constant soon loses all his wealth as his re$iously astoundingly lucky in$estment strategy fails him. Constant has been following the bi%arre method of his father, who founded the com any Magnum ) us, which has made Constant so rich. 'is father, *oel, sim ly wrote out the letters of the first sentence in the &ideon (ible in airs, then in$ested in com anies that had the same initials. . on his death, Constant continues the same method, which works for a time but leads him into ruin. /acing bankru tcy and numerous lawsuits, when two Martian recruiters offer him a osition as an officer in the Martian army which is re aring to in$ade Earth, Constant jum s at the chance. (eatrice also faces financial ruin and is forced to sell the estate. The two buyers are actually the same Martian recruiters that ha$e con$inced Constant to join them. They trick (eatrice onto their shi and lea$e for Mars. *either (eatrice nor Constant is aware the other is on board. (eatrice is ke t locked away in her room on the journey and the swaggering Constant is told only that a beautiful woman is in the room. )ne night, Constant obtains the key to the room and enters it. 'e ra es (eatrice in the dark, startled to find afterward who she is. Thus the first of "umfoord,s redictions seems to be on its way to coming true. )n Mars, each of them ha$e their memories erased and controlling antennas im lanted. Constant is now called .nk, and is a soldier in the Martian Army. 'e is forced to take art in the e#ecution of another soldier named Stony Ste$enson, who, unbeknownst to Constant, is actually his own

best friend. 'e has had his memory erased se$eral times while on Mars because he seems to be able to remember to well. (eatrice, now called (ee, has a child, a boy named Chrono. She becomes a teacher. As the Martian army is mobili%ed to in$ade Earth, Constant runs away to find (ee and Chrono. 'e does manage to find them, but is soon ca tured by the military olice and taken to the s aceshi that is to carry him and another soldier named (oa% to the fighting on Earth. As they are about to take off, "umfoord re$eals himself to them. +t is learned that "umfoord is the mastermind behind the in$asion. 'e tells Constant the story of how he came to be on Mars and the circumstances of (ee,s regnancy and Chrono,s birth. Constant, whose memory has been erased, does not reali%e that the story is about himself. The Martian in$asion is a joke. The forces are scattered o$er the globe and they are woefully under armed. They are slaughtered by the Earthlings, who begin to feel shameful for what they ha$e done. +nto this culture of shame, "umfoord introduces his new religion. Meanwhile on Mars, the shi takes off carrying only (oa% and Constant and a large su ly of ro$isions. +t has not been rogrammed to go to Earth, howe$er. +nstead it deli$ers them to the dee ca$es of Mercury, where they li$e in isolation for three years until Constant disco$ers the secret to tricking the shi ,s na$igation system into flying him out of the ca$es. (oa% chooses to stay behind on Mercury, ha$ing found ur ose in caring for the sim le creatures that li$e in the ca$es. Constant,s shi returns him to Earth. 'e finds that he is e# ected. !hile he was in the ca$es in Mercury, "umfoord has built u his new religion on Earth, one that teaches that &od is indifferent to the fate of humankind, and that luck is not an actual force of nature or the hand of &od. The religion also makes a negati$e e#am le of Malachi Constant as a symbol of someone who imagined he had good luck and did nothing good with his fortune. "umfoord has ro hesied the return of Constant to Earth, calling him the S ace !anderer. Constant lands in a churchyard and is immediately hailed as the romised S ace !anderer. 'e is carried to the "umfoord estate just as "umfoord is about to materiali%e again. "umfoord has re ared a grand s ectacle for the S ace !anderer and huge crowds await his arri$al. )utside the estate, (ee and Chrono ha$e become sou$enir sellers catering to the religious crowd. "umfoord brings Constant, (ee and Chrono together before the crowd and humiliates them re$ealing to all their true identities. 'e immediately instructs them to enter a s acecraft on a high column at the estate which will e#ile them, which they do. (efore they go, "umfoord deals one final blow to Constant by telling him the truth about the e#ecution of Stony Ste$enson, who Constant had ho ed was still ali$e somewhere. +t was Constant himself who killed Stony, "umfoord tells him. The three of them are flown in the shi to Titan, an inhabitable moon of Saturn. There they meet "umfoord again, who is ermanently materiali%ed on Titan, where he has built a alace on a large sea. Titan is also inhabited by a creature named Salo, a machine whose shi has been marooned there for 011,111 years. "umfoord re$eals to them that all of human history has been directed by Salo,s eo le on the lanet Tralfamadore, who are able to cast their influence across $ast distances. The rimary ur ose of this direction is to roduce a single, small metal re lacement art for Salo,s s ace shi . This art has now been deli$ered. +t is in the form of Chrono,s good luck iece, a smooth scra of metal he icked u as a child on Mars.

"umfoord then disa ears, the center of his e#istence ha$ing mo$ed on to a different lace in the uni$erse. Salo, who has come to lo$e "umfoord, dismantles himself in sorrow. (eatrice mo$es into the alace, s ending her last days writing. Chrono takes to the woods of Titan, going to li$e with the giant Titanic bluebirds that soar in the skies. There are no other humans on Titan. The beautiful women in the icture "umfoord ga$e Constant at the beginning of the story turn out to be scul tures made by Salo as he whiled away the millennia waiting for the re lacement art. Constant li$es eacefully on the land, occasionally $isiting (eatrice in the alace. 'e reassembles Salo, who uses the re lacement art to re air his shi . !hen (eatrice finally dies, Salo offers to return Constant to Earth. Constant acce ts. Salo takes him to a bus sto in +ndiana olis on a cold winter night. (efore letting him go, Salo hy noti%es Constant so that when he is about to die he will imagine he is reunited with his friend Stony. Constant sits down in the bus sto and ne$er gets u again. 'e free%es to death, but before he dies, he sees Stony coming to take him to aradise.

Between Timid and Timbuktu Summary

Sirens of Titan tells the story of the wide-ranging journey of Malachi Constant, the wealthiest man on Earth, from Earth to Mars to Mercury, back to Earth, and finally to Titan, a moon of Saturn. Along the way, Constant is seemingly mani ulated and controlled by !inston Miles "umfoord, an American aristocrat whose e#istence has been scattered across time and s ace after flying into a war ed region of the solar system while on a s ace flight to Mars. "umfoord builds u a small ci$ili%ation on Mars and leads it into a suicidal mission to take o$er Earth as a relude to introducing a new religion on Earth that teaches that &od is com letely indifferent to the welfare of humankind. 'e uses Constant as a symbolic figure in this faith, and humiliates his erstwhile wife, (eatrice, in a grand s ectacle during which the two of them are e#iled on Titan along with their son, Chrono. )nce on Titan, they learn from an e#traterrestrial called Salo that e$en "umfoord has been mani ulated in a much larger scheme with the seemingly small ur ose of ro$iding Salo with a missing art for his s ace shi . The narrator introduces the story by looking back at the e$ents that he will describe. The time he is describing is said to be the eriod called the 2*ightmare Ages2, 2between the Second !orld !ar and the Third &reat 3e ression2 4 . 56. A crowd has gathered outside the high walls surrounding the "umfoord Estate in *ew ort, "hode +sland. They ha$e gathered because there is to be a 2materiali%ation2. The materiali%ations ha$e been taking lace for nine years, on a recise schedule. !inston *iles "umfoord and his dog, 7a%ak, materiali%e inside the estate at these inter$als, witnessed only by Mrs. (eatrice "umfoord and her ser$ants. /ollowing each materiali%ation, Mrs. "umfoord osts a notice outside the high walls affirming that the materiali%ation took lace, but gi$ing no details. 3es ite numerous entreaties, nobody has e$er been allowed to enter the estate to witness one of these materiali%ations. A few minutes before the materiali%ation is to take lace, the olice guarding the walls tell the crowd that it already has taken lace outside the walls and a few blocks away. This sends the crowd running off, and is meant to clear the way for a limousine, which is a roaching the tiny single door in the wall.

The limousine ulls u and Malachi Constant, the richest man in the country, ste s out, wearing a disguise. 'e has been in$ited, at the e# ress wish of !inston "umfoord, to witness the materiali%ation. 'ere the narrator inserts a short account of the cause of these materiali%ations. !hile flying his ersonal s aceshi to Mars, "umfoord, along with his dog, flew his craft into something called a chrono-synclastic infundibulum, a ty e of war region of s ace. +t scattered their e#istence across both time and s ace. E$er since, "umfoord and his dog ha$e materiali%ed in different arts of the solar system at regular inter$als. E#isting outside of time and s ace, "umfoord can now see into the ast and the future and can read minds. Constant lets himself into the estate using the key furnished with his in$itation. The in$itation, sent by (eatrice, had said that "umfoord knew Constant well, ha$ing met him on Titan. Constant has ne$er been to Titan or met "umfoord before. 'e finds the grounds o$ergrown, with just one mown ath toward the large house. 'e follows the ath until it forks to go around a large, dry fountain. "ather than choose a ath, Constant climbs o$er the fountain itself. 'e is let into the house by an elderly butler and is greeted by "umfoord. Constant, who u to now has always felt su erior to anyone he has met, for the first time feels inferior to someone. 'e begins to feel anicky and tries to assure himself of his own greatness. "umfoord informs him that he can read his mind. "umfoord leads Constant through the house. They ass a large ortrait of a girl dressed in white standing with a white ony. "umfoord e# lains it is a ortrait of his wife as a girl. "umfoord takes him to a tiny sitting room with just two chairs. They are seated. "umfoord tells Constant that his wife has not been to see him since the first time he materiali%ed. After he had told her something about the future, she had become $ery u set. "umfoord says she became u set when he told her that she and Constant were going to be married on Mars and ha$e a child. Constant has ne$er met Mrs. "umfoord and has ne$er been to Mars. The narration auses here for a further descri tion of the aristocratic "umfoord com ared with the similarly wealthy but relati$ely classless Constant. Constant is unsure how to res ond to "umfoord,s announcement about his future. "umfoord continues, saying that Mars is not the only lace he will $isit. 'e will $isit Mars, Mercury, and then Earth again before e$entually ending u on Titan. Again, the narration digresses and describes the status of s ace flight at the time of the e$ents. )nce the chrono-synclastic infundibula were disco$ered, attem ts to send men into s ace had sto ed abru tly. The last s acecraft built was one called The !hale, built by a com any owned by Constant. The disco$ery of the chrono-synclastic infundibula has gi$en rise to a series of religious mo$ements that imagine them as &od,s way of humbling humankind, com aring the gras ing for s ace to the story of the tower of (abel.

"eturning to the con$ersation between the two men, Constant asks why he will be tra$eling to all these laces in order to get to Titan. "umfoord does not answer him directly, but assures him he will be going. 'e tells Constant that the most beautiful women in the world li$e on Titan. 'e gi$es Constant a hotogra h of three e#tremely beautiful women. Constant is stunned. "umfoord continues and tells Constance that he and (eatrice will ha$e a son, named Chrono. Constant is confused an unsure. /inally, "umfoord tells him that his son, Chrono, will ick u a small iece of metal on Mars and kee it as a good luck iece. This iece of metal is $ery im ortant, "umfoord tells him. As he is talking, "umfoord begins to gradually $anish, starting at his fingerti s and ending at his grin. 2See you on Titan,2 the grin says to Constant 4 . 896. After "umfoord disa ears, Constant meets (eatrice "umfoord on his way out, although she tries to a$oid him. She informs "umfoord that her husband,s $isits make her 2ill2, and that she considers him to be insane because of his im robable redictions. Constant mentions that it is erha s not so im robable to redict that he would tra$el through s ace, since he owns a large s acecraft. (eatrice is startled by this news. Constant uts his disguise back on and lea$es the estate. )utside, eo le wanting to know what he has seen and what "umfoord has told him mob his limousine. The limousine mo$es through the crowd and rushes off.

Between Timid and Timbuktu Analysis

:onnegut begins the book with a rather long cha ter that ro$ides a great deal of information about the u coming story. +ndeed, "umfoord re$eals nearly the entire lot to Constant in the form of a rediction. :onnegut sets u a central theme of irony that will run through the entire book by indicating that the characters of (eatrice and Constant will be trying hard to a$oid li$ing out the lot that "umfoord has re$ealed to them. They will, of course, e$entually ha$e the e#act e# erience s that "umfoord describes. :onnegut refers to the traditional meaning of Constant,s first name, Malachi. The name means 2faithful messenger2, and it is suggested that Constant will fulfill this namesake in some way. !hen he mentions his name,s meaning to "umfoord, "umfoord is astonished to hear him refer to a message and -ui%%es him on it briefly. "umfoord is undoubtedly thinking of the message carried by Salo, the e#traterrestrial introduced later in the story. Constant,s destiny and indeed the history and destiny of all humans are related to this message. :onnegut also includes a caricature of organi%ed e$angelical religion in the first cha ter. ;ater, "umfoord will e# loit the society,s hunger for such religions to mani ulate 4or fulfill6 Constant,s destiny.

Cheers in the Wirehouse Summary

Constant rushes away from the crowd in the limousine to a helico ter. )n the way, he recounts to himself the redictions that "umfoord made. The entire e# erience, which had seemed like a dream, now hits home and he breaks out in a sweat. To this oint, Constant had always held a $ague belief that his tremendous luck in growing e#ceedingly wealthy had been because somebody 2u there2 was watching out for him. 'e now begins to actually wonder if his life is being watched and actually controlled by some unseen force.

/ifty-nine days later, "umfoord and 7a%ak materiali%e at the "umfoord estate again. +n the meantime, (eatrice and Constant ha$e done e$erything they can think of to a$oid the outcome redicted by "umfoord at his re$ious $isit. Constant has sold all his interest in the com any that owns The !hale s acecraft and urchased a com any called MoonMist Tobacco instead. (eatrice, on the other hand, made a large in$estment in the com any that owns The !hale so that she might ha$e control o$er its use. Constant begins sending crude, offensi$e letters to (eatrice meant to forestall any romantic in$ol$ement. (eatrice takes to carrying a cyanide ca sule should she e$er find herself in close ro#imity to Constant. The stock market has crashed since "umfoord,s last materiali%ation, wi ing out (eatrice,s fortune. Constant, a few days after returning to his home in 'ollywood following his meeting with "umfoord, threw an enormous arty that is only now ending, o$er fifty days later. A man named 7oradubian has written a book claiming that he has s oken with "umfoord and learned the secrets of the future out to the year Ten Million A.3. "umfoord amused by the hoa# book as he reads it in his study at the "umfoord Estate during his resent materiali%ation. (eatrice is with him, and she is furious. Meanwhile, in California, Constant awakes from a drunken slee to the sound of a ersistently ringing tele hone. 'e sits u and listens as a woman he does not recogni%e answers the hone. She tells Constant that the caller is "ansom 7. /ern, the resident of his com any, Magnum ) us. Constant tells her to say he will call /ern back, but the woman relays that /ern says he is -uitting because Constant is broke. +n *ew ort, (eatrice is outraged that "umfoord did not warn her of her im ending financial disaster. "umfoord e# lains that his not telling her was as much of the fabric of history as the e$ent itself. 'e does not control the future, he says, he can only see it. +t is like a roller coaster that he knows the sha e of, but cannot get off. 'e confirms to her that Constant is art of her destiny. (eatrice insists on knowing how they will come to be sent to Mars together, ho ing to a$oid it if ossible. "umfoord tells her that the <resident of the .nited States will shortly announce a new age of s ace e# loration. (eatrice and Constant will both be resent at a re-christening of The !hale, which will be fired off mistakenly with them aboard. The narrator interjects at this oint to say that "umfoord is lying. <art of what he says is true, howe$er. The <resident does announce a new age of s ace e# loration. <art of his s eech is inserted in the te#t. Constant hangs u the hone with /ern and turns to the woman at his home. 'e does not recogni%e her. 'e asks where e$eryone has gone. 'e has no recollection of the ast se$eral days. The woman tells him he threw e$eryone out after a long crying fit during which he had bemoaned his unha y childhood. 'e ga$e e$ery woman at the arty an oil well, the woman tells him, then threw e$eryone out but her. Then they flew to Me#ico, got married, and returned home. The woman is alarmed to learn that Constant is now broke, and threatens to ha$e her boyfriend kill him if he doesn,t take care of her. (ack in *ew ort, (eatrice is indignant. She tells "umfoord she refuses to ride the 2roller coaster2 he describes. "umfoord tries to comfort her by telling her that des ite her distaste for his redictions, she will actually be -uite ha y in the end. As he s eaks to here, he begins to

demateriali%e. 'e asks her to imagine the kind of roller coaster he himself is on, and romises to e# lain to her on Titan how he has been used and why. 7a%ak comes running into the house, and as he tries to run across the smooth floor, both he and "umfoord disa ear.

Cheers in the Wirehouse Analysis

:onnegut,s small joke on the reader begins in this cha ter as (eatrice and Constant try to outwit their destiny by mo$ing in what they imagine is the o osite direction. )f course their 2destiny2 is controlled entirely by the author, so the characters truly are, in a way, struggling against an unseen force that controls their fictional li$es. The mechanics of (eatrice and Constant,s downfalls are set in motion as well, which will ultimately lead to their coming together on their way to Mars. The e$ents in this cha ter take lace simultaneously, which :onnegut indicates using a back-andforth techni-ue of inters ersing the action. 3ealing as it does with the nature of time, s ace, and the connection of seemingly dis arate e$ents, that the crucial turns for the characters in the story occur at the same moment in time a ear significant. As the story lays out, it becomes clear that the li$es of not only (eatrice and Constant are being controlled, but the entirety of humankind is being controlled toward a definite ur ose. "umfoord hints at the e#istence of this ur ose in his final words to (eatrice before disa earing. 'e also suggests that the ur ose is 2disgustingly altry2 4 . =>6.

United Hotcake Preferred Summary

The head-uarters of Magnum ) us, +nc in ;os Angeles is described. Magnum ) us, founded by Malachi Constant,s father, *oel, occu ies the to three floors of the thirty-one story building. The others are leased out to com anies that it controls. Malachi Constant a roaches the heli ort on the roof of the building by helico ter. 'e has come to meet with "ansom 7. /ern, the resident of the com any. /ern waits in Constant,s office at the to of the building. The office has grass for a car et and le$itating furniture. /ern is a $ery thin man, dressed all in black. 'e is wearing his coat and hat. 'e is standing looking out the window when Constant enters. 'e is sur rised by the floating furniture, which /ern tells him is made by a com any that Constant told him to buy. /ern is described as a watchful man who reads two books a day but is none the wiser when it comes to understanding human nature. 'e had worked for Constant,s father as well as for Constant and is described as su erior to both of them in e$ery way e#ce t one. (oth *oel and Malachi Constant seem to ha$e ama%ing luck. Constant,s luck seems to ha$e run out, howe$er. ;ooking at the floating furniture, Constant is im ressed. 'e imagines out loud that the furniture should sell well and that the com any was a sound in$estment. /ern res onds sarcastically that the furniture is $irtually useless, as it is im ossible to sit in one of the chairs without falling out, and the floating desk mo$es around the room. Ac-uiring the com any is the latest in a string of oor decisions made by Constant that ha$e led to the downfall of his com any. /ern informs him that all the em loyees ha$e been let go, and that he and Constant are the only two left in the building. The com any is com letely wi ed out.

The narrator embarks on a history of the com any Magnum ) us. +t is started by *oel Constant, a tra$eling cookware salesman from Massachusetts. )ne day, while staying in a tiny hotel room in ;os Angeles, *oel Constant decides to begin s eculating in the stock market. /or his initial ca ital, he has some ?@,111 in an inheritance from his father. !ithin a year, he has made a fortune of o$er a million dollars. 'is in$estment techni-ue is sim le. 'e takes a co y of the &ideon (ible left in his room and writes out the first sentence in two-letter airs, such as +.*., T.'., E.(., E.&., +.*., *.+., *.&., and so on. Then he looks for com anies with these initials and buys stock in them. The first stock he buys is +nternational *itrate. Somehow this method results in *oel Constant buying stocks just as they are about to skyrocket. )ther in$estors imagine he must ha$e a network of industrial s ies, not imagining that he is sim ly relying on luck. *oel Constant seldom lea$es his small hotel room. 'is only $isitor is a maid he ays to s end the night with him occasionally. After two years of in$esting, *oel Constant is $ery rich. )ne day he recei$es a $isit from a man from the +"S. +t is "ansom 7. /ern. /ern announces that he has -uit his job with the +nternal "e$enue Ser$ice and intends to work for Constant. /ern ascertains that Constant knows nothing about the com anies he buys, but cannot determine how Constant makes such shrewd decisions. /ern con$inces him that he could make e$en more money taking /ern,s ad$ice and building a large cor orate bureaucracy that will rotect his in$estments from too much scrutiny. Constant agrees, and allows /ern to build the large Magnum ) us head-uarters. 'e himself refuses to lea$e the small hotel room. The narrator refers to two books on the subject of the rise of Magnum ) us. 'e relates how the maid that Constant aid to stay with him became regnant, after which *oel married her, ga$e her a mansion and a million dollars, and asked her to continue to $isit him but not to bring the child. The child is Malachi Constant. *oel Constant re$eals his in$estment techni-ue to nobody e#ce t Malachi, on the occasion of his twenty-first birthday. +n$iting Malachi to his hotel room, he tells him that when he dies and Malachi takes o$er, he is to look at a chronological list of his recent in$estments and determine where in the (ible to start u again. Their meeting is awkward, as it is the only time father and son ha$e e$er met. Malachi Constant takes o$er the business and continues with the same success for fi$e years before the current downfall. Constant is still incredulous that e$erything is gone. /ern tells him that indeed, e$erything is gone. /urthermore, MoonMist Cigarettes, one of his recent ac-uisitions, ha$e been found to cause sterility and Constant is facing the ossibility of numerous lawsuits. /ern tells Constant that he is lea$ing, but that he has one more duty to erform. 'e has a letter written by Constant,s father that he was instructed to gi$e to Malachi if his luck should e$er go bad. 'e has laced the letter under the illow of the bed in the small hotel room where his father li$ed until his death, according to his father,s instructions. The hotel room is in the !ilburham ton 'otel, across the street from the Magnum ) us building. +n the lounge of the !ilburham ton two slightly strange eo le sit at the bar, trying different drinks and checking their watches regularly. They ha$e introduced themsel$es to the bartender as retired schoolteachers, a man and a woman named &eorge M. 'elmholt% and "oberta !iley. +n fact, they are both men in disguise. They are actually Martian army o erati$es, lying in wait for Constant as their s acecraft ho$ers high abo$e.

Constant enters the hotel and is noted by the two Martian agents, one of whom resses a button on his watch, starting a timer. The agents ha$e no intention of using force to take him to Mars. They are usually able to con$ince their recruits into coming with them by e# laining that their hel is needed in a 2go$ernment roject2. They ha$e ressed thousands of eo le from Earth into ser$ice on Mars. )nce on Mars, the new recruits, memories are usually erased and radio antennas installed in their heads to control them. Those who show the right tem erament and loyalty to Mars do not ha$e the antennas im lanted. The two agents in the bar are two of these ty es. Constant makes his way to the small room that had been his father,s and finds the letter. +n it, his father leads with him to try to find out if there has been any reason for his incredible luck or if it was actually just as random and 2cra%y2 as it a eared to him. 'e also gi$es the ad$ice to Constant that if he is broke and someone comes along with a cra%y ro osition, that he should take it. +t is just as he finishes the letter that 'elmholt% and !iley enter the room. 'elmholt% announces that Mars is inhabited and has a large city and army, and that they are offering Constant a osition as a lieutenant colonel in the Martian army. The ne#t day, Malachi Constant,s helico ter is found crashed in the desert, with no sign of Constant. A few days later, (eatrice "umfoord sits in her home in *ew ort watching on tele$ision the ceremonies before the firing of the s acecraft The !hale, which has been re-christened The "umfoord. She sits smugly, assured that she has ro$en her husband,s rediction wrong. She is also smug because she has come u with a scheme to kee herself afloat financially by selling tickets to her husband,s materiali%ations. She sits with two of the mortgage holders of the estate, watching the launch of the s aceshi . The two mortgage holders are actually 'elmholt% and !iley. 'elmholt% asks (eatrice to tell them about the outbuildings of the estate, which she begins to do. 'elmholt% asks her about the new metal building, which u%%les (eatrice. There is no new metal building, she tells them, but they insist there is. !iley whis ers that to her that it looked like a flying saucer.

United Hotcake Preferred Analysis

The first ste in Constant and (eatrice,s arallel journey is taken in this cha ter when they are ca tured by the Martians. (eatrice is ca tured by being fooled, while Constant, after ha$ing read the ad$ice of his father, is taking a wild chance, his des eration fueled by his financial downfall. *oel Constant,s unusual in$estment techni-ue is re$ealed. (y following the letters of the (ible, he becomes ama%ingly rich. (y following the same techni-ue, his son continues to grow wealthy, but then his 2luck2 changes. !hen the real ur ose of the history of mankind is re$ealed at the end of the story, it becomes clear that *oel Constant,s rise to wealth is art of a larger lan, suggesting that as he sus ected, there was more to his success than just luck. The first sentences of the (ible are actually like a rogram that he was always intended to follow, raising the ossibility that the rise of Christianity itself has been nothing more than a lead-u to Constant,s fortune. :onnegut uses a techni-ue in this cha ter that he will return to in following cha ters. 'e has characters rea ear without immediately identifying them to the reader. +n this case, it is the Martian agents 'elmholt% and !iley, who are first introduced as themsel$es at the !ilburham ton 'otel and then later rea ear as the 2mortgage-holders2 of the "umfoord estate. :onnegut sur rises the reader by re$ealing that they are the same agents that ca tured Constant.

+n the ne#t cha ter, :onnegut introduces the character of .nk, who is soon identified as Constant.

Tent Rentals Summary

A di$ision of the Martian +nfantry is marching to the sounds of a snare drum broadcast directly into their brains $ia im lanted antennas. )ne of them is a well-built but slow soldier named .nk. They form a s-uare around a red-haired soldier who has been chained to a stake. They march in unison, come to attention in unison, and stand at ease in unison, all controlled by the antennas in their heads. The man at the stake is looking for .nk, but cannot see his face in the crowd of soldiers. .nk does not recogni%e the man, howe$er. 'e has just come from the hos ital where his memory has been erased. 'e has been retrained and told he is an e#cellent soldier. 'is antenna has been e# lained to him. +t will gi$e him a shot of ain whene$er he is doing or thinking something wrong. 'is mind goes blank as the antenna brings him to attention and makes him shoulder his rifle. .nk begins to think in between these actions. The moon and the sky seem wrong to him, although he cannot think why. .nk,s latoon leader, Sergeant (rackman, comes u to .nk and orders him to go u to the man at the stake and strangle him until he is dead. 'a$ing been told to always obey a direct order or suffer the e#treme ain induced by the antenna, .nk does what he is told. .nk hesitates as he reaches the man. 'e feels a small tinge of ain from the antenna and uts his hands to the man,s throat. The man is being forced to kee silent by the antenna in his own head, but he willfully manages to say a few words to .nk. 2(lue stone,2 he says. 2(arrack twel$e . . . letter,2 he gas s 4 . A1>6. The ain wells again in .nk,s brain, and he strangles the man to death. 'e then turns about and marches back to his lace, to the a ro$al of his sergeant. Then e$eryone marches away in unison, 2like marionettes2.

Tent Rentals Analysis

This short but dramatic cha ter introduces Constant,s new identity, 2.nk2. 'ow he came to this oint will be re$ealed later in the story. The sinister controlling antennas are first described in this cha ter in an ironic twist on the o ular notion of Martians with antennas on their heads. The man at the stake is later learned to be Stony Ste$enson, Constant,s best friend on Mars. Through mind control and memory erasure, Constant is unaware that he is strangling his friend and later is unaware that he has e$en killed anyone. This fact is known by "umfoord, howe$er, who will use it to shock Constant at a key moment.

etter from an Unknown Hero Summary

.nk,s unit marches back to its barracks. /lying outside the barracks is the .S flag. )ther nations, flags fly outside other barracks, signifying the countries that each unit will attack and con-uer in the u coming in$asion of Earth.

.nk,s antenna lets him rela#, and he notices the number on his barracks building. The words of the man he has just killed come back to him, about barrack twel$e and a blue stone. )nce inside his barracks, .nk sets about cleaning his rifle, which he finds he still knows how to do, and which he enjoys. 'is rifle is a &erman Mauser, from around the time of the S anish American !ar. .nk,s s-uad mates also sit -uietly, cleaning their guns. *obody s eaks about the e#ecution. As he works, .nk daydreams about a warm lace with only one slow-mo$ing moon. A $ision of three beautiful women enters his mind. )ne of them is holding a cigarette, and .nk finds he knows the brand of the cigaretteB MoonMist. 2Sell MoonMist2, he says out loud, without knowing why. This attracts the attention of the soldier ne#t to him, <ri$ate (oa%. (oa% asks .nk what he had said. (oa% looks out of lace among the other soldiers. Although he is only a ri$ate, his uniform is nicer and better tailored than the others. 'e again asks .nk what he said. .nk re eats himself, still not knowing why. (oa% is ersistent and -ui%%es .nk on what he means. (oa% asks .nk if he can remember him. .nk has a nagging feeling that he might know something about (oa%, but cannot recall it. (oa% informs him that the two of them are friends and training artners. .nk has had this memory erased during his recent $isit to the hos ital. (oa% encourages him to try to remember e$erything he can from before the $isit. Then .nk,s head is filled with s litting ain. 'e blacks out. !hen he awakes, (oa% is wi ing his forehead and the other soldiers are looking at him as if he has done something stu id. Sergeant (rackman arri$es and asks what has ha ened. (oa% e# lains that he was trying to get .nk to remember, and (rackman chastises .nk for it. Then (rackman turns to (oa%. .nk gets the feeling that he should watch their interaction. (rackman tells (oa% he should not ha$e been teasing .nk that way, and gi$es him a week,s latrine duty. (oa% asks if he really means to gi$e him a full week, and .nk notices a twinge of ain lay on (rackman,s face. (rackman reduces the unishment to a day, but he shows he has recei$ed a ain shock again. 'e tells (oa% 2ne$er mind2. The com any commander Ca tain (urch enters the barracks and (oa% calls attention. The antennas bring all the soldiers to attention e#ce t (oa%, who gets u slowly and stands with a slight leer. The ca tain a roaches (oa% to s eak to him about it, but as soon as he o ens his mouth, he recei$es a shock of ain. As (oa% watches, the ca tain does an about face and marches out of the barracks to the sound of a snare drum in his head. +t is re$ealed that (oa% is one of the true commanders of the army. 'e has no antenna in his head, and he carries a small de$ice in his ocket that can control those with antennas. Stony Ste$enson, the man strangled by .nk, had been one of the real commanders. Stony had begun to hel .nk try to remember and to think and had been e#ecuted for it, after being humiliated by ha$ing an antenna installed in his own head. (oa% kee s the other soldiers standing at attention while he gloats to himself about his freedom. 'e a roaches .nk, for whom he seems to ha$e contem t. (oa% tells the blank-minded .nk that he is relying on him to show him how to ha$e a good time once they get to Earth. (oa% does not know all the details of .nk,s life as Malachi Constant, but knows enough to imagine that he was once a $ery owerful man on Earth.

(oa% enjoys his gloating, but soon begins to brood. 'e is uncertain why he has been gi$en the ri$ilege he has, or who is in command of the real commanders. 'e returns to his bunk, stands at attention, then ushes a button on the controller and rela#es as the other men rela#. Sergeant (rackman announces a recreation eriod and the men go outside to lay a game called &erman batball. .nk sneaks off to barrack twel$e. +t is a Martian +m erial Commando barrack, and it is em ty. The commandos ha$e gone off on a mission to the Moon of Earth to make the first strike in the war against the Earth. .nk finds a blue rock behind the barrack and under it a ca sule containing a long handwritten letter. The letter is addressed to .nk. +n it are listed se$eral facts that the author has learned about .nk, such as that he is on Mars and is art of the Martian Army which will be used to in$ade Earth. The antennas are e# lained, as is the fact that (oa% has a controller that can cause ain. The writer tells .nk not to fear the ain, but to use it to tell when he is thinking or asking im ortant things. There is other information in the letter, $arious things the author has learned. .nk, ha$ing no real memory of his own, de$ours the information. The letter tells .nk that his best friend is Stony Ste$enson, who has hel ed him regain some of his memories. The letter also informs .nk that the real erson in charge of Mars is a 2big, genial, smiling, yodeling man who always had a big dog with him2 4 . A096. This man a ears about e$ery one hundred days to s eak with the real commanders. /inally, the letter says that .nk has a mate and a child. The mate,s name is (ee, and she li$es on Mars in the city of <hoebe, where she is a teacher. 'is child is named Chrono, and he is in school in <hoebe. "eaching the end of the letter, .nk turns the age to look at the signature. The letter is signed in large letters 2.*72. .nk is not aware that the man he has killed is Stony. 'e returns to the barracks and finds the other soldiers shar ening their kni$es and bayonets. The order has come that they will soon de art for the in$asion of Earth. The commando force has already started gi$ing the cities of Earth a 2taste of hell2.

etter from an Unknown Hero Analysis

The nature of the mind-controlled Martian Army is described in this cha ter. +t is re$ealed further that the ruler of the army and robably of Mars itself is !inston "umfoord, who a ears on the lanet e$ery AAA days. (oa%, who will lay a critical role in the ne#t cha ters, is introduced in this cha ter. (oa% has the closest thing to freedom that a erson on Mars can attain, it seems, yet he is still de endent on .nk in a way, who, it will be shown, is erha s the most im ortant erson on the lanet to "umfoord. .nk battles against the mind control of the ain-inflicting antenna in his head as random memories o into his mind, including the image that "umfoord ga$e him on Earth of the three beautiful women. This image seems to be a touchstone for .nk, drawing him back into his true memories and guiding him forward. "umfoord,s rediction would seem to ha$e come true in art when .nk learns from his selfaddressed letter that he has a wife and child, although .nk has forgotten the rediction after

ha$ing his memory erased. (eatrice, or (ee as she is called on Mars, will also ha$e forgotten the rediction, e# laining erha s why "umfoord told them his rediction in the first lace. The Martian in$asion will end u in catastro he in a darkly humorous fashion when the oorly organi%ed and under-armed forces try to take o$er the Earth. This is by "umfoord,s design, and a hint at this lan is gi$en when :onnegut describes the ty es of wea ons the soldiers are re aring to use. They ha$e kni$es, bayonets, and rifles from the turn of the nineteenth century. They will be battling against the nuclear wea ons of Earth.

A !eserter in Time of War Summary

.nk,s com any begins its si#-mile march to the lace where the in$asion fleet of s aceshi s will de art. Along the way, they ass through <hoebe, the sole city on Mars, which e#ists solely to ro$ide materials for the in$asion. .nk is carrying a large mortar wea on with (oa%, who marches behind him. (oa% tells .nk that he has arranged for them to fly on a two-man noncombat mother shi loaded with ro$isions like candy, soft drinks, games, and other items. 'e asks .nk if he doesn,t agree that it is a lucky assignment. .nk agrees that it is lucky as he casually dro s a li$e grenade into a sewer as they ass. The grenade e# lodes, sending all the soldiers flying to the ground. (oa% lifts his head and sees that all is clear, and uses his control to make the other soldiers in his com any stand u again. 'e disco$ers that .nk has disa eared. 'e has run off to find his wife and son. 'ere the narration e# osits on se$eral as ects of the story that will su ort the following e$ents. Chrono, it is e# lained, is eight years old. 'e is named after the name of the Martian month in which he was born. There are twenty-one months in the Martian calendar, twel$e the same as those on Earth, with the months !inston, *iles, "umfoord, 7a%ak, *ew ort, Chrono, Synclastic, +nfundibulum and Salo added. The month of Salo, it is e# lained, is named after a creature from another gala#y that "umfoord knew from Titan. Salo had been forced to land on Titan while carrying a message from his home lanet and was waiting for a re lacement art. 'e has been waiting for the art for two hundred thousand years. Salo,s s aceshi , the narrator says, is owered by something called the .ni$ersal !ill To (ecome, or .!T( for short. This is also the force owering the industry on Mars. This force can create being from nothingness. .nk,s son, Chrono, is an e#cellent &erman batball layer. The game is something like baseball, and a great im ortance is laced on the game. Chrono is called to bat at his school layground as .nk watches, crouched behind a large boulder. The children and teachers a ear terrified of Chrono as he re ares to strike the ball. Chrono hits the ball into the field. The other children make a show of running after it and trying to get him out, but they do not really try. They are beda%%led by Chrono, and find glory themsel$es in glorifying him. Chrono slides into home late and kisses his good luck iece. The good luck iece is a small iece of metal stra with two holes in it. Chrono icked it u from a factory floor on a field tri the children took. 'e kee s it with him constantly.

.nk ulls all his insignia off his uniform and walks with authority into the schoolyard. Marching u to the teacher, he tells her he must inter$iew Chrono on official business. The teacher is fooled, and allows him to use her own office. Chrono is resistant and hostile. .nk tells him he is his father, but Chrono is unmo$ed. .nk tells him he intends to take him away with him, away from Mars. Chrono tells him to 2go to hell2. This hurts .nk. 'e is troubled by memories of his own childhood imagining his absent father. 'e begins to cry, and Chrono runs out of the room. (ee is an instructor in something called Schliemann (reathing. This is a techni-ue for sur$i$ing in oisonous atmos heres. +nhabitants must take a kind of ill, o ularly called a 2goofball2, and also lug their noses and ears and kee their mouths shut. (ee has been to the hos ital recently after showing her su er$isor a oem she had written. She has had her memory erased. (ee is instructing a grou of new recruits in the breathing techni-ue when .nk knocks at the door of her classroom. 'e says he has a message for her. 'e whis ers the message to her, that he is the father of Chrono, and that he intends to find a way for the three of them and his friend to esca e from Mars. :oices are heard from the hallway of eo le looking for .nk. 'anding (ee a grenade, .nk asks her to hide it for him, then takes his lace among the recruits, retending to be another student. (ee calmly returns to her desk. She looks at .nk as he turns blue green from holding his breath. She does not doubt that he is Chrono,s father, but finds no significance in the fact. She daydreams about a little girl dressed all in white. She wonders who the little girl is. .nk colla ses. .nk wakes u in a bunk on a s ace shi . The door to the shi is o en, and he sees he is still on the ground. )utside, he sees rows and rows of other shi s taking off in wa$es. .nk hears a dog barking. The large dog runs u to the o en door and growls at .nk. +t is 7a%ak. "umfoord a roaches behind the dog. "umfoord asks in a friendly $oice if .nk recogni%es him. .nk guesses that the friendly man might be Stony. "umfoord laughs at this and says he wishes he were. The rest of .nk,s regiment takes off in their shi s, lea$ing him behind. .nk asks the man,s name, but "umfoord tells him that names do not matter. "umfoord tells .nk a story. 'e says it is a sad lo$e story. +t is about a man who $olunteers for the Army of Mars and is on his way to the lanet in a s aceshi . 'e has been gi$en a command osition, and is enjoying himself bossing the other recruits around. 'e has the run of the shi e#ce t for one locked room, which he is told holds the most beautiful woman e$er to be brought to Mars. Any man who sees her is sure to fall in lo$e with her, he is told, which would be unsuitable for an officer in the army. The man tries to im ress the others by bragging about his romantic con-uests, but this causes them to lose res ect for him. 'e decides to regain their res ect by con-uering the woman in the locked room. )ne night during a drinking arty, someone sli s the man the key to the room. 3runk, he enters and has se# with the terrified and artly sedated woman in the darkness. Afterward, he feels terrible, "umfoord says. 'e turns on the light and disco$ers it is a woman he knows, a woman that someone once told him he would ha$e a child with.

)nce on Mars, the man learns that he is about to ha$e his memory erased. +n re aration, he writes himself a letter about all the things he does not want to forget. 'e writes about the woman, "umfoord tells him. Afterward, he tries to win her lo$e, but she has no recollection of him. 'e tries se$eral times, but is constantly taken back to ha$e his memory erased, as is the woman. "umfoord tells him that this man is the only man on Mars to e$er write a hiloso hy, and the woman is the only one to e$er write a oem. (oa% a roaches the shi . 'e has been out looking for .nk and is concerned that the rest of the regiment has already gone. "umfoord directs him to get into the shi and oints out the single 2)*2 button that will start its journey. Cust before shutting the door of the craft, "umfoord adds an e ilogue to the story he has told .nk. 'e tells him that the woman on the s ace shi had been married for many years, but that she was still a $irgin. 'e asks .nk if he doesn,t agree that it was a retty good joke on her husband.

A !eserter in Time of War Analysis

The characters of (ee, who is actually (eatrice "umfoord, and Chrono, her son with Constant, are introduced in this cha ter. Constant dis lays the a arent inde endence that has made him a disci line roblem. )f course once it is learned later in the story that all of the actions of not only Constant but also "umfoord and e$ery other erson in history ha$e been dictated toward a s ecific ur ose, the -uestion of Constant,s inde endence becomes roblematic. +n a scene that arallels Constant,s first meeting with his own father, Constant meets with his son, Chrono, for the first time. The roles are re$ersed, howe$er, as it is now the son who wants little to do with the father, and the father who yearns to connect. "umfoord fills the ga in Constant,s memory for the reader, but Constant is still seemingly unaware that the story "umfoord tells him is about himself. "umfoord lets sli a remark that the Martian Army is about to be the first e$er to die for a good cause. The remark catches (oa%,s attention, but he does not know what to make of it. +t is another foreshadowing of the intentionally disastrous in$asion scheme. :onnegut,s ironic humor is dis layed in the image of a com licated inter lanetary 2flying saucer2 that has only one large 2)*2 button.

"ictory Summary
/or the descri tion of the Martian in$asion of Earth, the narrator now refers to the imaginary <ocket 'istory of Mars by !inston *iles "umfoord. The se$erely under-armed Martian Army is massacred when it tries to take o$er Earth. /ighting with con$entional small wea ons against tanks, aircraft, and nuclear wea ons, e$ery single Martian is e$entually found to be dead, ca tured, or missing. The automatic na$igation systems of their s acecraft scatter them all o$er the globe, and the soldiers only fight as long as the real commanders ha$e control of them. )nce the real commanders are killed, they sto . The Earth had begun bombarding the ad$ance commando force that landed on the moon, which had started sending feeble bombs down thirty days rior to the main in$asion. !ith such am le warning, the Earth is well re ared when the Martians land. !a$e after wa$e of the in$aders are easily o$ercome. The final wa$e of Martians is made u of elderly men, women, and children.

"umfoord is the architect of the suicidal attack. The Martian army is funded by wise in$estments made by "umfoord using his ability to see into the future. These in$estments are handled on Earth by his butler, Earl Moncrief. The technology used by "umfoord had come from Salo on Titan. Salo had ro$ided "umfoord with the e# ertise to build the s ace shi s that carry the Martians to Earth, and also had gi$en him some of his su ly of .!T( for ower. The arts for the s ace shi s were built on Earth, without the manufacturers knowing e#actly the intended ur ose of each art. .nder the direction of Moncrief, the first few shi s had been assembled on Earth and used to fly the first recruits and machines to Mars to found the city of <hoebe, which was owered by .!T(. The entire Martian suicide has been orchestrated by "umfoord to roduce a feeling of shame among the eo le of the Earth for ha$ing slaughtered the in$aders. +nto this culture of re entance, he intends to introduce a new religion. (ee and Chrono are among the final wa$e of women and children to land on Earth. They crash land in the Ama%on jungle in (ra%il and are the only sur$i$ors from their shi . As they emerge from the wreckage, Chrono kisses his good luck iece. .nk and (oa% also sur$i$e the in$asion because their shi does not go to Earth at all. +t is rogrammed instead to fly to Mercury. "umfoord,s scheme is to ha$e .nk out of the way for a time while he s reads his new religion on Earth, then ha$e .nk arri$e on Earth as if by a miracle. +n their s aceshi , .nk and (oa% wonder where the rest of their fellow soldiers are, unaware that most of them are dead on Earth. (oa% asks .nk where he thinks the other shi s ha$e gone. .nk re lies that he does not care, that he does not care about anything, e$en the control bo# that (oa% has in his ocket. (oa% ushes a button on the bo#, but nothing ha ens to .nk. !hile (oa% was slee ing the night before, .nk had taken the bo# from (oa%,s ocket and re laced the workings with toilet a er. (ack on Earth, "umfoord and 7a%ak continue to materiali%e in the estate in *ew ort on schedule. The house has been taken o$er by a man named Marlin T. ;a , who begins to sell tickets to the materiali%ations. As eo le file ast "umfoord sitting in his small study, he talks to nobody e#ce t Moncrief, to whom he whis ers instructions. "umfoord materiali%es on the final day of the Martian in$asion, and with a large crowd assembled finally s eaks. 'e introduces his new religion, called 2The Church of &od the .tterly +ndifferent2. The religion has two main tenets, "umfoord says, 2<uny man can do nothing at all to hel or lease &od Almighty, and ;uck is not the hand of &od2 4 . A@16. To gi$e weight to his ronouncement, "umfoord begins to make detailed redictions, all of which e$entually come true. "umfoord tells the crowd a arable about Constant to illustrate the nature of luck. !hile Constant was born the richest child on Earth, that same day se$eral other seemingly unlucky things ha ened to others. "umfoord announces that on his ne#t $isit he will tell more about the new religion, and will bring a re$ised (ible and a history of the eo le of Mars. (ack in the s acecraft, .nk has fallen aslee , while (oa% has stayed awake. .nable to control .nk any longer, (oa% considers killing him in his slee . 'e decides that ha$ing a real friend is more im ortant than being able to control eo le, howe$er. 'e begins to -uestion why he had wanted to control anyone in the first lace. (oa% begins to laugh at his redicament. 'e asks

himself out loud how he managed to get where he is now, and who is controlling his destiny. .nk awakes and (oa% takes the control bo# out of his ocket. 'e throws it to the ground, announcing, 2+ don,t want none of this cra D2 4 . A@86.

"ictory Analysis
The descri tion of the failed in$asion of Earth is darkly comical, as the nuclear- owered forces of Earth crush the relati$ely weak Martian forces. The entire farce has been orchestrated by "umfoord to set the stage for his new religion. +n his announcement of the teachings of this new faith, "umfoord in$okes a arable about Malachi Constant, foreshadowing the central role that Constant is to lay in the religion. (ee and Chrono a ear to be the reci ients of some good luck, as the only two sur$i$ors of the crash of their s ace shi . +t is im lied that this is not urely luck, howe$er, by "umfoord,s ronouncement introducing his new religion. Also im lied is that Chrono,s 2good luck2 iece is erha s somehow the reason for their sur$i$al. Chrono seems to be li$ing a charmed life, as did his father and grandfather. The inter lay between (oa% and Constant changes as (oa% loses his ability to hurt and control Constant. /inding himself owerless, (oa% finds a kind of freedom, the freedom to -uestion his role in the outcome of his own life. This re$elation of (oa%,s will be further e# lored as the two men become tra ed on Mercury in the following cha ters.

#n a Hollywood $i%htclub Summary

A descri tion of Mercury is ro$ided. Mercury is white hot on the side that always faces the Sun, and co$ered in giant crystals on its dark side. The tension between the hot and cold, light and dark sides of the lanet cause it to $ibrate, or 2sing2. There are dee ca$es on Mercury, inhabited by sim le, flat creatures called harmoniums. These creatures feed on the $ibrations of the lanet and cling to the hos horescent walls of the ca$es. 'armoniums are like 2small and s ineless kites2 4 . A@E6 and they re roduce by flaking off ieces that begin to grow. /or an unknown reason, the creatures often arrange themsel$es in regular atterns on the walls, glowing a-uamarine where the yellow light from the walls asses through their bodies. .nk and (oa%,s shi a roaches the dark side of Mercury, although they still imagine they are landing on Earth. Seeing the large crystals, .nk belie$es them to be large skyscra ers. 'e wee s as he looks out the window of the shi , recalling the names of the eo le he knows. 'e recalls the name Malachi Constant, but does not recogni%e it. The memory of climbing the fountain at the "umfoord Estate enters his mind, but again he does not recogni%e it. The s acecraft has been rogrammed to find the dee est ossible lace in one of the ca$es. +t mo$es continually downward, sto ing at times, but then mo$ing on to a dee er lace. /inally, the shi lands and turns itself off. Thinking they are in the safe atmos here of Earth, (oa% rushes to o en the door. The $acuum outside causes an e# losion as the air from the shi rushes out. The shi ,s emergency system -uickly brings the ressure back u to normal. They reali%e they are not on Earth.

They take some goofballs and reco$er from the shock of the e# losion, then lug their ears and nose and set out to look at their surroundings. They find them nearly unbelie$able. They return to the shi and decide they must return to the surface and find eo le. .nk ushes the 2)*2 button, and the shi begins to warm u . The shi has been designed to take off from an o en field, howe$er, and is unable to fly u ward through the ca$e assages without knocking against the rocks. +t becomes wedged in stone. They try again and again, with no success. .nk and (oa% are de$astated. ;ooking out a orthole, .nk sees se$eral harmoniums forming what looks like a letter 2T2 on the ca$e wall. &radually he reali%es that there are more letters formed on the wall. They form a sentence, 2+T,S A* +*TE;;+&E*CE TESTD2 4 . A9E6.

#n a Hollywood $i%htclub Analysis

This brief cha ter sets the stage for (oa% and .nk,s e#ile on Mercury. 'ere, :onnegut enters into more traditional science-fiction imagery of strange creatures inhabiting a distant lanet. The sim le harmoniums will lay an im ortant role in (oa%,s self-disco$ery. Constant begins to ha$e glimmerings of memories from his life on Earth, but as yet cannot make sense of them. The image of the fountain rea ears, in$iting the reader to inter ret its meaning. The seemingly intelligent message from the harmoniums ends the cha ter with the -uestion of who is controlling the situation.

A Pu&&le Sol'ed Summary

The narrator briefly ste s outside the e$ents of the story and into his own time at the beginning of the cha ter. 'e refers to se$eral su osedly well-known books that ha$e been written about .nk and (oa%,s time in the ca$es of Mercury, including a o ular children,s book. Addressing the reader, the narrator says that of course the message on the wall of the ca$e was written by "umfoord, who materiali%es in the ca$es e$ery fourteen days. After three years on Mercury, .nk finds the foot rints of a large dog in the dust on the ca$e floor. (efore that time, .nk and (oa% had long since gone se arate ways, no longer li$ing in the s ace shi , but using it to store their large su ly of ro$isions. (oa% had set u a ermanent lace to li$e not far from the shi , while .nk wandered the ca$es with no regular home. Messages continue to a ear written on the walls using harmoniums, encouraging the men to try to find a way out of the ca$es. .nk is not e#cited when he finds the dog tracks, or when he finds the human foot rints alongside them. 'e has been beaten down too much by his en$ironment to get too e#cited. .nk has lost weight and sto ed sha$ing. 'is hair is cho ed and ragged. 'e decides to sim ly follow the tracks to see where they lead. (oa%, in contrast, has gained weight while on Mercury. 'e sha$es e$ery day and is -uite ha y. 'e li$es in a $ault in the stone furnished with items from the shi , including a ta e layer and a large selection of recorded music. 'is home can be closed off by a large boulder, which is necessary because the harmoniums lo$e (oa% and are attracted by his ulse. Should he lea$e his door o en while he is aslee , they would smother him.

(oa% sits inside his home with the door closed, shining his shoes. 'e has four harmoniums attached to his arms, leg and wrist, feeding on his ulse. (oa% has found a ur ose in caring for the harmoniums, and is u%%led that .nk refers to li$e a detached life. 'e muses on his hiloso hy of life, which is that someone much smarter is somehow testing him and that all he can do is try to be ha y until it is all o$er. (oa% recalls the image of .nk strangling Stony Ste$enson. 'e has withheld this information from .nk, who is still unaware of what he did. Although he has been tem ted at times to re$eal the truth to .nk, he has not. (oa% imagines that one of the harmoniums is asking him for a 2concert2. 'e holds imaginary con$ersations with the other three, as well, imagining they ask him to lay his ta e recorder so they might feed on the $ibrations. (oa% carries his ta e recorder and se$eral ta es to a central s ot in the ca$e. 'e creates a scaffold from a stretcher laced between two ironing boards with added feet. The ur ose of the stretcher is to deaden the $ibrations from the music so as not to gi$e the harmoniums a fatal amount of music. (oa% stands watch o$er the recorder, mo$ing any creatures that try to get too close to it. Meanwhile, .nk, wandering through the ca$es, lies down to slee . 'e dreams that his friend Stony is waiting for him somewhere in the ca$es. 'e imagines that he is being im risoned by the eo le in the skyscra ers u abo$e him, not knowing that what he thinks are buildings are actually just large stones. Awake, now, .nk begins to feel hatred for his imagined ca tors. 'e also feels enraged at the harmoniums. Taking one off the wall, he tears it in two and throws the ieces toward the ceiling of the ca$e. As he does, he sees another message on the ceiling. The message gi$es him the solution to the u%%le of how to get out of the ca$es. 'e rushes toward the shi , where (oa% is gi$ing the concert to the harmoniums. 'e takes (oa% to the shi , where they can hear one another s eak. 'e tells (oa% what he has disco$ered. (oa% reacts 2numbly2. 'e tells .nk that he has also seen a message, one reading 2()AF, 3)*,T &)D2 and another saying, 2()AF, !E ;):E G).D2 4 . 0196. .nk tells (oa% that the message (oa% saw was a trick to kee them from lea$ing. (oa% archly insists that .nk not shatter his inter retation of the messages, wanting to belie$e what he will. (oa% suddenly remembers the ta e recorder and rushes out, worried that nobody is kee ing the harmoniums away. Meanwhile, .nk sets about turning the shi u side down. This is what the message has told him to do to get out of the ca$es. !ith its sensors on the bottom now ointing u wards, the shi should be able to find its way out of the ca$e just as it found its way in. As .nk has the shi turned o$er, (oa% returns with se$eral dead harmoniums. 'e is crying. 'e laces them in an em ty bo#. 'e asks .nk to di$ide the stores, half to lea$e with him. .nk is astounded that (oa% intends to stay behind. (oa% e# lains that the idea of being free e#cited him at first, but that now he cannot imagine what it would be like. )n Mercury, he has the harmoniums relying on him to make them ha y, and that makes him ha y. 2+ found me a lace where + can do good without doing any harm,2 he tells .nk. 4 . 0A8-0A>6

A Pu&&le Sol'ed Analysis

:onnegut includes more of the fictional framework around the story by referring to se$eral fictional books about it. This ro$ides an entertaining aside, but it also casts the story in a new light. +t is now known that "umfoord lans to build u some kind of religion on Earth, and the references the narrator makes to "umfoord,s writing and the wide o ularity of the story of .nk and (oa% in the ca$es shows that what is being described somehow enters the culture and religion of the future. Since (oa% resumably dies alone on Mercury, and the two men s end much of their time a art from each other, the -uestion is raised how this story e$er sur$i$es to be told. )f course there is another erson resent in the ca$es, !inston "umfoord. This im lies that "umfoord himself is the one who brings the story back to Earth. +t also raises the ossibility that "umfoord is the narrator. Constant,s memories continue to see into his consciousness without him recogni%ing them. 'e undergoes a hysical transformation while on Mercury, becoming lean and wiry as he li$es meagerly and on the mo$e. +t is (oa% who undergoes a more dramatic transformation, finding ur ose tending for the sim le creatures in the ca$e. :onnegut mentions more than once that the lack of an atmos here means that sound cannot tra$el in the ca$es e#ce t in the air-filled s ace shi . !hat is im lied is that (oa%,s concerts for the harmoniums where he lays the ta e recorder are unheard by him. )nly the harmoniums enjoy them for the $ibrations. 'e is not able to enjoy the music itself, only the act of ro$iding it for the creatures.

An A%e of (iracles Summary

.nk,s s acecraft lands in a churchyard in Massachusetts. +t is raining. 'e looks like a wild man, hair tangled and nearly naked. )ne thing dri$es him on, the desire to find (ee, Chrono, and Stony. The "e$erend C. 'orner "edwine is alone in the nearby church. The church is the (arnstable /irst Church of &od the .tterly +ndifferent, and is also known as The Church of the !eary S ace !anderer. +t has been redicted that the church will be site of a miracle, and in readiness for it, a s ecial suit of clothes hangs on a s ike behind the ul it. +t is designed to fit only one erson, and is stitched with large -uestion marks to signify that this erson will not know who he is. )nly the leader of the faith, !inston "umfoord, will know the wanderer,s name, which he will re$eal when he comes. <lans are made to ring the church bell wildly on the day the wanderer arri$es, bringing all the eo le of the town to see. The fire de artment lans to bring the fire engine to carry the wanderer when the signal comes, to carry him in. +n the stee le of the church, rain see s in and runs down the bell and the bell ro e. At the bottom of the ro e, hanging by its neck, is a doll called a 2Malachi2. +t is an emblem of the church. +t hangs from a hangman,s noose. "edwine stands in the ul it, enjoying the sound of the rain. 'anging around his body are se$eral bags of hea$y shot and iron slabs on his back and chest. They are his handica s, with all members of his faith carry according to their strength. "edwine mo$es down the aisle of the church to the archway at the front. Through the arch he sees the s ace shi and the bedraggled .nk. )$ercome with joy, he begins to ring the bell wildly.

The bell frightens .nk, and he runs back to his shi . Soon sirens join the ringing. 'e imagines the war is still underway, and he resses the 2)*2 button on his shi to esca e, but his shi shuts down. 'e resses and holds the button, causing the shi to begin to smoke. The na$igation system dies. .nk looks out a orthole and sees the fire engine, along with se$eral e#cited eo le, a roaching the shi . At the front of the crowd is "edwine, carrying the suit and a handful of flowers. All of the eo le are wearing or dis laying self-handica s of one sort or another, as do followers of the faith o$er the whole world. The fire engine oints it hose to the sky in celebration and deli$ers a fountain of water that falls down on the s aceshi and the crowd. Combined with the rain, e$eryone is wet, which adds to the celebration. "edwine mo$es to the orthole and looks at .nk,s face, looking out. .nk decides he is not afraid, and unlocks the doors to let "edwine in. The suit fits .nk erfectly. "edwine tells .nk he is on Earth. .nk e#claims, 2Thank &od2, which u%%les "edwine, who informs .nk that when he s eaks to the crowd of eo le outside he should not thank &od in any way. As art of the faith, "edwine rofesses, as founded by "umfoord, &od is indifferent to the fate of humans and luck is not something to be thankful for. .nk asks what he should say instead, and "edwine informs him that what he says has already been ro hesied what he will say. 'e will be asked two -uestions, "edwine tells him, and he is sim ly to answer as best he can. 'e leads .nk outside, and the crowd gathers around him. They ask him who he is. 'e res onds that he does not know his real name, but that he is called .nk. Then they ask what ha ened to him. .nk thinks for a moment, but cannot find a way to e# ress all that has ha ened to him. Almost a ologetically, he shrugs and says, 2+ was a $ictim of a series of accidents, as are we all2 4 . 0096. The crowd begins to cheer. "edwine shows .nk a car$ed scroll abo$e the door to the church on which these e#act words ha$e been written. .nk is carried on the fire engine to *ew ort, where a materiali%ation is about to take lace. Along the way, eo le come out to see him and shower him with flowers. A s ecial lastic 2Malachi2 hangs from the fire engine bell, a kind that can only be bought in *ew ort. .nk is ha y to back on Earth and to ha$e e$eryone a arently lo$e him so much. At the "umfoord estate, the grounds inside the walls are acked solid and a huge crowd surrounds it. They eagerly await "umfoord,s $oice from se$eral louds eakers mounted around the lace. (ee and Chrono are at the estate. They are working in a sou$enir booth outside the estate, selling lastic Malachis to the faithful ilgrims. Chrono is now ele$en and is a ju$enile delin-uent. 'e has been s ared being laced in an institution because at "umfoord,s direction, the legal staff of his church has defended him against all charges. (ee and Chrono had wandered through the Ama%on jungle for a year after crashing there on their tri from Mars. They were taken in by a jungle tribe and e$entually rescued by a helico ter sent by "umfoord. They were brought back to *ew ort and gi$en the booth outside the estate to sell Malachis.

*e#t to (ee and Chrono,s booth is 'arry (rackman, who was .nk,s latoon sergeant on Mars. (rackman is the only sur$i$or of his unit,s attack on Earth. 'e sells lastic models of the fountain inside the estate. 'e also sells toy flying saucers, models of the real saucer that is mounted on a hundred-foot-high column inside the walls of the estate. A steam whistle blows inside the estate, the signal that the materiali%ation will occur in fi$e minutes. The booths shut u at this signal. Chrono lays on a case and cleans his nails with his good luck iece. *one of the sou$enir sellers in the booths, who are all Martian sur$i$ors of the war, show much interest in the ceremony or in seeing the S ace !anderer, although they are tem ted to look. The fire engine arri$es. As .nk, the S ace !anderer, asses through the tiny door in the wall, "umfoord and 7a%ak materiali%e. (rackman comments that the S ace !anderer is robably a fake, an actor. *one of the sou$enir sellers really belie$e this, howe$er. They know that "umfoord insists that things be real. The narrator addresses the reader directly here to describe "umfoord and his tendency to create great s ectacles such as the one that is about to take lace. 'e ne$er claims to be a &od, howe$er, the narrator e# lains, or to be s eaking for &od. (ee and (rackman talk in their adjacent booths. Most of their fellow Martians ha$e had their original Earth identities disco$ered, but no information has e$er been found about (ee. (rackman suggests tentati$ely that they might go see the S ace !anderer. (ee res onds that she hates "umfoord for ha$ing used her and the others until they were 2all used u 2 4 . 0>06. "umfoord,s $oice is heard o$er the louds eakers welcoming the S ace !anderer. 'e asks .nk if .nk sees anything that he recogni%es. .nk res onds that he remembers the fountain, e#ce t that it was dry whene$er it was he first saw it. "umfoord asks if he recalls anything else. .nk re lies that he remembers "umfoord from Mars who was there just before he took off. "umfoord asks if .nk would recogni%e his mate and child. .nk re lies that he does not know. "umfoord calls for (ee and Chrono to be brought in from the booth outside. "umfoord, .nk and 7a%ak stand on a scaffold that is art of a system of catwalks and ram s that run around the grounds of the estate. The walkways are lit and wired for tele$ision cameras and sound. "umfoord look uneasy, his smile forced. 'e s eaks to .nk directly, without the micro hone. 'e sarcastically mentions that the crowd seems to lo$e him and asks if .nk lo$es the crowd. .nk is unable to sense the sarcasm, and says that the crowd has been 2wonderful.2 .nk, uncertain about the ceremony, decides to kee -uiet. (ee and Chrono are laced on one of the catwalks and "umfoord calls them to him. .nk begins to feel elated that he may look forward to a ha y life on Earth with (ee and Chrono. All he is missing, he feels is his friend, Stony. 'e feels that Stony must be somewhere nearby, waiting to make his a earance. As (ee and Chrono a roach .nk, "umfoord mo$es away from them. 'e follows some of the com licated walkway structure to a tree with rungs that run u its side. 'e climbs u into the tree, out of sight. .nk, (ee and Chrono are uncomfortable with one another. Chrono kisses his good luck iece and wishes for .nk to dro dead. (ee,s and .nk,s eyes meet accidentally. They greet each other formally, then both look u at the tree to where "umfoord has disa eared.

"umfoord addresses the crowd. 'e tells them to be thankful they are not like Malachi Constant. .nk notices for the first time a long walkway nearby that ends in a long ladder leading u to the s ace shi on the high column. 'e wonders who would be bra$e enough to climb such a high ladder. 'e looks at the crowd. 'e waits for Stony to a ear.

An A%e of (iracles Analysis

"umfoord,s scheme begins to unfold as Constant find his way back to Earth as "umfoord has ro hesied. Constant is blissfully unaware of the im ending humiliation that "umfoord has lanned for him, imagining that finally he is to enjoy a ha y life. The role that Constant is to lay in "umfoord,s religious s ectacle is suggested by the descri tion of the 2Malachis2 which are hung in effigy e$erywhere. +t is ironic that (ee herself is a seller of sou$enir Malachis. The image of the fountain recurs se$eral times in this cha ter, beginning with the wet conditions at Constant,s first landing, including the s ray of the fire hose. !hen Constant returns to the "umfoord estate, he finds that he recogni%es the fountain from his first $isit, although he does not remember the $isit itself. The cha ter ends on an e#tremely sad note as Constant imagines that his friend Stony will a ear at any time. "umfoord,s lan to humiliate Constant in front of the crowd seems likely to include re$ealing the truth to Constant about Stony.

We Hate (alachi Constant Because))) Summary

"umfoord deli$ers a sermon about Malachi Constant. 'e tells of his decadence and immorality, and his ridiculous belief in his own good luck. 'e calls on the S ace !anderer and asks him who he is and what his real name is. Constant answers that he does not know his real name, but that he is called .nk. "umfoord asks him what has ha ened to him before returning to Earth, and Constant re eats the hrase he first ga$e at the church about being the $ictim of a series of accidents. "umfoord asks him of all the accidents that befell him, which is the most significant. .nk begins to think about it, but "umfoord answers his own -uestion. The most significant accident, he says, was his being born. "umfoord asks Constant if he would like to know what he has called when he was born, and he answers that he would. "umfoord tells him that he is Malachi Constant. The crowd is generally com assionate. They look sadly on Constant. Although they ha$e hung him in effigy for se$eral years, they do not wish to actually see him harmed. "umfoord addresses Constant again, saying, 2Gou ha$e had the singular accident, Mr. Constant, of becoming a central symbol of wrong-headedness for a erfectly enormous religious sect2 4 . 0E>-0EE6. "umfoord tells Constant that shortly Constant will climb the long ladder to the s ace shi and fly to Titan, to li$e in e#ile. This will be a symbolic act to "umfoord,s followers, who will imagine that Constant is taking all of his wrong ways away with him. The re$elation of his real name means little to Constant, coming so close to the e# lanation of his horrific e#ile. 'e becomes com letely focused on the walkway to the ladder, and fears he may

stumble. "eading his mind, "umfoord tells him he will not stumble, and that by doing this thing he will become one of the most meaningful eo le who e$er li$ed. Constant turns to (ee and Chrono. 3es ite their cynicism about the ceremony, he sees that they are not cynical about the bra$e action he is about to take. 'e hesitates for a few seconds, then takes a ste toward the ladder. As he does so, "umfoord begins transmitting the sound of a snare drum to his brain through his antenna. As Constant takes hold of the ladder, the sound sto s. Constant auses for a moment. "umfoord asks him if has something he wants to say before climbing the ladder. Constant res onds that he has not understood anything that has ha ened to him since returning to Earth. "umfoord in$ites him to tell the crowd of one good thing that he has done, so that they may decide of he might be ardoned from e#ile. Constant thinks hard. 'is main memories are from the ca$es of Mercury, from which he can find nothing good. 'e thinks back to Mars and the letter to himself. 'e remembers Stony, and decides that ha$ing a friend is a good thing. 'e tells the crowd that he had a friend. "umfoord asks the friend,s name, and Constant re lies. "umfoord ro oses that Constant,s measure of goodness de ends on how good a friend Constant was to Stony, and Constant agrees. "umfoord re$eals the truth to Constant about Stony. 'e reminds Constant of the e#ecution that he took art in on Mars, a memory that Constant has nearly blocked. 'e tells him that the man he killed was his best friend, Stony. Constant wee s as he climbs the ladder. 'e feels worthy of being unished. !hen he reaches the shi , "umfoord tells him to lea$e the door o en, because (ee and Chrono will be joining him. Constant sits in the doorway and looks sadly out at the wide $iew from the high column as "umfoord begins a sermon about (ee. Constant hardly listens. "umfoord tells the crowd that (ee was once his wife, and that her name is (eatrice "umfoord. The crowd is astounded. 'e condemns the life of (eatrice as one of reluctance and fear and 2imagined urity2, and asks the crowd to hang her in effigy as they do with their Malachis. 'e tells (ee that she and Chrono will be joining Constant in the shi , and asks if she has anything to say. She res onds that she and Chrono will climb to the shi , but not because of anything "umfoord has told her. She will do it to show that she is not afraid of anything, and to show that she is as disgusted with Earth as Earth seems to be with her. She tells "umfoord that hearing him describe her life as (eatrice "umfoord, although she does not remember it, has made her lo$e herself more for ha$ing rejected him. "umfoord is 2scummy2, she says, and -uickly walks with Chrono toward the ladder. They climb u and enter the shi without saying anything to Constant. 'e follows them inside. They find the shi in shambles, a arently after se$eral arties had been held inside. (edding and clothing is strewn about and em ty bottles and old food litters the floor. (ee and Constant set about ushing the garbage out the o en door of the shi . Chrono sits on a bunk, rubbing his good luck iece, and urging them to get underway. (ee takes a bra that was left hanging in the shi and lets it flutter down o$er the crowd. 2&oodbye, all you clean and wise and lo$ely eo le2, she says.

We Hate (alachi Constant Because))) Analysis

The story reaches the height of its action in this cha ter. The religion that "umfoord has s ent three years culti$ating recei$es its grand assion lay as Malachi Constant learns the truth about his ast and his identity and is immediately e#iled from Earth as a symbol to the followers of "umfoord,s faith. This cha ter re$eals the a arent ur ose of Constant,s journey from Earth to Mars to Mercury and back to EarthHto act as a religious symbol in "umfoord,s scheme to transform humankind. There is a larger ur ose, howe$er, which e$en "umfoord ser$es. This ur ose is to be re$ealed in the final cha ters. (ee is gi$en the o ortunity to ha$e the last word, here, in a satisfying farewell s eech to "umfoord. The two characters of (eatrice and Constant ha$e been transformed since their introduction at the beginning of the book. The bombastic and aimless Constant is now humble and focused. The fearful and retiring (eatrice is now bra$e and bold.

The *entleman from Tralfamadore Summary

Titan is one of the nine moons of Saturn, and the only moon in the solar system with a breathable o#ygen atmos here. +t stays at a constant si#ty-se$en degree tem erature. +t is co$ered with three large seas and many smaller lakes and onds, all connected by ri$ers. There are forests and lants. "umfoord,s wa$es of materiali%ations coincide with the orbit of Titan around Saturn and the orbit of Saturn around the Sun, so that he and 7a%ak are ermanently materiali%ed on Titan. They li$e there on an island near the shore of one of the seas, in a house that is a re lica of the Taj Mahal. (efore (eatrice, Constant, and Chrono arri$e, there is only one other erson on Titan, the ele$enmillion-year-old Salo from the lanet Tralfamadore. Salo is orange, with three legs, and stands four and a half feet tall. 'e has no arms, and has three eyes. 'is head is round and hangs on gimbals. 'e s eaks fi$e thousand languages. Salo li$es in the o en on Titan, near the s ace shi that brought him there. *early half a million years rior, Salo had been chosen by his eo le to act as an ambassador, carrying a message out into the uni$erse to a distant gala#y, and deli$ering it. The message itself is sealed in a small tablet of lead two inches s-uare and three-eighths of an inch thick. +t hangs from Salo,s body on a steel band. Salo has been ordered not to o en the message until he reaches the gala#y he is heading to and finds intelligent life. Then he is to learn their language and translate the message for them. +n the year 018,AA5 (.C., Salo,s shi had de$elo ed ower lant roblems and he was forced to land on Titan. A single small art disintegrated, rendering him unable to continue e#ce t at relati$ely low s eeds. Salo had sent a message home at the s eed of light, which took AE1,111 years to reach Tralfamadore. !hile waiting, Salo entertains himself by taking u scul ture, breeding daisies, and watching the acti$ities on Earth through a $iewer on his s ace shi . +t is while watching the Earthlings that he recei$es his first res onse from Tralfamadore. The message is in the form of a circle of rocks

laced on a lain in England. +t is Stonehenge, which in Tralfamadorian has the meaning 2"e lacement art being rushed with all ossible s eed2 4 . 05A6. )ther messages a ear to Salo among the structures on Earth. The &reat !all of China, *ero,s golden house in "ome, and the 7remlin in Moscow are all actually messages to Salo, u dating him on the rogress of the deli$ery of his re lacement art. These messages all arri$e in much shorter time than they would ha$e taken had they been deli$ered at the s eed of light. The Tralfamadorians are able, through mani ulating the force of .!T(, to influence e$ents at far oints at about three times the s eed of light. Salo watches as ci$ili%ations rise on Earth and begin to build structures that are meant to be messages to him. Sometimes the ci$ili%ations die out before com leting their message. Salo ne$er tells "umfoord about these messages, and his mind is such that "umfoord cannot read it. 'e sim ly tells "umfoord that he has sent a message home and is e# ecting the re lacement art soon. 'e is reluctant to tell "umfoord the whole truth because he lo$es "umfoord and thinks he may be offended if he knew how Tralfamadore had been mani ulating Earth,s de$elo ment. Salo watches the a roach of Constant, (eatrice, and Chrono in their shi on his $iewer. The shi is rogrammed to land on the shore of one of the seas, amid the two million statues of human beings that Salo has car$ed while waiting, ins ired by the acti$ities of humans on Earth who always seem to be acting as if a 2big eye2 is watching them from abo$e. Salo walks on his inflatable feet across the water to "umfoord,s alace. 'e e# ects to find "umfoord sitting in his regular chair by his ool, but the chair is em ty. Salo looks down into the ool at three statues of women that he had car$ed. These are the sirens of Titan, the women in the hoto that "umfoord had gi$en Constant on Earth. Salo calls for "umfoord, calling him by his boyhood nickname, Ski . 7a%ak a roaches Salo. 'e looks ill and mo$es slowly. 'e glows with an electrical discharge. "umfoord a ears behind him, also looking ill. 'e seems to be demateriali%ing and remateriali%ing in wa$es. Salo asks him what is wrong. "umfoord answers that the roblem is suns ots. Salo asks if he can hel in any way, and "umfoord is short with him. Salo, who is new to the notion of friendshi , is dee ly hurt by "umfoord,s shar words. 'e looks u ward and sees two enormous Titanic bluebirds circling and di$ing in the sky. 'e sees the trail of the a roaching s ace shi . 'e addresses "umfoord again as 2Ski 2, and "umfoord asks him not to use the name. 'e only refers his friends to use the name. This again hurts Salo, who leads with "umfoord to think of him as a friend after all the hel he has gi$en him. "umfoord is cynical, and admits only that the two ha$e been of some use to one another. Salo is des ondent and sorry. "umfoord tells him that Salo did not ha$e to hel him, that he could ha$e sim ly sat and waited for his art to arri$e. 'e tells Salo that the art he needs is indeed arri$ing on the shi . +t is Chrono,s good luck iece. 'e imagines that Salo already knows this. "umfoord has another s ell of demateriali%ation and electrical discharges and is unable to s eak. !hen he reco$ers, he asks, with sarcastic oliteness, for Salo to continue . Salo is de$astated that "umfoord seems to ha$e found out how Tralfamadore has been mani ulating human history. "umfoord is resentful that he himself has been used. 'e insults Salo, calling him a 2machine2 and im lying that Salo cannot gras the true feelings a li$ing being

has. Salo takes a tone that is hurt and indignant as "umfoord continues to hurl the insult 2MachineD2 at him. The shi lands nearby. Salo understands that "umfoord is e# ecting him to gro$el in re entance. 'e obliges. 'e asks what he can do. "umfoord e# lains that the center of his time-s ace s iral is about to be blown out of the solar system, changing the times and laces where he will materiali%e. Salo is horrified at the thought of losing his friend, but "umfoord tells him not to ity him. (efore he goes, he wants Salo to tell him what the rimary ur ose of 2this Solar System e isode2 is 4 . 0@56. Salo re lies that "umfoord,s book on the history of Mars sums it u . "umfoord answers that his history does not include the fact that all the e$ents were controlled by Tralfamadore. "umfoord wants to know what the message is that Salo is carrying. Salo haltingly re lies that he does not know, that it is sealed. "umfoord tells him that he wants Salo to $iolate his orders and o en the message. Meanwhile, on the shore of the sea, (eatrice, Chrono, and Constant are leaning against some of the statues and ha$ing something to eat. Constant announces to the other two that from that oint on, he is through acting as a awn in the schemes of others. The others agree silently, ha$ing heard the s eech se$eral times on the way to Titan. Constant has grown closer to (eatrice and Chrono during the long tri to Titan, but there is no lo$e between them. The only lo$e is between Chrono and his mother. Chrono is wary. 'e o ens a switchblade knife, ready to kill if he must. ;ooking out o$er the sea toward the alace, he sees the creature Salo rowing a golden rowboat toward them to take them to the alace. Chrono flashes light into the eye of Salo,s that is ointed toward them. +t is a trick he has learned in the jungle to unsettle an o onent. (eatrice slowly takes hold of a rock and tells him to flash the creature again. She tells him to go for an eye if he has a chance. Constant sees how well the two work together, that they ha$e no need of him. Salo ties u the boat and walks toward the three, too distraught to imagine he might be frightening them. Chrono continues to flash light in his eye and (eatrice throws the stone. Salo ducks, but instantly Chrono is around his neck, his knife at his chest. (eatrice stands o$er him, holding another stone. Salo, des ondent, in$ites them to go ahead and kill him. 'e wishes he were dead. 'e tells them afterward to go to the alace to see "umfoord, who is dying and wishes to see them. At the alace, Constant ga es at the flickering "umfoord. 7a%ak is gone, ha$ing had his times ace s iral se arated from "umfoord,s. "umfoord greets each of them indi$idually. Salo, who has not been killed, sits in the boat, sulking. "umfoord e# lains that he is not dying, merely mo$ing on to a different s iral of time and s ace. "umfoord tells them that there is something they all must know before he lea$es. 'e roceeds to tell them the secret of the influence of Tralfamadore and the ultimate ur ose of human history is to roduce the small iece of metal in Chrono,s ocket. 'e e# lains that the iece is for Salo,s shi , and tells them of Salo,s message, which Salo has refused to share. 'e ho es, he tells them, since the art has now been deli$ered, that Tralfamadore will lea$e the Solar System alone. As he s eaks, a s iral of green light surrounds him until he suddenly disa ears entirely, ne$er to be seen again.

Salo rushes u as "umfoord disa ears. 'e is cra%ed. 'e has torn the message from its band and holds it to the sky, calling for "umfoord to return, calling that he will re$eal the message. 'e sadly lays the message on "umfoord,s em ty chair, saying that although he is a machine, he has transcended this by $iolating his intended function and o ening the message. 'e has himself been used, Salo says. 'e offers u the message. +t is a single dot. Salo e# lains that the meaning of the dot in Tralfamadorian is sim ly, 2greetings2. Salo rushes out onto the beach and kills himself by dismantling himself and throwing his ieces all o$er. Chrono walks among the scattered ieces and throws his good luck iece on the ground among them.

The *entleman from Tralfamadore Analysis

The true ur ose of human history is re$ealed at last to all the characters. They ha$e all been used in one way or another, without full control of their own destinies. Much of the resolution in the story is found in this ne#t-to-last cha ter. +t is re$ealed that Salo hel ed "umfoord design the new religion of &od the .tterly +ndifferent, but it is unclear whether this was also just a art of the larger Tralfamadorian scheme. This re$elation casts earlier elements of the story in a new light. *oel Constant, by using the letters of the &ideon (ible to direct his in$estment atterns, was no doubt acting under the influence of Tralfamadore, im lying that all the e$ents that led u to the writing, translation, and ublication of the (ible were also art of the scheme. The ossibility is suggested that the unusual twel$e-sided head-uarters of his com any was erha s a message to Salo. "esentful that he has been mani ulated, "umfoord tries to mani ulate Salo in "umfoord,s final minutes on Titan. 'is bullying and re roaches do not work, howe$er. +nterestingly, Salo has become the most ty ically human of all the characters, ossessing the ability to e#amine his own moti$es and emotions.

+,ilo%ue- Reunion with Stony Summary

The story comes to an end with the narrator e# laining, 2There isn,t much more to tell2 4 . 8106. (oth (eatrice and Constant grow old and die within twenty-four hours of one another. Constant li$es in Salo,s s ace shi for decades. 'e does not try to fi# the grounded shi , but does note that Chrono,s good luck iece fits erfectly in between two arts in a burned out com artment. To ass the time, Constant tinkers with Salo, trying to ut him back together. 'is initial ho e is that Salo will fly Chrono back to Earth. *either Constant nor (eatrice wants to return to Earth, but they do wish their son to grow u with other eo le around. At the age of se$enty-four, Constant has not yet fi#ed Salo. Chrono is now forty-two, so the idea of flying him to Earth is no longer so im ortant. At se$enteen, Chrono had run away and gone to li$e with the Titanic bluebirds. Constant sometimes hears his calls, but ne$er answers them and ne$er sees him. 'e occasionally comes across the many shrines that Chrono makes from stones, feathers, and twigs. Constant res ects his son,s religion, and tidies u the shrines when he finds them.

(eatrice li$es alone in the alace "umfoord has built. She sometimes sees Chrono, who $isits her for a day at a time on occasion before returning to the forest. These $isits u set her. !hen she is u set, she flies a white sheet from the alace, which is a signal for Constant to come comfort her. Constant sees the sheet flying. 'e loads a dugout canoe with fresh food and addles out to the alace. (eatrice li$es off the $ast ro$isions in the alace, and Constant finds leasure in bringing her fresh food. 'e also takes a broom and sho$el to clean u . (eatrice does no cleaning at all. (eatrice s ends all her time writing a book called The True <ur ose of ;ife in the Solar System. +t is a refutation of what "umfoord has told her about the sole ur ose of life on Earth being to ro$ide a s are art for Salo,s shi . The manuscri t is $ery lengthy. She reads aloud from it whene$er Chrono $isits. She is reading to Constant as he drains the algae-choked ool that he cannot seem to kee clean. As the ool drains, the sirens are re$ealed at the bottom, co$ered in green goo. Constant has read "umfoord,s books and knows the significance of the sirens in his life, but they mean little to him now. Constant con$erses briefly with (eatrice, who is tracking down a thought she wants to include in her manuscri t. The thought she e# resses is, 2The worst thing that could ossibly ha en to anybody would be to not be used for anything by anybody2 4 . 8A16. She thanks Constant for using her. Constant sho$els the garbage out of (eatrice,s courtyard. 'e listens to the sound of the ool draining. 'e reali%es he can no longer hear (eatrice breathing. Constant buries (eatrice on the shore of the sea. The sky is filled with bluebirds. Chrono a ears, dressed in a feathered ca e. 'e calls thanks to his father and mother for gi$ing him life and disa ears. Constant returns to the alace to clean it u , imagining that some day someone will return to it. As he is cleaning he sees Salo coming across the water. Salo thanks him for utting him back together. 'e tells Constant he intends to continue on his journey to deli$er his message. Constant tells Salo that (eatrice has died, and Salo e# resses his sorrow. 'e offers to take Constant back to Earth. Constant acce ts. )n the flight back, Salo begins to doubt the wisdom of returning Constant to Earth. Constant insists on being taken to +ndiana olis, where he knows no one. Salo is worried that Constant knows nothing about the lanet. 'e decides to hel Constant by hy noti%ing him. 'e tells him that when he is about to die, a 2wonderful thing2 will ha en. 'e then describes this wonderful thing to Constant and wakens him. The shi lands in the middle of night in the middle of winter outside +ndiana olis. +t is snowing. Constant gets out of the shi and Salo directs him to a bus sto bench where he says a bus will arri$e shortly to take him downtown to a hotel. They say goodbye and Constant sits on the bench. The bus does not come for se$eral hours because of the snow. Constant free%es to death. As he dies, he sees the $ision that Salo has im lanted in his mind. 'e sees Stony Ste$enson descending in a s ace shi from a break in the clouds. Stony has come to take him to aradise.

+,ilo%ue- Reunion with Stony Analysis

The true fulfillment of "umfoord,s earlier ro hecy to (eatrice occurs in the final e ilogue. She li$es like an aristocrat e$en though there is nobody to im ress. She has found true lo$e, albeit of a strange sort. She has transformed from the ure and fearful erson she was at the beginning of the story to a fearless writer who kee s a slo y household. 'er hiloso hy that a life is only meaningful if a erson is used by someone is interesting in light of the su osed meaning of human e#istence, which has been as a tool of a far off force. The im lication is that e$en if what "umfoord has told her is true, nonetheless humanity has had a $alid ur ose. Constant finds a ha iness of his own sort being self-sufficient and caring for (eatrice. At the beginning of the story, Constant,s self-sufficiency was only as good as his money. 'e has now found a way to be self reliant without money. A -uestion arises at the end of the story, when Salo lea$es Constant at the snowy bus sto in +ndiana olis. Salo seems to ha$e a thorough enough knowledge of Earth to be aware of the +ndiana olis ublic transit system. +t seems that he would also know that the buses would not be running on such a cold snowy morning. This suggests that Salo intentionally left Constant where he would robably die of e# osure, although Salo knows he will die ha y.

Characters
Malachi Constant Malachi Constant is the main character throughout the no$el, taking on at least four different identities o$er the course of the story. Constant is the wealthiest man in the world, owing to the fantastic success of the com any he has inherited from his father, called Magnum ) us. 'e is a layboy, artying his way through life in the wake of his seemingly incredible luck in making money. As his financial fortune crumbles, howe$er, Constant finds that he has nowhere to turn. This begins the second hase of his character, that of .nk, the disobedient Martian soldier who has had his memory cleared out se$eral times but still manages to recall as ects of his former life. .nk is resourceful, insightful, and intelligent. +t is interesting that these -ualities do not seem to surface in the character until after he has had most of his memory remo$ed. .nk,s resourcefulness ser$es him well in the ca$es of Mercury, where he is stranded for se$eral years before determining how to get out. )nce back on Earth, he takes on yet another identity, that of the S ace !anderer. This is an identity that has been created for him by "umfoord to ser$e as a sort of messiah in his new religion. Still de$oid of much of his memory, the S ace !anderer blithely acce ts the adoration of the eo le of Earth, feeling that it is a wonderful lace to be. "umfoord then fills in the ga s of Constant,s memory and the S ace !anderer is once again Malachi Constant. 'e is a transformed Constant, howe$er. *o longer ca$alier, he is humble. *o longer the fearful soldier wishing sim ly to a$oid ain, he loudly roclaims his inde endence. 'e s ends his final days in ser$ing (eatrice in her alace on Titan. Winston Niles Rumfoord A genial, wealthy aristocrat from *ew ort, "hode +sland. !hile flying his ri$ate s acecraft to Mars along with his dog, 7a%ak, "umfoord asses through something called a 2chrono-synclastic

infandibulum2 which scatters his e#istence across time and s ace. 'e materiali%es at different laces in the solar system at different times at regular inter$als. At the same time, he is constantly materiali%ed on Titan, a moon of Saturn. 'e can read minds, and can see into both the future and the ast. "umfoord uses his abilities to amass a fortune on Earth, and with the hel of an e#traterrestrial named Salo, who is also on Titan, he launches an elaborate scheme to bring a new religion to Earth that teaches that &od has nothing to do with the fate of humankind. "umfoord mani ulates the li$es of (eatrice and Constant in ser$ice to his scheme. At the same time, howe$er, he gi$es them the ca ability to transform themsel$es. "umfoord does not die, but lea$es the solar system when the center of the s iral of his s ace-time e#istence shifts, sending him outward into the uni$erse. Beatrice Rumfoord (eatrice "umfoord is the attracti$e wife of !inston *iles "umfoord. She li$es in the large "umfoord estate, where she tolerates the regular materiali%ations of her husband. She is a oet. 'er fate arallels Constant,s. She is taken to Mars and has her memory erased, taking on the identity of (ee, a meek and obedient teacher. She and her son crash land in the Ama%on rain forest during the Martian in$asion of Earth and ha$e to sur$i$e in the wilderness. They are e$entually rescued and taken back to *ew ort, where she becomes a seller of sou$enirs outside the "umfoord estate where she once li$ed, although she has no recollection of it. The estate has now become the center of "umfoord,s new religion. 'er years in the jungle ha$e gi$en (ee cunning sur$i$al skills and made her fearless. 'er time in the jungle has also turned her skin brown from eating a certain root for food. This accentuates the transformation of (eatrice, whose girlhood ortrait that hangs in the "umfoord estate shows her dressed all in white ne#t to a white ony. ;ike Constant, (ee has her ast re$ealed to her during the religious s ectacle led by "umfoord at the estate, just before she is e#iled to Titan. *o longer fearful of "umfoord as she was when she was his wife, she tells him off, calling him 2scummy2. She li$es out her days on Titan, li$ing in "umfoord,s former alace and writing. 'a$ing forgotten about her former self-image as a ure white $irgin, she absently throws her garbage on the floor to be cleaned u by Constant. Chrono Chrono is the son of (eatrice and Constant. 'e is eight years old when Constant first sees him, or when he first remembers seeing him, on Mars. 'e is an e#cellent ball layer, striking fear into his o onents. 'e has jet black hair and is fiercely inde endent. Chrono, along with his mother, learns dangerous sur$i$al skills along in the jungle of (ra%il. )nce back in ci$ili%ation, he becomes a ju$enile delin-uent, ke t out of jail only because of the inter$ention of "umfoord.

!hile a child on Mars, Chrono icks u a small iece of metal that he kee s with him at all times as a good luck iece. This iece turns out to be the re lacement art for the stranded s ace craft of Salo on Titan. Chrono carries the art with him when he accom anies his mother and Constant to Titan. Chrono li$es the rest of his life on Titan among the large eagle-like bluebirds that inhabit the forests. Ransom K. Fern "ansom 7. /ern is the resident of Magnum ) us, the com any founded by *oel Constant and handed down to Malachi Constant. 'e is a $ery thin man with a biting, dry sense of humor. Salo A messenger from the lanet Tralfamadore, Salo is stranded on Titan when his s acecraft malfunctions because of a broken art. Salo is a machine, but has emotions that seem to run dee er than most of the human characters in the no$el. 'e comes to lo$e "umfoord as a friend after hel ing him build u his Martian army and in$ent his new religion. Salo is des ondent when "umfoord disa ears, and commits suicide by taking himself a art. Salo is waiting for a re lacement art to be deli$ered. 'e watches the acti$ities on Earth as the entire history of ci$ili%ation ad$ances to the oint where the sim le art can be manufactured and deli$ered to him. After his self-dismantling, Constant manages to ut Salo back together again and hel s him re air his shi . Salo returns Constant to Earth in the shi . Boaz (oa% is one of the 2real2 commanders of the Martian army. Although only a ri$ate, (oa% does not ha$e a controlling antenna in his head and ossesses a control bo# that can direct the actions of the other soldiers in his latoon. (oa% is stranded on Mercury with Constant, where he comes to lo$e the sim le creatures called harmoniums, finding a ur ose in his life by caring for them. !hen Constant figures out how to get out of the ca$es of Mercury, (oa% decides to stay behind to care for the creatures. Stony Stevenson Stony Ste$enson is Constant,s best friend on Mars, and is one of the 2real2 commanders. 'e hel s Constant try to remember what he can about his ast, encouraging him to write it down so he can recall it whene$er his memory is erased. Stony is found out by the other commanders and is sentenced to death for hel ing Constant. +t is Constant himself who strangles Stony at the e#ecution, unaware of what he is doing or who Stony is at the time. Noel Constant *oel Constant is the father of Malachi Constant. .sing a bi%arre method of choosing stocks based on the letters in the (ible, *oel Constant builds an enormous fortune, which, with the hel of

"ansom 7. /ern, is turned into a owerful cor oration. *oel only sees his son Malachi once during his life. Sergeant Brackman Constant,s latoon leader on Mars. 'e is actually controlled by (oa%. (rackman is one of the few sur$i$ors of the ill-fated Martian in$asion. 'e becomes a sou$enir seller like (ee. Moncrief The butler at the "umfoord estate, and "umfoord,s right-hand man on Earth. Moncrief hel s "umfoord build the first s acecraft to take recruits from Earth to Mars. Reverend C. orner Red!ine

The astor of the (arnstable Church of &od the .tterly +ndifferent who first welcomes Constant in his role as the S ace !anderer.

.b/ects0Places
"he Rumfoord #state The large house and grounds where (eatrice "umfoord li$es and where !inston "umfoord remateriali%es e$ery fifty-nine days. The grounds feature a tall fountain made u of se$eral bowls, each smaller than the one below it. +t is the scene of "umfoord,s grand religious s ectacle when Constant and (eatrice are e#iled to Titan. olly!ood$ California The home of Malachi Constant, the wealthiest man on the lanet. Constant li$es in a mansion where he throws wild arties. %hoe&e The only city on the lanet Mars, founded by "umfoord to dri$e his Martian in$asion of Earth. Caves of Mercury 3ee ca$es on the dark side of Mercury where Constant and (oa% are trans orted instead of to Earth to fight in the war, and where (oa% decides to remain. "umfoord $isits the ca$es of Mercury e$ery fourteen days. "itan )ne of the moons of Saturn. Titan is inhabitable by humans and is co$ered by forest, meadows, ri$ers, lakes, and seas. "umfoord is ermanently materiali%ed on Titan. +t is where Salo, the creature from Tralfamadore, is stranded, and where (eatrice, Constant, and Chrono s end their final days. "ralfamadore

A distant lanet AE1,111 light years from the Solar System where Salo comes from. The machine creatures of Tralfamadore can influence e$ents at great distances from their lanet. They use their influence to dri$e human ci$ili%ation toward creating a s are art for Salo,s s acecraft. Malachi A small doll that is hung in effigy, re resenting Malachi Constant, the rimary negati$e symbol of "umfoord,s Church of &od the .tterly +ndifferent. "he Whale A giant s acecraft designed for inter lanetary tra$el. +t is later rechristened The "umfoord. "itanic Blue&irds &iant, eagle-like birds that inhabit the forests of Titan. The Titanic bluebirds take in Chrono on Titan, allowing to li$e among them. Chrono's good luck (iece A small iece of metal stra ing with two holes in it. +t is the culmination of all human ci$ili%ation. +t is also a re lacement art for Salo,s s ace shi . "he Church of )od the *tterly +ndifferent The organi%ed faith formed by "umfoord in the wake of the Martian in$asion based on the idea that &od has nothing to do with luck.