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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114
Top Banana
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OP
Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114 |
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,800 Likes: 30
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,800 Likes: 30 |
This chapter opens many doors and in a bittersweet way closes a few. Clark was restless after the discussion with his mother, and soon after she fell asleep, he slipped out of the house and flew slowly around District 9. Everything was peaceful, the fields and buildings covered with snow in the starlight, giving him plenty of time to think without being distracted.
It was Martha’s revelation about Jonathan’s long-ago involvement with a group that opposed the Capitol that occupied Clark’s mind. Did the group still exist? If it did, who was in it? What about the other groups that Martha had implied existed? Were they just in District 9, or were they elsewhere? Since his flight to the moon and seeing there is more than one country remaining on Earth, Clark is beginning to open his eyes to other possibilities. Especially uppermost in his mind are what secret activities his father was involved in years ago and why did he stop attending those clandestine meetings? The more Clark learned, the more he wanted to know, but he didn’t know how to go about gaining that knowledge. He knew that getting caught asking questions or looking for information would bring serious consequences, but there were consequences to remaining ignorant, too.
Though Clark spent hours flying slowly around District 9, lost in thought, he didn’t come to any conclusions. All he knew was that he had a great deal to learn — but no real idea of how to find the answers to the questions that were now going through his mind. The young, innocent farmer is gone, in his place is an investigator - one who is in desperately in need of a partner. “Every time someone mentioned you, she changed the subject. She says she’s not mad at you, though.” Rachel needs to get over herself and grow up. The Clark she is pining for sadly, no longer exists. It could have been, he acknowledged to himself. Though he realized that Rachel had felt more strongly about him than he had about her, his feelings for her might have grown under other circumstances — especially if she’d been accepting of his differences. If he hadn’t taken part in the Games, if he hadn’t met Lois, things might have been very different. I suspect that if Clark had not been reaped he probably would not have married her. He is a one woman man and Rachel was not that woman. Marriage to someone - even a friend - would not have worked for him. Clark looked down. “I wasn’t lying, Rachel, when I said Lois and I were friends. You were right when you said I was in love with her, too, but … I hadn’t figured out how I felt yet. Or maybe it’s more that I couldn’t let myself acknowledge that I loved her. After what happened in the arena … it was too hard to think that I’d lost someone I loved. It’s hard to lose a friend, too, but … it’s not quite the same.” He stopped, knowing how bad that sounded, even though it was the truth.
He looked up when Rachel came over to him, stopping just out of reach. “You know, Clark, strangely enough, I do believe you. You’ve always had a hard time seeing what was right in front of you.” Glad they are talking! “Sten is meeting me there,” Rachel added. “He’s bringing the bread I baked.” When the others continued to stare at her, she gave an exasperated sigh. “Clark and I are going to try to be friends again — but nothing else.”
Lana hugged her best friend. “Good. I miss the days when the four of us were a team. Just because things change doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.” She took Pete’s hand. “Now, let’s get going. I’m hungry.” I am so glad they are all trying to be friends instead of being suspicious of one another. As Martha said, they are adults now, no longer children, hard as it is sometimes to give up a cherished, long held dream they must. Pete is married to Lana and Rachel will eventually marry herself one day, District 9 is part of their lives. Clark on the other hand has a wider destiny and it is not to be the plaything of the Captiolites. Very much looking forward to the next part. 
Morgana
A writer's job is to think of new plots and create characters who stay with you long after the final page has been read. If that mission is accomplished than we have done what we set out to do, which is to entertain and hopefully educate.
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114
Top Banana
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OP
Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114 |
This chapter opens many doors and in a bittersweet way closes a few. Clark's growing-up years are over. He's no longer a District 9 farm boy with very little knowledge of the outside world. Between the Games and his powers, he's seeing things with a whole new perspective. Clark was restless after the discussion with his mother, and soon after she fell asleep, he slipped out of the house and flew slowly around District 9. Everything was peaceful, the fields and buildings covered with snow in the starlight, giving him plenty of time to think without being distracted.
It was Martha’s revelation about Jonathan’s long-ago involvement with a group that opposed the Capitol that occupied Clark’s mind. Did the group still exist? If it did, who was in it? What about the other groups that Martha had implied existed? Were they just in District 9, or were they elsewhere? Since his flight to the moon and seeing there is more than one country remaining on Earth, Clark is beginning to open his eyes to other possibilities. Especially uppermost in his mind are what secret activities his father was involved in years ago and why did he stop attending those clandestine meetings? It's a mystery. Martha doesn't know, and she doesn't know who the people Jonathan was talking to that night were, so Clark can't seek them out. Still, this new knowledge tells Clark that there are people out there who are willing to work together to change things. Finding out who, and then getting those groups to safely communicate and cooperate is another challenge altogether. The more Clark learned, the more he wanted to know, but he didn’t know how to go about gaining that knowledge. He knew that getting caught asking questions or looking for information would bring serious consequences, but there were consequences to remaining ignorant, too.
Though Clark spent hours flying slowly around District 9, lost in thought, he didn’t come to any conclusions. All he knew was that he had a great deal to learn — but no real idea of how to find the answers to the questions that were now going through his mind. The young, innocent farmer is gone, in his place is an investigator - one who is in desperately in need of a partner. Someone to work with, and learn with. But does such a person exist? He also has a lot to learn ... he's an 18-year-old with a high school education far less comprehensive than that available to the average Capitol citizen (and what they learn leaves out a lot). Where to find the knowledge he seeks is something he doesn't yet know. “Every time someone mentioned you, she changed the subject. She says she’s not mad at you, though.” Rachel needs to get over herself and grow up. The Clark she is pining for sadly, no longer exists. Rachel's still mad, though she's trying to be understanding and move on. It's hard when one person feels more strongly in a relationship than the other, and then to see that loved one fall for someone else (and get gossiped about because of that) can be very painful ... especially for someone as young as Rachel. It could have been, he acknowledged to himself. Though he realized that Rachel had felt more strongly about him than he had about her, his feelings for her might have grown under other circumstances — especially if she’d been accepting of his differences. If he hadn’t taken part in the Games, if he hadn’t met Lois, things might have been very different. I suspect that if Clark had not been reaped he probably would not have married her. He is a one woman man and Rachel was not that woman. Marriage to someone - even a friend - would not have worked for him. He might have married her if he'd never known Lois and never gone through the Games. Clark wants normality and a stable, loving relationship like his parents had. He gave up that idea after the Games because he doesn't want to watch his children die in the arena (or go through what it takes to survive), but if he hadn't been Reaped, he might have married Rachel (especially if she accepted his differences, always a sticking point for him). After all, he couldn't have missed what he never had. Clark looked down. “I wasn’t lying, Rachel, when I said Lois and I were friends. You were right when you said I was in love with her, too, but … I hadn’t figured out how I felt yet. Or maybe it’s more that I couldn’t let myself acknowledge that I loved her. After what happened in the arena … it was too hard to think that I’d lost someone I loved. It’s hard to lose a friend, too, but … it’s not quite the same.” He stopped, knowing how bad that sounded, even though it was the truth.
He looked up when Rachel came over to him, stopping just out of reach. “You know, Clark, strangely enough, I do believe you. You’ve always had a hard time seeing what was right in front of you.” Glad they are talking! They've been friends since they were very young, and still care about each other as friends, even if it will never be anything else. “Sten is meeting me there,” Rachel added. “He’s bringing the bread I baked.” When the others continued to stare at her, she gave an exasperated sigh. “Clark and I are going to try to be friends again — but nothing else.”
Lana hugged her best friend. “Good. I miss the days when the four of us were a team. Just because things change doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.” She took Pete’s hand. “Now, let’s get going. I’m hungry.” I am so glad they are all trying to be friends instead of being suspicious of one another. As Martha said, they are adults now, no longer children, hard as it is sometimes to give up a cherished, long held dream they must. Pete is married to Lana and Rachel will eventually marry herself one day, District 9 is part of their lives. Clark on the other hand has a wider destiny and it is not to be the plaything of the Capitolites.[/quote] His future is wider than District 9, but then, change is coming, and where anyone's life will take them is unknown. Very much looking forward to the next part. I will probably have a new chapter out next weekend ... this was Senior Check-Out Week and overwhelming busy. By the time I finally got home from work at the end of the day, I was beat. Some of the chapter is written, and hopefully I will be able to finish it this weekend before the rush of graduation and the end of the school year and teacher check-out.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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