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jackLyctors persuade emperor to try to create new lyctors. When I first read it I didn't know to question that. Now I'm wondering, did the surviving lyctors actually instigate that? Did they actually want reinforcements? Or more want more information about the lyctorhood process? Or want some more allies if they decided John needed to be deposed. Or did John instigate it in the hopes of raising some lyctors who he didn't need to doubt the loyalty of?
I also note that this is apparently the 10,000 year anniversary of his ascension. So maybe he was feeling sentimental, or more likely dramatic. I wondered why he set this up as a "figure it out yourself" thing rather than setting up "lyctorhood lessons with Doctor John Skellebone". I figured either it was partly for the drama, and partly because you need the conviction not just the knowledge. But mainly to have people figure out the "eat your cavalier" process themselves so that they can adjust to the idea and John not get stuck with lyctors with buyers remorse. And so that they learn just enough and don't question if there's a more perfect lyctorhood out there.
For whatever reason, the Emperor does summon house heirs to Earth to try to reconstruct the lyctoral process.
Cytherea is bored of living in a sick body and with Augustine and Mercymorn increasingly resentful of the emperor. She knows about the baby plot but doesn't directly participate in it? Separately she probably started working with blood of Eden? And made a plan to infiltrates the competition and try to lure the emperor back to Earth. To kill him? Maybe by summoning a resurrection beast?
She waylays Dulcinea and Protesilaus, fails to convince them to help her ruse, and kills them. She arrives impersonating Dulcinea and puppetting Protesilaus's body. Everything Protesilaus does is actually her puppeting her corpse, especially when she has him interrupt her. Some of the things she says are genuinely her, but everything she says is layered with double meaning from her real motives that you don't realise on a first read.
She knows about plan baby. And when she gets to see Gideon's eyes, they're the same as Alecto's, and she deduces that Gideon must be the emperor's genetic daughter and that the emperor swapped eyes with Alecto. Keeping secret the possibility of better lyctorhood. She becomes more firmly committed to harming the emperor.
She is genuinely sick, and may be conflicted, but deliberately sows a lot of confusion. She kills various people and drags out the competition, to avoid discovery and to make things seem sufficiently desperate for the emperor to need to intervene in person.
Everyone speculates about how lyctorhood works. The idea that there's a "lyctorhood megatheorem" is essentially correct. Some people suspect there's more to it. Everyone is distressed to learn that it involves eating your cavalier.
Everything gets screwed up. Cytherea plans to kill everyone remaining. At some point some sort of dangerous spirit beast posesses someone but it's less dangerous than Cytherea and not the cause of all the problems.
Ianthe has unravelled the lyctorhood theorem and become a lyctor and fights Cytherea but loses. Gideon kills herself forcing Harrowhark to use her to become a lyctor. Harrowhark defeats Cytherea.
Some of the non-lyctor survivors are secretly picked up off the planet. By blood of eden? And surprisingly many of the nice seeming people were cooperating with blood of eden somehow?
Ianthe and Harrowhark are picked up by the emperor.
I also note that this is apparently the 10,000 year anniversary of his ascension. So maybe he was feeling sentimental, or more likely dramatic. I wondered why he set this up as a "figure it out yourself" thing rather than setting up "lyctorhood lessons with Doctor John Skellebone". I figured either it was partly for the drama, and partly because you need the conviction not just the knowledge. But mainly to have people figure out the "eat your cavalier" process themselves so that they can adjust to the idea and John not get stuck with lyctors with buyers remorse. And so that they learn just enough and don't question if there's a more perfect lyctorhood out there.
For whatever reason, the Emperor does summon house heirs to Earth to try to reconstruct the lyctoral process.
Cytherea is bored of living in a sick body and with Augustine and Mercymorn increasingly resentful of the emperor. She knows about the baby plot but doesn't directly participate in it? Separately she probably started working with blood of Eden? And made a plan to infiltrates the competition and try to lure the emperor back to Earth. To kill him? Maybe by summoning a resurrection beast?
She waylays Dulcinea and Protesilaus, fails to convince them to help her ruse, and kills them. She arrives impersonating Dulcinea and puppetting Protesilaus's body. Everything Protesilaus does is actually her puppeting her corpse, especially when she has him interrupt her. Some of the things she says are genuinely her, but everything she says is layered with double meaning from her real motives that you don't realise on a first read.
She knows about plan baby. And when she gets to see Gideon's eyes, they're the same as Alecto's, and she deduces that Gideon must be the emperor's genetic daughter and that the emperor swapped eyes with Alecto. Keeping secret the possibility of better lyctorhood. She becomes more firmly committed to harming the emperor.
She is genuinely sick, and may be conflicted, but deliberately sows a lot of confusion. She kills various people and drags out the competition, to avoid discovery and to make things seem sufficiently desperate for the emperor to need to intervene in person.
Everyone speculates about how lyctorhood works. The idea that there's a "lyctorhood megatheorem" is essentially correct. Some people suspect there's more to it. Everyone is distressed to learn that it involves eating your cavalier.
Everything gets screwed up. Cytherea plans to kill everyone remaining. At some point some sort of dangerous spirit beast posesses someone but it's less dangerous than Cytherea and not the cause of all the problems.
Ianthe has unravelled the lyctorhood theorem and become a lyctor and fights Cytherea but loses. Gideon kills herself forcing Harrowhark to use her to become a lyctor. Harrowhark defeats Cytherea.
Some of the non-lyctor survivors are secretly picked up off the planet. By blood of eden? And surprisingly many of the nice seeming people were cooperating with blood of eden somehow?
Ianthe and Harrowhark are picked up by the emperor.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 06:41 pm (UTC)I don't think a specific reason is given but I note that by letting them work it out themselves, he can guide them (by faking things in Canaan House) to the kind of lyctorhood he wants them to find without getting his fingerprints on it too obviously. If he told them how to do it then, if they subsequently discover there are better options, the new lyctors would know he'd set them up.
It's not a very good theory but it's the best I've got l-)
> Everyone is distressed to learn that it involves eating your cavalier
Well... everyone except Ianthe.
And Corona, whose only objection was that Ianthe ate the wrong person.
And Gideon doesn't all that bothered by it in the end, either.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-30 06:32 pm (UTC)Mind you, this is a reaction from reading it for book club some time ago, and I no longer remember the details of what made me feel this way, so that may be less use than ideal. Also, I have not read the later books.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-08 10:04 pm (UTC)