Summary: Chapter 13

After the storm, and with an increasingly painful foot, Snowman progresses along the rampart wall toward Paradice. He reaches the watchtower nearest the facility and uses his sheet as a rope to rappel down the wall. Once on the ground, he proceeds to Paradice. He passes through the airlock and finds the remains of Oryx and Crake. Snowman locates the medical supplies and gives himself a shot of antibiotics. The following morning, Snowman’s foot feels better.

Snowman recalls what happened after he shot Crake. He sealed the inner door, leaving Oryx and Crake in the airlock, then got drunk on Scotch and fell asleep. He woke up to other Paradice staff trying to get in, but Jimmy ignored them. Later in the day an angry CorpSeCorps agent working for RejoovenEsense called Jimmy. Jimmy convinced the agent not to raid the Paradice facility, claiming that it was contaminated. He also implied that Crake had sold his research to a rival company and run away to Bermuda.

After the outbreak, Jimmy checked on the Crakers three times a day. He spent the rest of his time eating, sleeping, and watching news reports about the pandemic. Newscasters discussed conspiracy theories about the origin of the contagion and reported the gradual breakdown of transportation and communications systems.

Jimmy thought a lot about why Crake had done what he did, but he couldn’t come to any definite conclusions. One theory was that Crake had staged a suicide, killing Oryx with the expectation that Jimmy would kill him in turn. But Jimmy didn’t understand why Crake would have wanted to die. Was he afraid that CorpSeCorps agents would torture him and he’d give up the antidote? Or was he just wracked with jealousy? Jimmy had no way of knowing.

Eventually Jimmy realized he couldn’t stay in Paradice much longer. The Crakers were running out of plants to eat, and he needed to get them someplace where they would be safe.

In the present, Snowman finds a letter than he wrote before he escorted the Crakers from Paradice. The letter details everything Jimmy knew about what had happened and how Crake was to blame but then cuts off in the middle of a sentence speculating on Crake’s motives. Snowman can’t remember what his own speculations had been at the time.

Previous section Chapter 12, continued Next page Chapter 13 page 2

Popular pages: Oryx and Crake

Take a Study Break