Summary: Chapter 7

Snowman wakes up hungover from his night of drinking. He climbs down from his tree to begin his daily routine, feeling vertigo both from his hangover and from his mixed-up thoughts about past, present, and future. He eats his last can of Sveltana No-Meat Cocktail Sausages and thinks about the need to find more food. He recalls that he used to be able to find fruit at a nearby arboretum, but the orchards there have since been thoroughly picked over. Snowman also contemplates raiding bird nests for eggs and hunting pigoons, but both options present difficulties, so he rejects them.

The idea comes to him to return to the Paradice facility in the RejoovenEsense Compound, where he believes there may still be a stock of supplies. However, the Compound is far away, and Snowman knows the trip there and back will take at least two days. He begins to make his preparations, and then he sets off toward the Children of Crake to tell them about his plans.

When Snowman arrives, the male Crakers are performing their morning ritual, in which they form a circle around the village and urinate. Crake genetically programmed the men with the ability to mark territory with a strong scent that repels predators like wolvogs.

The men finish their ritual and invite Snowman into their circle, at the center of which a group of adults is taking care of a little boy injured from a bobkitten bite. The adults purr over the child, and Snowman recalls that Crake genetically equipped the Crakers with the capacity to purr at a particular frequency that promotes healing. The adults explain that they had to fend the bobkitten off with rocks and that they plan to apologize to Oryx later for harming one of her children. Snowman wonders whether the Crakers are developing religious sensibilities.

Snowman informs the Crakers of his plans to set out on a longer journey than usual. When Snowman tells them that he’s going to see Crake, the Crakers express their desire to accompany Snowman and meet their creator. But Snowman insists that they stay where they are, and as he returns to his tree, he feels vexed about their misplaced gratitude toward Crake.

Snowman sets off on his journey, walking through former parkland with the sounds of bobkittens in the distance. He reflects that bobkittens had been introduced to control the green rabbit population and save birds from feral cats. The plan worked well, but then the bobkitten population itself grew out of hand.

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