Reset - Sarina Dahlan

POV: Aris, Metis (main)

Chapter 1

In a distant memory, two humans are together in a wooden house. They know that Tabula Rasa - the process of memory wiping every four years - will occur the next day and they will be separated permanently. They are Aris and Metis four years (or some time) before the events of Reset (2021) (although the novel does not explicitly say this).

Chapter 2

Aris wakes up in her apartment bed in the city of Callisto by Lucy, her A.I. voiceover/drone, and prepares for the day. As she watches the city outside, she wonders where the people will go. The other cities in the society of Four Cities is Lysithea, Europa, and Elara. What is known is that Callisto is the capital, and Elara is the city of the dead. Music plays in the background of Aris' apartment and a piece of music by Metis ("Luce") is on. Upon learning that Metis is living musician, Aris requests a ticket, and the concert is nearly sold out. She then heads for work.

In a house, deep in the woods, Metis thinks about his past. He is kept company by a hologram known at "the Crone": an old woman "cloaked in a silvery gown that billows in a nonexistent wind. It looks like a combination of water and air. Her hair is pure white, and her face a landscape of cracked, parched earth. Four well-defined lines are etched like deep scars between her pale eyebrows." Metis is a "Sandman" - a human who leads other to the past; and he is haunted by memories of a past he cannot remember. The Crone mentions that she has lived more than she needs to and assists Metis whenever she can. "Absinthe", a drug that unlocks hidden memories the past, is mentioned by the Crone to be Metis' burden as one of the Sandman (he must guard it).

It is six months until the next Tabula Rasa - the next memory wipe.

Chapter 3

Aris walks through the abandoned train stations of Callisto as she heads to work. The leader of the Four Cities is "the Planner", and it is mentioned that "Callisto was modeled after the city of his childhood." It is also mentioned that everything in the Four Cities is artificial and/or runs on a tight schedule. Aris runs into an old woman sitting on a bench feeding the birds of the cities, and the woman greets her. The woman gives Aris some seeds, and Aris feeds the birds as well. The woman and Aris have a conversation about love (specifically between two people) - the old woman is for love as "a wonderous thing", while Aris views it as a waste of time before Aris leaves. It is mentioned that children are no longer born out of love (aka sexual intercourse between two people in love), and instead "are medically conceived and born at the Center of Discovery and Learning."

Aris gets onto an elevator that goes deep into the earth to an underground subway station. There are four stations in Callisto, one to each of the Four Cities. The city of Elara is mentioned to be the last of the Four Cities built "and was still under construction when bombs lit up the world"; and that the Four Cities are located in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Aris boards the train that takes her to the heart of Callisto - "Center Square". Aris bumps into an old man wearing a "khaki shirt with a small purple dot on it. His grey grey needs combing. She had the urge to smooth it down with her hand. Silver-rimmed glasses decorate his round face, unnecessary when sight correction is done at each doctor's visit. He carries a briefcase, the type with multiple compartments. The weathered leather bag has soft patina from regular use and the passage of time." He is Professor Jacob, a Historian who works at the "Natural History Museum", like Aris. Jacob has a meeting with Thane, the supervisor of the Museum. Aris and Jacob board the subway, alongside other humans, and they introduce themselves as the train lurches forward. Jacob mentions that he wrote the "Manual of the Four Cities", which Aris obsessively reads, and that the Manual is just a rewriting of the Planner's words. Aris and Jacob both discuss the section on dreams in the manual - "There are so many schools of thought on dreams." One "school of thought" is the biological nature of dreams (neurons firing during sleep, and to prepare the human body for situations before they even happen), and the other is that dreams contain memories and that people try to find their old lives through those dreams. Jacob believes in the biological nature of dreams, rather than the memories of old lives. He apologizes for saying "old, funny sayings. I can't help myself." Aris asks Jacob about his take on dreams, and he says "I'm partial to thinking that dreams are a combination of synapses making connections and your brain trying to make sense of them. We humans have a need to find meaning in even the most random, insignificant thing. ... Like our existence". The subway passes some graffiti from a distant artist. Aris looks down and sees that she has a scratch on her hand (which she has never seen before), and Jacob places a Band-Aid on it. The subway then arrives at Center Square Station in Callisto and Aris and Jacob leave the subway. They board an elevator upwards and arrive at the Square. As Aris approaches the Natural History Museum, she spots a man, Bodie (unnamed) - "Sun-bleached blonde and muscular". He appears to be from Elara and is shouting "'How can you walk around like everything's fine?' ... 'They took everything from us' ... 'our lives, our past, the people we love. All we have left are dreams!' ... 'Stop looking at your stupid watch!' ... 'That's how they track your every move. Don't wear it!' ... 'They stole our memories and left us with nothing! ... 'They can't keep doing this to us. They can't take away everyone we care about. It must be stopped. We must fight back!'". Aris stays close to Jacob during the whole ordeal. A white car with white lights (only available to Council members and Officials) suddenly arrives to arrest Bodie (unnamed) and a Callisto police officer places a silver band on him, "His rage dissipates into the air like smoke." Jacob approaches the officer who arrested the man, "Officer Scylla of Station Eighteen", and Jacob tells Scyllla"This man [Bodie] is under the care of the Interpreter Center". Scylla thanks Jacob for informing him about Bodie, and Scylla takes Bodie to the Interpreter Center, where dreams are treated as mental illness in the Four Cities and where Tabula Rasa procedures for dreams are performed. Aris remembers the Interpreter Center building - "a gleaming white building surrounded by a sweeping green lawn and forest."

Chapter 4

Aris is teaching a group of eight-year-old (school-aged) children, who wear "white-and-blue uniforms", about the landscape of California, USA with realistic holograms. She then explains how southern California came to be over time from natural causes through those holograms, and the kids are obviously bored. One kid asks when does lunch come, and Aris says that the presentation's almost over, and then they can eat. She explains that when famines and earthquakes suddenly struck the world, humans destroyed themselves; this is something the children take in with. She explains that the Planner was the one that built the Four Cities before the Last War, and that he escaped the war via a spaceship. She also explains the philosophical concept of a Tabula Rasa (Latin for "blank slate") as it applies to the Four Cities - "At birth, the human mind is a blank slate, without rules for processing data. Data is added and rules are formed solely by one's sensory experiences. It is in these experiences that we're exposed to prejudices that breed hatred, which leads to fighting, resulting in wars." She also states that each Tabula Rasa is a personal "reset" (ROLL CREDITS!) and that the processes are performed on "March twentieth. The first day of Spring". The novel mentions that children are raised by a group of (female?) humans called "the Matres", and receive their first Tabula Rasa in their twenties - "Well, children must grow up first. Once you're eighteen, you'll graduate into a life outside the Center. Then on to higher education. After that, depending on where you are in the cycle, you'll get your first Tabula Rasa." It is mentioned that the children do not get Tabula Rasas as children to prevent educational loss - "So, learned knowledge, languages, and other innate abilities stay" (in terms of Tabula Rasas performed on young people). Aris also compares the Four Cities to an oasis in a desert (both metaphorically and physically). The students are then released for lunch, and Aris retreats into dark area accessed by a spiral staircase, containing figures of North American fauna (presumably an exhibit), where she recovers from teaching the students. She remembers her first Tabula Rasa ("Waking") in her twenties, where her A.I. Lucy told her what she learned in school after the procedure, and that the professionals there were clad in white. A voice punctures the moment of silence. It is Thane, the supervisor of the Museum. "Although plain by her standards, Thane is not unattractive. He has nice periwinkle eyes. He wears his brown hair cropped short. Though his pale skin could use some sun." He thanks Aris for bringing Jacob to the Museum and mentions a project (or "research") he and Jacob are working on. Thane and Aris talk about Bodie's arrest before Aris' watch receives a text message.

Metis practices his piano works in his house when he remembers something - a distant memory.

The memory is of a younger Metis and Aris in the "nature preserve on the outskirts of the Four Cities", searching for the stars "Altair, Deneb, and Vega, the brightest stars in their constellations". They flirt with each other as they watch the night sky.

Metis stops playing the piano and folds an origami crane from blue paper (an important plot point in the book).

Chapter 5

Aris has been set up on a date with an unknown person the next day, and Thane describes her as "A serial first dater". The restaurant - "Golden light shines through a perforated metal ceiling, creating geometric patterns on the floor below. The walls are a combination of rough-hewn granite and dark taupe paint. Thick mahogany tables paired with tailored chairs in soft mohair are strategically placed in the intimate space to give each table privacy." The servants at the restaurant are black-and-white humanoid droids. Aris' date arrives at the restaurant, and the man is young and has "golden-brown hair" ("One of the pretty ones"), revealing himself to be Benja, a aspiring writer. "My job as a writer is to birth them [words] and raise them into responsible adults." Aris just wants to talk to him, since the next Tabula Rasa is a few months away. Lysithea is mentioned to be the city of artists - "The best of them live in the city of Lysithea, in a section with beautiful and gran Victorian 'Painted Ladies'."

Aris and Benja's meal ends soon; and Benja hooks Aris into a conversation about the Dreamers - a group of people who believe their dreams are keys to the past - and that he's searching for them. At the end of their conversation, Benja kisses Aris, and admits that she is the sexiest stranger he's ever meant.

Metis enters his house in darkness to find his piano, located in the arboretum. He is haunted by past memories of his wife, a woman who could be anyone in this cycle of Tabula Rasa.

In a memory, Aris, naked, sits next to Metis on his piano bench in the arboretum, as Metis plays Luce on his piano. It is near dawn. They talk about the time left in their cycle, and Metis playfully touches Aris' body and kisses her. Suddenly, Aris leaves the arboretum and disappears in the shadows of Metis' house.

Metis suddenly hears a creaking sound in his house, but it is only himself in the house. No one else is there.

The morning after Aris and Benja's date, it is implied by that Aris and Benja had sexual intercourse the previous night (the night Aris and Benja met). Aris and Benja awake, and the two talk about Tabula Rasa and the Four Cities. Aris begins to feel something gnawing on her (metaphorically) when she tells Benjs she "doesn't do relationships" - a need for someone - and lies to Benja when he asks her "What are you afraid of?" by saying "Nothing. It's just a waste of time."

Chapter 6

Thane is introduced to Apollina, an Interpreter, by Jacob near Bodie's room at the Interpreter Center. Bodie is hooked up to a Dreamcatcher - "On the man's head is a helmet attached to colorful wires that rain down from above. Thane's eyes trace the wire up to a giant machine made of shiny metal the color of sunset." - a piece of machinery that effectively wipes dreams/memories away from individuals at the press of a button (their dreams are shown on the machine before they are wiped). The project Thane, Jacob, and Apollina are working on is a list of young/old people they suspect are part of the Dreamers. Thane is needed to find more Dreamers in the Four Cities to arrest. Jacob mentions that the three [Thane, Jacob, Apollina] are "... the guardians of the Planner's ideology - Tabula Rasa". Apollina mentions that Bodie's tox screen (report of the drugs and/or toxins found in a person's body) found traces of the drug Absinthe in his body and the Absinthe is what connects the people in the list together. Thane doesn't know how Absinthe works, and Apollina mentions that the only thing known about Absinthe is that "We can only assume that the source was never destroyed. We believe that once it's eradicated, we should be rid of it for good."

Aris wakes in her apartment from a memory of Metis to Benja writing a note in her kitchen. It is mentioned that a week has passed since they first met. Benja is a goose-chase to find the Dreamers at libraries. Aris refuses to go when Benja states "We're humans, Aris. We need social interactions - to see the faces of others, to have meaningful conversations. Without all that, we're denying our nature. Do you want to deny the essence that makes us human?", and convinces Aris to come with him.

Aris waits for Beja in a park outside the Interpreter Center. It is early October. Thane finds Aris in the park (casual meeting), and mentions to her that he is going to "Griselda" - "...a popular music venue with grey glass walls and a ceiling that projects images of the galaxy. It's normally filled with young black-clad artist types." - after his meeting with Jacob in the Interpreter Center. Thane and Aris talk about the Interpreter Center, as Benja appears. Benja gifts Aris a "small desertscape painting" when Thane harridly leaves. Benja and Aris talk about artists, the Dreamers, and Tabula Rasa. One of the influences behind the Four Cities is the song Imagine by John Lennon. One of the reasons Aris likes Tabula Rasa is that nobody kills anybody for anything. She also mentions that the Four Cities puts humans in a position of "We are free to explore. To create, to invent. Yet we are each part of a productive part of a whole", but Benja snorts about the "human paradox" - "You end up killing those you want to save" - to her. Benja feels that the memories he sees are deja vu, but Aris says that dreams are fantasies/farces. "Dreams are not real". The Councils in the Four Cities are the "Dwelling Council" (assigns people their housing), "Distribution Council" (equal distribution of goods). There is also the "Police Station" for law and order, and the "Center for Disease Control" as hospitals. "Entertainment points" are a form of currency that replenishes every four years.

Metis speaks to the Crone in his houses arboretum about Bodie. The Crone replies, "Their answer to every human weakness is to wipe it from existence. No choice. No learning. How do we move forward if we keep repeating the past?"

Benja and Aris move from the park to the forest in Callisto to find the library. Aris and Benja talk about the Four Cities and humanity in the forest. In the library (which appears grand, yet old), Aris finds a blue origami crane on a table while Benja searches for information on the Dreamers. When he finds Aris, he sees that she found the blue crane. Benja mentions that the Dreamers use the blue origami cranes to communicate. Benja unfolds the crane, hoping the find a message from the Dreamers - the resulting unfolded sheet has no words on it (it's a blank sheet of paper).

Chapter 7

That night, after Aris and Benja found the crane, Aris enters a reconstructed version of Carnegie Hall in the Four Cities (the real one in the novel is destroyed). When Aris finds her seat, the lights dim and Metis appears on stage. "A man walks rigid-backed to the piano and bows. His black hair reminds Aris of anthracite. It contrasts against his skin. It's pale - not the paleness of a sickly person, but like ivory yellowed with age." Metis begins playing the piano and his music moves Aris, conjuring images in her mind. Right in the middle of the opening act, Aris' Apple Watch beep, signaling she received a text message from Benja - "I NEED YOU". Metis stops playing, and walks off-stage when he sees Aris. Flustered, and thinking that she ruined Metis' performance, Aris leaves the Hall.

Argus, the stage manager of the Hall, confronts Metis about leaving during the opening act. Metis cannot conjure the words for what he saw, and Argus convinces Metis to continue playing. Metis stares down at the silver rings on his fingers, reminding himself of his past promise to his lost wife, and reenters the stage. He does not see Aris in the crowd, and begins to play his most iconic piece - Luce.

Aris changes into new clothing in her apartment before Benja arrives. He thinks that there's a hidden message in the crane, after smelling vinegar on the paper. Aris remembers that "In the Old World, during war, spies would send messages using invisible ink made of lemon juice." Aris asks Lucy about using invisible ink, and the AI mentions heat when talking about the chemical reaction between acetic acid (vinegar) and cellulose. Aris suggests using fire to see the message and finds the candle she has in her bathroom. Benja and Aris carefully place the blue paper over the candle, and a message appears - "Spring flower".

Metis tells the Crone about finding Aris, and the Crone solemnly says that the Dreamers will need a new Sandman if Metis chooses to go after Aris. She also snaps at him - "You're not the first Sandman to be in this predicament." But Metis has made his decision: he will find Aris and reunite with her.

Chapter 8

The next day (after the concert disaster), Thane and Aris talk about Thane's date and other potential dates the two might have in the future as they walk to work.

Aris finds a closet ("The Tomb.") in the Museum full of old, discarded technology (including phones (landline, iPhones, etc.)), and finds that one of the items is a copper helmet - "The dull reddish-orange metal is covered in places by a layer of verdigris. Attached to its top are colorful wires, like a plumed crest on a galea, the helmet Roman soldiers wore." - is her latest fascination. Aris puts the helmet on herself for a moment, but then decides to take it herself for further studying.

Metis makes his final batch of Absinthe with the Crone directing him. Absinthe is made from the hypnos plant, a genetically-engineered plant made from several plant species. The drug is primarily made from the hypnos plant (oil and flowers), alcohol, and mountain water outside the Four Cities. As Metis makes the drug, he reflects on what the Crone said to him about Aris - "You must only go to her as Metis."

That night, Aris heads to her apartment after her date, and the weather outside is rainy. Aris thinks she hears footsteps following her, and begins to run, but accidentally runs into Metis in the process. Metis offers to walk Aris to her apartment, but she refuses, knowing that she was the one that ruined his concert for everyone.

Metis cannot believe that he ran into Aris, who is revealed to be Metis' lost wife, in an unexpected way.

Aris takes a hot bath (to get rid of the cold from the rain outside), and allows Metis' piece Luce to play in her apartment as she thinks about the human experience.

Chapter 9

In early November, Metis meets the Dreamers in a library "on the corner of Spring and Flora" in Callisto the next week on a Thursday morning. Metis' successor (as the Sandman) is a young woman known as Eirene. He wears a Balinese mask to conceal his face and identity from the other Dreamers. He begins the meeting and finds that a few new people have joined the group (including Benja). Metis mentions in his opening monologue that the Apple Watch given to citizens functions a tracker used by the government of the Four Cities and warns the Dreamers to watch their own movements in the Cities (to not raise suspicions); and tells the new young woman part of the group (Serpahina (unnamed)) to not wear the Apple Watch anymore. Metis mentions that the Dreamers also must not tell others about their dreams, which would jeopardize the group and Absinthe (the drug); he mentions that those that betray the Dreamers will be banished from the group. Metis lets Seraphina and Benja tell her testament of their dreams leading them to the Dreamers, before warning them that "The past and present do not mix". Metis opens a book ("Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez"), and a hologram the Crone suddenly appears; he tells her that "It's October twenty-third. One hundred and forty-eight days left before the cycle ends". The Crone then does her own monologue about Absinthe before the entire group takes shots of the drug (similar to downing a shot of vodka).

After the meeting, Seraphine and Metis talk alone in a quiet section of the library about the Dreamers' rules.

That night, Benja enters Aris' apartment, and telling her he found the Dreamers, and about the meeting he attended. He also mentions that he saw a man in his dreams before and/or after taking Absinthe, and asks to stay in Aris' apartment for the night. Aris whispers to herself "How can you love someone you don't remember?" before going to sleep.

Aris awakes to Benja sitting up on her bed, and he tells her (after much contemplation), "'You know we're told so many things in our lives', he says, not looking at her. 'Facts and fiction face off like pawns on a chessboard. So we learn through books and education, hoping they will advance us towards the ultimate truth. But at the end of it, when we look back, all we have is a bare chessboard. Truth and lies lie like a mountain of dead bodies in the trenches'." He tells her he saw his past lover (a man in a white hat) in his dreams last night. Aris doubts it, but Benja tells her "We've become a society of faithless people. That's why most of us can't believe in things we cannot see nor touch." Benja begs Aris to help him find his past lover, but she refuses (due to her beliefs).

Chapter 10

Three weeks have passed since Benja first took Absinthe (it is now "... November 13"). Aris is talking to Thane via FaceTime on her Apple Watch about Benja and Absinthe before Benja "FaceTime interrupts" the conversation to ask Aris to meet him at "... the Corner of Destiny and Fate", a coffee shop is located in Europa; he thinks he found his past lover. Aris agrees to help Benja, and ends the FaceTime conversation between herself and Thane.

After Aris decides to help Benja, Thane thinks to himself "Add him [Benja] to the list." He then uses an old telephone to contact Jacob about Benja, who may (unknowingly) lead the Interpreters to Absinthe.

"Europa is a city of neighborhoods. Made up of high rises, brownstones, and boxy brick buildings - some with businesses on the ground floor. Restaurants, bookstores, and coffee shops are on every block." Aris finds Benja in the Corner of Destiny and Fate, watching a nearby coffee shop from across the street. Benja's past lover is a man with greying hair wearing a white hat, who is also a writer. Aris snips at Benja, "The Matres would be so disappointed if they knew you were squandering your day like this", in response to him watching the man. "According to the Manual of the Four Cities, the Matres raise and educate all children from birth to age eighteen at the Center of Discovery and Learning. They dedicate their entire lifetime to the ideology of the Planner. To maintain a world where all humans live alongside each other in peace, they work tirelessly to encourage the children to be the best version of themselves. Aris doesn't remember the Matres she grew up with. No one does." Benja and Aris talk about who the Matres are (droids or humans, they don't know) and the Center of Discovery and Learning (CDL) before Benja's past lover leaves the coffee shop across the street. Aris and Benja begin to follow the man into "... an older section of the city where Italianite brownstones stand in perfect rows of tree-lined streets" and they find out that Benja's past lover has a new, younger male lover. Benja's hope for the man suddenly dies, and Aris realizes that Benja's dreams have consumed him like a burning fire. She suddenly leaves the area towards the Stations of the Four Cities, heading towards Callisto.

Chapter 11

Aris walks around a farmer's market of Europa, as she thinks about Benja and his obsession with the past. She finds a woman with a wooden chest full of items from past cycles, and Aris takes a turquoise pot from the chest for herself before accidentally running into Metis (more description on Metis' physical appearance - he has long, tousled, shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes). Aris embarrassingly introduced herself, before Metis asks to assist Aris (with her turquise pot) and tells her he's heading to Carneige Hall in Callisto. Aris then tells him that she was the one who interrupted his concert (in chapter 7), and Metis forgives her. As a compromise, Metis decides to take Aris to Carnegie Hall to personally finish the concert for her.

Metis takes Aris into the Carnegie Hall ("A brick building with a mellow ochre hue stands in front of them. They are in the back of a nondescript alley.") through the back entrance. Metis takes Aris to the stage of the Hall, and turns on the lights there (they were off when they arrived). Metis sits on the piano bench and Aris sits beside him. As Metis plays, the music evokes images of nature from Aris. Metis plays his "depressing" piece, per Aris' request to "Play me one of your favorites" ("Tchaikosky wrote a set of twelve songs, each piece representing the months and seasons. This one is called 'October', describing autumn in Russia."), before kissing Aris. Before the pair "really get into it", Aris' Apple Watch begins beeping, but Metis tells her to ignore it. The beeping continues, and Aris pulls away from Metis to answer it. It is Scylla, the Officer from chapter 3, telling Aris that Benja has been arrested for breaking into his ex-lover's apartment and will stay at the Interpreter Center for the night. Aris initially refuses to tell Metis what's going on, but then tells him (at his persistence) before going to the Center.

Chapter 12

Aris goes to the Interpreter Center to pick up Benja, and she is led to him room where Benja is by Officer Scylla. Benja is on a bed and he has a silver band on one of his wrists (the detention band that calms an individual ("A calming device")), and Scylla explains the last arrest he made was Bodie. Benja's time in the room is over, and Scylla removes the detention band from Benja, and Benja is discharged from the Center, with Aris leading him. As they walk to her apartment, Aris and Benja discuss how the Four Cities is "imprisoning" humanity. 

In her apartment, Aris and Benja discuss Benja's predicament in terms of the past and Absinthe. Benja makes Aris promise him to make sure the Interpreters don't take his dreams/memories away.

Thane and Apollina talk about Benja, and furthering their investigation into the Dreamers.

A month has passed since Benja's arrest (and Aris and Metis reunited). Metis is playing at his piano in Carnegie Hall, thinking about Aris (who is not answering her Apple Watch), when Argus finds him. Argus gives Metis a blue origami crane after a brief exchange (about relationships ("'Passion is overrated", Metis says, 'Happiness, on the other hand, is undervalued.'")), and mentions that Benja (not by name) wanted to give the crane to Metis.

Aris listens to Metis' voicemails, each one making her emotionally heavier and heavier as she continues listening. She apologizes to him (by herself, not face-to-face), and deletes his voicemails from her Apple Watch.

Chapter 13

In the dead of night, Metis follows Benja, who is in a worse state than his previous appearances (in the novel) to his apartment.

In a memory, Metis and Benja discuss exposing the Dreamers to the Interpreters (unintentionally), in terms of wanting past lovers to take Absinthe.

As he continues following him, Metis wishes he should've banished Benja from the Dreamers on the day that Benja joined the group. Metis runs into Benja (in Benja's apartment complex lobby) and rides the elevator with him to his (Benja's) apartment. In Benja's apartment, Metis and Benja discuss Benja's (potential) banishment from the Dreamers, when Benja suddenly shifts the conversation to Metis' identity as the Sandman of the Dreamers, and Aris' constant listening of the song Luce. Benja accuses Metis of being "A hypocrite and a moron", when Metis mentions that he will not force Aris to take Absinthe to remember. Metis then says the only difference between him and Benja is restraint, and Metis chastises Benja's obsession for his (Benja's) ex-lover. As a result, Benja gets an idea - to convince Aris to take Absinthe on her own terms.

Thane watches the exterior of Benja's apartment building, trying to discover more evidence about Benja. He then thinks about the cycles and Tabula Rasa to himself, before he spots Metis leaving the complex. Thane follows Metis into downtown Callisto - "Callisto never sleeps, especially now, when everyone is out spending their entertainment points before they lose them at Tabula Rasa" - towards an unknown building, where Metis watches Aris' apartment complex from afar.

Chapter 14

It is "December 19, 3:06 am" when Benja enters Aris' apartment to attempt to giver her Absinthe. Benja notices the Dreamcatcher helmet (not explicitly stated) on Aris' kitchen counter, and Aris tells him not to touch it. They discuss the old Dreamcatcher helmet, before Benja attempts to convince Aris to take Absinthe. She says she will take time thinking about taking the drug.

Late at night, Metis plays his piano in his arboretum when someone knocks on his front door. He goes to his front door and finds no one there, but there is a blue origami crane on the doorstep. He takes it inside and uses a match to find a message on the paper - "B @ IC".

Aris runs to the Interpreter Center the next day as she thinks about her last talk with Scylla (Benja's arrest). She arrives at the center and is greeted by Apollina. Aris asks Apollina to see Benja, and Apollina takes Aris to Benja's room, where his dreams/memories are being wiped by the Dreamcatcher - "The Interpreter opens a door. The room is dark. But there is light coming from a large window connecting it to another room. Through it Aris sees Benja lying on a sleek white bed. Floating above him a shiny copper apparatus in the shape of a large cloud. It looks like something out of the Victorian era and takes up the size of the entire ceiling. Hanging down from it like sheets of rain are numerous tubes of various colors. The tubes come together on a helmet connected to Benja's head. Aris lifts her eyes to the copper cloud above him. On it are images that shift and change like weather." Aris realizes that Benja's theory about the old copper helmet in her possession projects memories, as she witnesses Apollina continuously pushing a button that erases dreams/memories from Benja's mind. Noticing that Aris is watching her, Apollina takes Aris to a different section of the Interpreter Center - a promenade overlooking a forest (Apollina's office_ - and tells her what to do after Benja's "treatment" (dream/memory wipe) is completed for the day. As Apollina goes to fetch Benja for Aris, Aris searches Apollina's desk and finds a list of people she thinks are part of the Dreamers - and finds that Thane is investigating the Dreamers. Apollina appears with Benja before she catches Aris snooping around, and Benja goes to Aris's apartment with Aris.

As Benja recovers in Aris' apartment, Aris FaceTimes Thane over Benja's dream/memory wipe and Aris considers Thane a traitor to herself, and tells him that she quits working at the Museum in (rightful) fury.

In a secret dilapidated house, Metis and the Crone discuss Benja's dream/memory wipe with the Dreamcatcher, and Metis realizes the Crone is right about a lot of things - the past and the present cannot truly mix, and that he has failed as the Sandman. The Crone reminds Metis that Metis was the one that found the Crone herself and created the Dreamers.

Chapter 15

It is near the end of the fourth year, and Aris is back in the restaurant she first met Benja in. Benja enters the restaurant (he looks even worse than before), and, after he sits down, he tells Aris he's finishing his novel and he cannot stop dreaming about his past lover.

Later, in Aris' apartment, Benja and Aris have sexual intercourse before they talk about Tabula Rasa. Benja begins to fall asleep and Aris sings to him a song from her past, and Aris begins to weep for Benja and his lost memories - "His face is slumber does not have the same hopefulness it once did. It is a mask. Empty. Aris feels a drop of liquid on her chest. A tear. She looks at her hands. These are what twisted the knife. She feels like Brutus. A single piece of shared information shard can do so much damage. She failed to save him. Worse, she opened the door to let in the monster that stole them. Et tu, Aris? Another tear falls. She looks at Benja's empty face and feels in her heart that she has committed a sin." Aris leaves her bedroom, and heads to the her living room, and studies the abandoned helmet there, knowing it's true purpose. She then gets an idea to "reverse engineer" the helmet to give Benja his memories/dreams back.

In the middle of the night, Metis heads to a section of Callisto when he cannot bring himself to sleep - a grove of maple trees near a mosaic on the group. He thinks about Aris and the cycles, when he notices that the mosaic has a circular shape, which is made of black-and-white tiles and spell out the word "IMAGINE" in the mosaic's center. He thinks about Aris, the cycles, and Benja before heading over to Aris' apartment complex, as he sees that dawn is nearing, He sees Benja leaves Aris' apartment complex, and Metis follows Benja to his apartment, where Metis finds that Benja is losing his memories and talks to him about their respective past partners. Benja reveals that Aris is afraid of pain during the conversation - "'What is she afraid of?' whispers Metis. 'Pain.' Tabula Rasa had left the fear of attachment in place of his wife's memories." Metis asks Benja about Absinthe, and Benja is befuddled (the same applies for what the Interpreter Center is).

As dawn approaches, Aris heads to the Tomb of the Natural History Museum and chooses a laptop from a group of various computers and exits the Museum. She is determined to give Benja his dreams/memories back to him.

Chapter 16

Aris hologram-FaceTimes Benja and Padma, Benja's apartment manager, answers the hologram-FaceTime for Benja, who reveals that Benja is dead (from suicide).

Aris visits Benja's apartment with Padma, and finds that the last thing Benja read was a passage from Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens) - "'There is a kind of sleep that steals upon us sometimes, which, while it holds the body prisoner, does not free the mind from a sense of things about it, and enable it to ramble at its pleasure'". Padma has handled everything in the wake of Benja's death, and Aris decides to speak to Benja's AI, Sirus, and about Benja's final moments (Padma leaves the room for this). Sirus tells Aris that Benja's last visitor was one month before ("...three weeks ago...") his death; he also mentions that there is a message for Aris to be sent to her "... thirty six hours after. It has only been thirty-four", and that Benja's latest book "A Place of Writing" is stored inside him. Aris lets Sirus read Benja's book to her.

In a dream, Aris sees a faceless Benja in the desert, yelling at her, before crystalline elephants trample her. When the elephants are gone, she sees Apollina talking to a younger woman about Tabula Rasa.

When Aris wakes, Sirus tells her that it is time that Aris must see Benja's message. Benja's message is for Aris not to fear his passing, and that he placed blue origami cranes in a wooden chest with a message also in the chest "Sleep and heal, my friend. The Sandman is coming for you. He'll make your dreams beautiful. With love, Benja".

Metis goes to the morgue and views Benja's corpse, in which he finds that Benja has written words from Love in the Time of Cholera on his arms with permanent marker. Metis briefly touches Benja's corpse and tells it "'Rest in peace, Benja'", before walking out of the morgue and accidentally bumping into Thane(?) or Jacob(?) on the way out.

Thane tells Apollina and Jacob of Benja's suicide, and wonders why Benja killed himself.

It is now the middle of February - Tabula Rasa is inching closer and closer by the day. It is sunset, nearing dusk, as Aris studies Benja's origami cranes. The old woman from chapter 3 then approaches Aris and introduces herself as Eirene, and they talk about Benja's origami crane and the beliefs of the Old World people (people living in modern (2020s A.D.) times), before Eirene walks away. As Aris tries the beliefs of the Old World people, Metis approaches her and asks to stargaze with her. Metis then tells Aris a Japanese myth about the stars Vega and Altair - "'Do you know that back in old Japan, Vega was called Orihime?' he says. 'She's a heavenly princess who fell in love with Hikoboshi, a mortal. He's the star Altair.' She shakes her head. 'Her father forbade her to be with him and separated them by a Celestial River - the Milky Way. The lovers only see each other on the seventh night of the seventh moon, when a bridge of magpies forms across the Celestial River, uniting the two.'" Aris then asks Metis about his talent and his admits that could be a savant at it, and he thinks that music is a form of communication a memory wipe cannot take from humanity. Aris then apologizes for not returning Metis' voicemails, and asks him to come with her tomorrow for Benja's funeral.

Chapter 17

In a distant memory, two people (Aris(?) and Metis(?)) are alone on a beach.

Aris wakes from the memory, and the memory lingers in her mind as if it were real. "'It is eleven fifty a.m. on Saturday, February fourteenth'", and she realizes that she smells and has not cleaned herself in a while and takes a shower before preparing for the funeral. When she is just ready, Metis picks Aris up for Benja's funeral.

Aris and Metis ride the subway train to Elara, and the train is full of Elarans - "The residents of Elara are a reclusive bunch. They are craftsmen. They work with their hands, making beautiful things like pottery, jewelry, wood furniture, and musical instruments - anything not made by the machines". Aris has brought one of Benja's cranes with her and describes Benja to Metis, before she sees a red flower on one of the subway tunnels before the train stops at its respective station. Metis and Aris exit the train with a lot of other people, and follow them down a beaten path in the desert. Aris mentions to Metis that she would love to live in Elara, but quickly reminds herself that the Dwelling Council uses individual preferences to determine where citizens live in the Four Cities. The throng stops at the cliff-drop of a mesa, and each are given a small white box filled with ashes in them. A man them reads a poem by "...Henry Scott Holland" about death to the crowd, before everyone opens their boxes and send their ashes out into the wilds.

Since Elara was the last of the Four Cities to be created, much of the native desert life is unscathed, untouched by humans. There are also individual "houses" termed "Hotel of the Desert", which are individual houses rented by people when they visit Elara. It is sunset, nearing dusk, and the crowd from earlier walk to a grove of oak trees near a running river. Metis focuses on Aris a bit before the pair reach the crowd - "Her beauty is just as she remembers. Her skin, warm honey and scented with lavender. Large almond-shaped eyes - brown with an amber center. Her long hair grazes the middle of her back." The crowd is gathered around a large bonfire, and Metis is mentioned to have come up with the idea of origami cranes - "The cranes were his idea. He had read somewhere that blue birds represented happiness across centuries and many cultured in the Old World. To him, they carry a message of hope - for the memory of being loved." When darkness falls in the desert, the entire crowd has formed, and the people begin burning items to let go of the individual. Aris burns the blue crane Benja gave her in the fire, and Metis leads her out of the crowd and into the starlit desert. Aris then asks Metis to take her to his house.

Metis leads Aris to his house in Lysithea, which resembles a rich person's fancy house. Metis brings himself and Aris some Scotch to drink, but she sobs in his arms (due to grief) and Metis guides Aris to the couch. Luce plays in the background, as Aris grieves Benja, the closest friend she ever had.

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A quote from this chapter - "It is part of the human condition to be remorseful about what we never did. If only we had more time, we tell ourselves. Time to go back and redo some of our actions. Time to enjoy the people we miss. Time to be who we never were."

Chapter 18

In a dream, Aris finds Benja by the ocean and they talk about "heaven" (their version of Heaven) before blue cranes surround them.

In a distant memory, (a younger version of) Aris and Metis are in the bedroom of a house by the ocean and they decide to spend the last year of the cycle together before having sexual intercourse.

Chapter 19

Aris wakes in Metis' bedroom, hearing the sound of a familiar song, and sees that it is "February 15, 9:17 am". She tries to call for Lucy, her AI, but there is no answer. When Aris sees the décor of Metis' bedroom, she remembers where she is and finally knows that the man in Aris' dreams is Metis, and that her dream are actually memories of the past. She follows the sound of the song into the arboretum, where she finds Metis is improving/improvising Luce, and she embarrassingly admits that she dreamt of Metis the previous night. Metis stops playing and confirms that the dream was actually a distant memory. He admits that he knew about Aris since the beginning of the cycle, and thought that Aris appearing at his concert was "... a mirage". Aris admits that it's odd that he knew about her, and Metis suddenly pulls Aris close to him on his piano bench. Aris asks Metis how he knew about her, and he admits that the red flower on the subway tunnel was a message from his past self reminding him of his commitment to Aris. Metis then pulls a ring from his pocket and gives it to Aris - "He takes her hand and puts something in the middle of her palm. A silver ring. She picks it up and studies it. The familiar design looks like a flower. Except its more than a flower. It's a shape interwoven within a shape, entwined as one. The outer design is of interwoven lines that form a nine-point mandala. Inside its center in a square with indented sides." Aris attempts to give the ring back, but Metis puts it on her finger and says that his placed them somewhere so his future selves could remember them. He then admits he takes Absinthe to remember all those memories of Aris. Aris then concludes that Metis is a Dreamer and knew Benja, and asks Metis how many cycles before the current one, and he says "'At least one. Maybe two or three.'", suggesting that Aris and Metis are in their late twenties, early thirties, or older*. She asks him what she was like in older cycles, and he says she was the same as before. Aris and Metis briefly discuss the great paradox of Tabula Rasa (to uncover the forgotten past that will be forgotten again), before Metis suddenly takes Aris to his bedroom and they have sexual intercourse with each other.

After they have sexual intercourse, Aris and Metis them being separated from each other for a long time, when Aris says "'Humans are naturally polyamorous. It's a scientific fact. We are promiscuous. We get bored. We get restless. We like to sample different tastes. That's why I've never understood marriage. Why chain your instinct?'" and Metis replies that him being monogamous was a decision he made after he fell in love with Aris. Aris then describes the feeling of a (metaphorical) gaping hole in her soul to Metis, and Metis explains the purpose of the Dreamers to her - "'It's the reason we Dreamers spend our lives searching, trying to bring it back within our grasp, even if just in dreams. And for the lucky few who find it, we will never let it go'".

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*Wattpad Writer's note (my note): When I first started the novel, I originally thought that Aris and Metis were in their late twenties, early thirties. But as the novel went on, I eventually imaged them as being older adults (based on the character's descriptions in the novel, and it makes the story a bit more bittersweet). The only character I imagine being in his early thirties is Benja, and the two that are in their late twenties are Seraphina and Bodie. The characters of Thane, Jacob, and Apollina are all older adults, a bit older than Aris and Metis.

Chapter 20

Metis and Aris sit in an old metal bathtub filled with water (with some drops of lavender oil placed in the water), and they discuss memories, the nature of Tabula Rasa, and the nature of Absinthe. Aris asks how she able to dream the past without Absinthe, and Metis says "'You've always had the dream - your memory - locked up inside you. Our dreams are gates to the past. Absinthe widens that gate. But it won't work without the dreams.'" He also mentions that Absinthe won't work with a "reset" mind (a mind with no memories/dreams). They then talk about the Dreamcatcher, and their conversation reveals that Bodie is alive, living in Elara, after the Dreamcatcher was used on him. Aris then plans to use the abandoned Dreamcatcher helmet she has to return Bodie's memories and gets out of the tub.

Thane watches Aris and Metis leave Metis' house, and begins to follow them.

Aris and Metis walk through the park of Lysithea to access the station to goes from Lysithea to Callisto. Thirty days (a month) remains until the next Tabula Rasa.

Aris and Metis exit the train and Metis tells Aris of a memory he had of when he first asked Aris to be his wife; Aris asks how he would propose to her now, and Metis says that time stops when he is near her.

In Aris' apartment, Aris and Metis have sexual intercourse - they do it on the floor of Aris' apartment.

Tension is relieved after Aris and Metis' sexual encounter with each other; and Aris realizes that the (metaphorical) hole in her soul has been (metaphorically) filled by her partner, her only partner - her husband.

Chapter 21

Aris and Metis head over to Elara, and it is nighttime with all the stars out, with Metis carrying Aris' laptop and old helmet. They find Bodie's house (which is very open, architectural-wise) at the top of a rocky hill overlooking Elara, and inside is a large crowd of people dressed in white (Aris and Metis are wearing dark-colored clothing, and seem out of place). Bodie welcomes Aris and Metis into his house, and Seraphina approaches the pair - Seraphina mentions that this night is her wedding night (she is Bodie's partner), as Metis introduces Aris to Seraphina. As Seraphina hugs Aris (in a welcoming way), Seraphina whispers in Aris' ear that "'Promise me you'll leave. Metis can't be here. The Sandman needs to be protected. Absinthe needs to be protected'" warns Aris not to drink the clear liquid in the shot glasses (it is poison made by Seraphina for her and Bodie's wedding night) before pulling away. Aris figures out that Metis is the Sandman (from Seraphina's words) and Bodie tells Aris and Metis how he and Seraphina became a couple, before Bodie leaves and prepares the poison for the party. Bodie passes the shot glasses out to the party and makes a toast to his wedding and love, before everyone drinks the poison. Bodie is the first person to die. Aris screams in horror at the sight, and Metis quickly throws Aris' shot glass into a wall, as Seraphina sharply tells Aris and Metis not to attract attention. Metis asks what killed the people, and Seraphina simply says "'Poison.'", and Metis accuses Seraphina of murdering the entire party. Seraphina simply states that she made the poison because the party-goers wanted it - "'They didn't want to live without their lovers. A life without love is not a life.'" Seraphina mentions that she was Bodie's past lover (now reunited), and says that it broke her heart to see his dreams/memories of her erased from his mind by the Dreamcatcher. Metis tries to follow Seraphina's logic and asks "'But suicide?'" before Seraphina says that "'You think this was my idea? It is was his. Death is the only way out of Tabula Rasa's grip. He was the freest man you'd ever find. Everyone else here - they wanted the same thing. You don't hear about it, because nobody talks about it. But they're there, waiting for the right opportunity to break free.'" Aris tries to talk Seraphina out of drinking the poison, but she refuses, and Seraphina hands Aris her and Bodie's wedding rings (the same as Aris and Metis'), before Metis leads himself and Aris out of Bodie's house.

Thane arrives in Elara, still stalking Metis in order to arrest him, and finds Bodie's house. He had heard the sounds of the party before Metis and Aris were forced to flee the scene. Sensing that the silence in the lit house is unnatural, Thane walks up to the house and sees all the corpses on the floor - including Seraphina's. He is relieved to not find Aris' corpse in the place, and calls the police.

Aris and Metis walk towards a "Hotel of the Desert", when Aris tells Metis that she knows he's the Sandman. Aris accuses Metis of lying to her, but Metis says he's relinquishing his position to be with Aris, and that the Crone told him he couldn't be the guardian of Absinthe and Aris' husband at the same time. He also admits that the Crone is the creator of Absinthe and that he didn't tell her about who he was because he wanted to spend the last months of this cycle with Aris.  They continue towards the "Hotel" building, and Metis mentions that the sight of corpses in Bodie's house will haunt him for days to come; but he says that the only thing Aris should remember from this night is his love for her, not the corpses of Bodie's party.

Aris and Metis break into the "Hotel of the Desert", and Aris lights a few candles inside the building (the voice command is reserved for someone else). "The house is one large room. The ample living area with an L-shaped gray sofa connected to a kitchen of shiny white cabinets. A large pendant light that looks like a cloud hangs above a substantial oak coffee table. Through another glass door at the back of the house, Aris sees a pool. It's long enough to swim laps in. She finds the bedroom hiding behind a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf on the far wall." Aris decides to take a shower before doing anything else, and the showers in the "Hotel" have no water timer, unlike the Callisto apartments, which do have a water timer. As Aris is almost done, Metis asks to be in the shower with her, which she agrees to. When Metis gets into the shower with Aris, he sobs into her arms, feeling grief and pain for all those people at Bodie's who committed suicide and that his world is crumbling all around him. "She nods, and he sheds his clothes. In all the times that have been intimate together, she has never seen his naked body from this distance. He is well made - tall with lean muscles and a strong chest wide enough to sleep on. His handsomeness is striking. It is not the conspicuous, peacock-like handsomeness Benja owned. His is born from the stillness of his features and the focused intensity of his eyes. Real. Warm blooded. And very male. She feels her core heating up. The door to the shower opens, and his skin is on hers at once. His hands run over the topography of her body like a river over land, leaving evidence of its passage. Her skin, slippery from water and soap, abides. She roughness of his stubble raking down her neck. He continues lower until he is on the floor, kneeling. His hands are holding by her hips. She feels tremors coming from him. He is crying. Suddenly her heart expands to accept everything she feels. The love she had for Metis. The loss they will soon face. The death of her friend. The emptiness left by those who killed themselves tonight. The sorrow of those who cannot be with the ones they love. She kneels next to Metis and wraps her arms around him. She hums the tune she sang Benja to sleep with."

Thane waits in a police station of Elara to be released, but Officer Scylla's presence forbids his leave-taking as Scylla is interrogating Thane about the poisonings. Suddenly, Thane is released as the Interpreter Center in Callisto requires his prescence.

Aris watches Metis sleep next to her, and she feels like she needs some fresh air. She goes to the pool at the back of the "Hotel", and it is still nighttime, the sky a vast starscape and the hooting of desert owls calling to each other can be heard. Upon hearing the hooting owls, Aris is reminded of her view that animals breed, not humans, and she knows that she will never carry a fetus inside her in her entire life (based on what she knows about the Old World). She takes off her shirt and pants, leaving her bra and underwear on, and dives into the pool. She watches the star-filled night, thinking about Tabula Rasa, when she feels something suddenly touch her. It is Metis, who followed Aris into the pool. Aris and Metis talk about Tabula Rasa and their past memories. They then talk about the Dreamer and their rules, when Metis says we wants to focus on the present, while it still last. Aris also focuses on the present alongside her husband.

Chapter 22

Aris and Metis arrive at Metis' house during the dawn chorus (the period before dawn), and Metis needs to find Absinthe before anything else can happen. Aris and Metis enter the house, and they find that everything is overturned, destroyed, misplaced, and ruined. Metis enters his arboretum, and finds that Absinthe has been stolen, as he was supposed to give it to his successor last night. Metis then realizes the only way the authorities have found Absinthe, is that Aris is still wearing her silver Apple Watch-like band, and Aris removes the band from her wrist as Metis' is now terrified of the future.

Jacob look over the bottle of Absinthe in his hands, as Thane watches on. Jacob congratulates Thane for finding Absinthe, as Apollina finds the men and tells that the Absinthe they have confiscated is the same Absinthe seen in Bodie and Benja's respective tox screens. Apollina then inquires Thane about Aris and Metis being at Bodie's house.

Metis and Aris make their way from Elara to Callisto, where they hide in a dilapidated old house, entirely covered by the surrounding forest vegetation. In the attic of the house is the hologram of the Crone, who is only activated when the book Love in the Time of Cholera is opened. Metis introduces Aris to the Crone and tells the hologram that his house was raided and that Absinthe (the drug) and that the hypnos plant was found. Aris inquires about hiding from the authorities, and the Crone tells Aris that the abandoned house can hide Aris and Metis for two days, but there is a bunker carved into a desert mountain ("'It's a sanctuary for the Sandmen.'") where the can pair remain, far from the authorities, and perhaps may escape the next Tabula Rasa. The Crone decides to watch over Aris and Metis before they leave, and Aris tells Metis goodnight, before Metis goes to sleep. Aris asks the Crone about the Sandmen, and the Crone tells her that there have been many Sandmen and that she had been around since the genesis of the Four Cities (we, the audience, are not told how many years the Four Cities has been around since it doesn't matter in the context of the novel). The Crone then tells Aris that the Planner, before he was even the Planner, was her soulmate, "...Eli". Eli had seen the devastation of the Last War, and he made the Four Cities and Tabula Rasa as an attempt to save humanity. However, the Crone mentions that she and Eli grew distant over the years, and that she created Absinthe, the drug that unlocks dead memories, as a way to tell Eli that she cannot be chained by memory erasure. Aris senses that the Crone still loves Eli, even if her physical body no longer exists.

It is twenty-eight days until the next Tabula Rasa (it is currently February 20th).

Chapter 23

Aris and Metis walk through the forest to the streets of Callisto to reach Carnegie Hall. It is dusk. Metis carrying a survival backpack with him, that the Crone told him to put together. As Metis apologizes to Aris for roping her into his situation, drones find them, and the pair run into a subway station, where they find Thane there. Thane tries to convince Aris that Metis is dangerous, but she tells him that "'Dreams are memories.'" and punches him in the face - allowing Aris and Metis to escape into a hidden subway which leads to Elara. Aris activates the train in time (so Thane can't follow them), and the train begins to head to an Elaran station. During the ride, Aris and Metis discuss Absinthe and the teachings of the Four Cities, when she admits to him that she always wanted to punch Thane ever since Benja's memories were wiped. When the train begins to arrive at the Elaran station, Aris and Metis find Apollina on the platform, flanked by dozens of Officer Scylla clones (which came out of nowhere; I think this is Sarina Dahlan's way to sprinkle in some tension in the novel). Aris and Metis escape by jumping out the last train car onto the subway tracks, and they find that the flower graffiti on the subway tunnel is actually a marking to a hidden location in the subway tunnels. Aris and Metis enter the hidden location, and it leads them to Elara and Callisto - they ultimately choose the right paths and enter the wild deserts of Elara.

It is night, and the only light out is the waxing crescent moon. Aris and Metis follow the bright North Star to the Sandmen's Sanctuary - an abandoned laboratory hidden in a cave in a desert mountain.

Aris and Metis climb the mountain, and find the cave entrance. Inside is an abandoned primal fireplace, and Aris needs to rest, but Metis finds a cave hidden deep within the mountain. Aris follows him, and accidentally leaves the old Dreamcatcher helmet in the cave's entrance. The cave is an abandoned Absinthe laboratory. Exhausted from their trek, Aris and Metis curl up to each other and sleep and exhaustion overtakes them.

Thane is berated by Apollina for failing to arrest Metis; Apollina also mentions that the Scylla clones are hunting Aris and Metis, and that Jacob is trying to defend Thane's presence in Elara.

The next morning, Aris and Metis explore the abandoned laboratory and find it stocked with canned food, canned water, and old notes about Absinthe. In a journal, Aris finds that the Dreamer's territory is Elara, as it is furthest from Callisto, the capital. It is mentioned after Aris reads the journal entrance that the citizens of the Four Cities are vegan (they eat only plant-based foods). As she continues reading, Aris deduces that the journals were written by the Crone (when she was alive). Before deciding to stay in the cave to wait out Tabula Rasa, Aris and Metis talk about Benja and the Dreamcatcher. Aris also grabs her helmet from the entrance of the cave before anyone can find her.

Two weeks have passed since Aris and Metis have found in the cave (the moon is now a full moon), and it is now the beginning of March. In the cave, they find out more about Absinthe (most of the time) and have sexual intercourse with each other (every so often); the Crone's notes contain snippets of what the Old World was like and the infancy of the Four Cities. One of these days, Aris and Metis decide to test the old Dreamcatcher helmet, with Metis as the subject. The helmet is linked up to the computer, and the computer sees what the person sees when awake, and sees their dreams when they are asleep. They find that the helmet works when Metis dreams about Aris and Metis' past house near the ocean, when drones find the Sanctuary. Aris forcefully wakes Metis up, and the pair try to find another exit (there is only one exit) as Officer Scylla clones arrest Aris and Metis.

Chapter 24

Aris is interrogated about the deaths of Seraphina, Bodie, and the people in Bodie's house in chapter 21 by one of the Officer Scylla clones. She is chained to a metallic chair by silver bands in a white-colored, brightly lit interrogation room located in the Interpreter Center of Callisto. After being questioned, Aris asks where Metis is.

Metis is chained to a bed in a room where a Dreamcatcher will be used on him. It is mentioned that Metis begged Apollina not to wipe his memories as he was dragged to where he is now. Metis is frightened of a life without Aris and the memories of the past; and is revealed he bargained for his memories to be erased, while Aris' are intact (which he now regrets).

Thane enters the dilapidated house in the middle of the forest of Callisto, and deduces that Metis deliberately gave up Absinthe to be with Aris. As he searches for the Love in the Time of Cholera book, it is shown that Thane believes that attachment is humanity's weakness. Thane cannot find the book; he thinks Metis lied to him. It is also shown he is grateful for contacting the Scylla clones while hunting Aris and Metis.

Aris sees Metis connected to the Dreamcatcher, and wants to remember it in the next cycle for her hatred of the Dreamcatcher and Interpreter Center. She is standing right next to Metis' bed, and stares up the metal screen machinery above, knowing that his dreams will be seen soon - and erased from his mind.

Thane asks why Aris is next to Metis (in the room with the Dreamcatcher), and Apollina says it's to ease her suffering, as Aris' mind will be wiped after Metis'. Thane doesn't want that happening, but Apollina simply says "'It must be done, Thane. She's a danger. She knows too much. We need to protect the Four Cities.'" Thane believes that Aris is innocent, but Jacob says she is guilty as she ran from Bodie's house. Thane sees Aris from inside the room, and begins to feel her pain. Apollina says that the anesthesia drugs in Metis' system will kick in soon, and takes a small recorder from her jacket (I think) and begins recording Metis's Dreamcatching - "'Date: Monday, March ninth, one thirty p.m. Subject: Metis of Lysithea. Procedure: Dreamcatcher.'" Thane, who feels like vomiting in response to the horrors of the Dreamcatcher, leaves the room and finds a Scylla (the main clone seen throughout the book), and begs him to prevent Metis' dreams from being erased. Scylla has the Love in the Time of Cholera book with him, and tells Thane that the Scylla clones must protect the book due to the love that humans have for each other. Scylla then tells Thane that the prisoners of the Four Cities have had their dream/memories wiped without their consent through the years. Thane makes Scylla promise to have Aris not be harmed in any way; he needs to have Aris forgive him, before the cycle is over.

Some time after the anesthesia drugs kick in Metis' system, the first image Aris sees on the metal screen above is a memory of Metis playing Luce in he arboretum, with Aris sitting next to him on the piano bench. No sound in heard from the screen. Scylla then opens the door for Thane to enter, and Thane pleads with Aris to come with him to escape the Dreamcatcher; but Aris hisses at Thane, pointing to the copper machinery above, saying that "'I know you don't believe me, but dreams are portals to the past.'" Apollina then enters in a rage about Thane entering the room and speaking to Aris, when Scylla tells Apollina that her dream erasure is illegal. Thane admits everything he has done for Apollina - spying, lying, and stealing. Scylla orders Apollina to release Metis and Aris from the Center, as the Interpreter is arrested for illegally using the Dreamcatchers on prisoners of the Four Cities.

Chapter 25

The Crone and Eli ("The Planner"), as computer programs (or holograms), watch as Metis and Aris are placed into a coma (I think), in order to have their memories wiped - Aris will undergo the procedure in Callisto, while Metis undergoes it in Lysithea. The two fight about the Dreamcatcher machinery, and the Crone accuses Eli that Tabula Rasa only makes "A civilization of sleepwalkers" and that memories are what make the human race learn from the past. Eli is the embodiment of order, while the Crone is the embodiment of change, sparked by catalysts. The Crone stares down at Aris and Metis, filled with hope for the future - "She looks down at the two lovers. There is something in Aris and Metis that inspires hope in her. They did not want to light the world on fire with change. They simply wanted each other. If each humans chooses one another, humanity may endure." At the end of the chapter, it is mentioned that the first humans to live in the Four Cities were intentionally genetically-modified by Eli to forget. "There is no escaping Tabula Rasa. She knows. A long time ago, Eli won. She and the Resistance watched helplessly as he succeeded in genetically engineering the next generation of humans to forget. The stealer of memories is embedded inside every citizen of the Four Cities. It is his fail-safe against the wicked side of humanity. But they can still dream."

It is six days (March 14th) before the next Tabula Rasa - and the next cycle begins.

Chapter 26

Aris and Metis have gone through the Tabula Rasa of this cycle (it's implied), and now reside in Metis' old house in Lysithea. Metis is reading a book to Aris about many things, things which have been lost to humanity. Aris' answer to the age-old question If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, did it really fall? is given/metioned - "Yes" due to "a physical consequences of its fall". A new cycle in the Four Cities has been begun - or a "reset" for that matter.

Borrowed: 02/09/2022-03/03/2022 (from library in the e-book format)

Originally published: 03/02/2022 (finished summary); edited: WIP