The Host: A Blind Sporking

Chapter 2: Pressed Between the Pages of My Mind

Bob hears two voices arguing.

A soft, deep voice argues that the insertion was "too much for her" because of the violence. I'm assuming this is Fords Deep Waters.

"She screamed only once," said a higher, reedy, female voice, pointing this out with a hint of glee, as if she were winning an argument.

After this stunning display of commas, the woman proceeds to strip and dance on a table singing the "I'm a villain" song. Well, not really. But she might as well have.

The nameless woman is a Seeker, and Fords sarcastically says that maybe she should be a Healer due to how much concern she shows over Bob's trauma.

My body knew this word, this title: Seeker. It sent a shudder of fear down my spine. A leftover reaction. Of course, I had no reason to fear Seekers.

"I wasn't very genre savvy, you see."

Bob, honey? Your species is obviously villainous. The sooner you realize this, the better.

Fords than makes some speciesist comments about humans, suggesting that "the infection of humanity" and humanity's "native temperament" is why Seeker Lady choose her violent profession.

Fords? Take that smug sense of superiority and shove it where the sun don't shine. After you've taken your head out, of course.

Seeker Lady says that she doesn't choose to be violent, but that violence is sometimes necessary in order to maintain the peace.

Oh, and just to drill home how innocent Bob is, she doesn't know what an argument is. *rolls eyes*

"One human girl, alone and unarmed! Yes, quite a threat to our peace."

"But where did she come from? How did she appear in the middle of Chicago, a city long since civilized, hundreds of miles from any trace of rebel activity? Did she manage it alone?"

So, we've got a species of alien parasites who have "civilized" humanity by making them hosts while a group of humans fights against the "peace" that has been created. I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but it was not this.

We then learn that the Blues have different names on every planet, and that it's humans that gave Bob's race the name "souls."

I suppose it was an apt description. The unseen force that guides the body.

Demon or body snatcher might have been more accurate, but I suppose "soul" works as well. I still like my name better.

Fords and Seeker Lady argue for some more, so we can get some more exposition.

Regan was attempting to escape the Blues. The Seekers want to know where she came from so they can "restore peace", presumably by turning any remaining humans into hosts. Humans are outnumbered more than one million to one at this point, but the remnants of humanity are at war with the Blues.

The planet called Earth was as peaceful and serene as it looked from space, invitingly green and blue, wreathed in harmless white vapors. As was the way of the soul, harmony was universal now.

We learn a bit more about Bob's last host and how transferring hosts affects Bob. Bob realizes that due to the limitations of her new human language, she no longer has words for her previous host's species or the planet she was on, which saddens her. Her previous host lived on an ocean planet and were immobile, rooted to the ocean floor. They communicated through thought, giving them a sort of hive mind which encompassed the planet.

Souls did not, as a rule, speak anything but the truth. Seekers, of course, had the requirements of their Calling, but between souls there was never reason for a lie. With my last species' language of thought, it would have been impossible to lie, even had we wanted to. However, anchored as we were, we told ourselves stories to alleviate the boredom ...

Sometimes, fact mixed with fiction so thoroughly that, though no lies were told, it was hard to remember what was strictly true.

The distinction between lies and unintentional falsehoods is something I like seeing explored in fiction. It allows characters or the narrator to give false information without realizing it. It can lead to some heartbreaking misunderstandings. Or an exploration of subjective truth and ... I'm reading was too much into this, aren't I?

Back to the story.

But there were whispers of this: of human hosts so strong that the souls were forced to abandon them. Hosts whose minds could not be completely suppressed. Souls who took on the personality of the body, rather than the other way around. Stories. Wild rumors. Madness.

We learn that Seekers tend to be looked down upon by their species for choosing a profession where they hunt down unwilling hosts and capture them. They're also looked down upon for having to stomach the violence of humans. The Blues see Seekers as "the least civilized, the least evolved, [and] the lesser among [them]."

But on Earth, Seekers had managed to raise their status. Earth was the first time occupation had resulted in a bloody conflict. Because apparently humans are the only race the Blues have encountered that fought them. Which makes me wonder why Seekers were needed before the Earth invasion.

We then learn that Bob's real name is Wanderer. Wanderer keeps her eyes closed and decides to search for the answers that Seeker Lady wants because she's a good citizen.

Wanderer learns that Regan came to Chicago in a stolen car looking for her cousin, Sharon. But that's all she can access of Regan's memories.

It was as if the information I sought had been erased.

As if this brain had been damaged.

Wanderer gets angry at this, and is startled by how strong human emotions are. Stronger than all eight of her previous lives. This sudden burst of anger makes the medical equipment beep. Seeker Lady realizes that Wanderer is awake.

"Welcome to Earth, Wanderer."

I liked this chapter.

We have a nice contrast between Wanderer's perceptions and the reality of the situation.

Wanderer sees the situation as peaceful and idyllic, when it's really quite horrifying: a guerilla war of humanity against their alien conquerors. Wanderer sees her kind as harmonious, even while listening to Fords and Seeker Lady argue. Even while knowing that humans are resisting her kind’s efforts to take over their bodies, it doesn’t occur to her that it could be wrong. It shows how warped Wanderer's thinking is.

It's not very subtle - okay, it's about as subtle as a brick to the face - but I still like this element of the story. Then again, I'm a sucker for alien parasite plots thanks to Animorphs and Stargate.