Dragon Pearl

“Manshik obediently trudged to the corner. Unlike his sister, he wasn’t so bad. He was the only boy out of all my cousins. Most foxes choose to be female, like Mom and all my aunties, because it is traditional. Manshik had insisted on being male, though, because he wanted to be like Jun, and no one in the family hassled him about it.”

Following the confrontation with the investigator, Min interacts with her cousins while the adults figure out how to protect the family. Manshik is one of these cousins, and he represents a further example of the ways in which the novel diverges from Korean myth. The kumiho of myth typically turns into a woman in human form—most often a young, beautiful woman but occasionally other forms as well. There are few accounts of a kumiho turning into a man, and the author acknowledges this by noting that most foxes choose to be female due to tradition. This comment illustrates that Jun has gone against tradition for reasons that are not disclosed by the end of the book, and it shows that Manshik has also decided to be male, making Jun a role model for more than just Min.

“As I passed, I heard the second guard saying, ‘You need to get a new robot to replace the one you broke....’

Funny, I’d never thought of guards as going home and having chores like the rest of us. Or having broken-down robots, too, for that matter.”

This passage comes when Min first arrives in the city and Charms her way past the gate guards. Min is frustrated with her home life because their family is poor and lives on little, meaning she is constantly having to fix things or ration food. She believes the Space Forces will be her ticket to a better life and that anyone associated with the military or the government has a better life than she does. This conversation is her first hint that the proverbial grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Like her family, this guard has a broken robot that needs to be fixed or replaced, as well as daily chores that must be done in addition to guard duties.

“The person in front of me was clearly a spacer. The sleeve of their suit was covered with tiny enamel pins, one for each of the worlds they had visited. Jun and I used to make a game of memorizing the different pins. I’d never been able to remember more than just a few of the most famous worlds. Now I spotted some I knew, though, like Madang, fabled for its gardens. And Cheongok, mostly ocean with scattered archipelagos, where the descendants of dragons sent their children to learn the art of weather-craft. The spacer had even visited Jaebo, known for its staggering wealth, where the rulers of the Thousand Worlds governed from the Pearled Halls.”

Here, Min is among the guards who mistake her for someone rich, and her observations here show that she is knowledgeable about the universe, as well as offer additional context to the story world. Spacers are those who primarily live on a ship, unlike Min’s family who are planet-bound “steaders,” a shortened version of “homesteaders.” The planet of Madang is known for its gardens, and in Korean culture, a madang is an outdoor courtyard and popular gathering place within a home. Cheongok shares its name with a cave located in Donghae, Gangwon-do, South Korea. Jaebo is derived from the Korean word jaebeol, which combines the words for “wealthy” and “clan,” and it refers to the chaebol business structure established in South Korea in the 1960s. Chaebols are business empires run by a single family, and the use of this concept in the novel is demonstrated by the inclusion of the planet where the Thousand Worlds rulers govern. This aspect also represents the government’s tight control, as well as how preference is given to wealthy planets while planets like Jinju are cast aside.

“I couldn’t shake the feeling that the battered freighter was eager to make the jump. In the old stories, older even than the Thousand Worlds, a humble carp could become a dragon by leaping up a waterfall. If a fish could dream of upgrading, I didn’t see why a starship couldn’t, in its secret crystal heart, have ambitions, too.”

This passage highlights a significant moment in which Min is aboard the ship with Byung-Ho. The ship is approaching the gate, and Min’s ability to feel its anticipation reflects the frequent personification of inanimate objects that occurs throughout the novel. This also shows the power of gates. When Min passes through a gate for the first time, she sees images of distant worlds and dragons, as well as visions of her father, brother, and different spirits. Feeling a similar energy from the ship suggests that a gate has power over objects as well as people. No explanation is given for how gates work, only that they affect those who pass through to different degrees. It is interesting to note that in Korean architecture, a hongsalmun is a type of gate that leads into a sacred space, and because the gates of the novel offer a spiritual experience, the author seems to suggest that suggests they connect with a source of divine energy.

“The fact that the enemy fought as a quartet was a bad omen as well. Four was an unlucky number—it signified death. Mercenaries went around in groups of four to strike terror into their victims.”

Here, Min and Byung-Ho have jumped into gate space and are being attacked by mercenaries. In Korean mythology, the number four is bad luck because it is spelled the same way as the word for death, and the number four accordingly appears in negative contexts throughout the novel. This passage shows how those outside the law have taken a common fear and used it to their advantage. By traveling in groups of four ships, the mercenaries begin with an advantage because their victims will be made uneasy by the mere number of ships. The appearance of the mercenaries here also provides a basis for the revelations Min has about the Dragon Pearl in the following chapters.

“Her fingers traced lines in the air above me. I didn’t know much beyond first aid, but my late grandmother used to talk about the meridians, the body’s lines of energy, from which you could diagnose injuries and illnesses. Just as veins and arteries carried blood throughout the body, the meridians carried life force. Any damage to the mind or body would be reflected in its flow.”

In this passage, Min has survived the attack on the freighter and has struck a deal with Jang to assume his appearance and find his killer. Meridians, or lines of energy, play an important role throughout the book, and this quote is the first glimpse the author provides of their practical applications. In this scene, the medic here is able to trace invisible lines in the air to check Min for injuries, both physical and spiritual. The final line of this quotation speaks to the belief that the physical and spiritual aspects of a person are connected, meaning that an injury to one, if left untreated, could start to affect the other. Min is disguised as a boy here, and the inability of the meridians to detect her true nature suggests that Charm magic is more powerful than the forces that make meridians possible.

“The Space Forces accepted the ‘more respectable’ supernatural creatures, such as dragons and celestial maidens—and even tigers, if they could control their violent tempers—as long as they confined themselves to human form. Dragons, in particular, were enormous in their true manifestations. It was easier to design starships for human shapes and sizes and have everyone else adapt.”

This quote illustrates Min’s discovery of the layout and shape of the Pale Lightning. The Space Forces are steeped in their own beliefs and prejudices, both of which drastically affect the species that are allowed to join their ranks. The “more acceptable” species are those that are deemed to be useful or safe, such as dragons for their terraforming abilities, or celestial maidens, who are believed to be beings of goodness. Foxes, however, are not “acceptable,” which is why Jun keeps his fox nature a secret and why Min works so hard to do the same. The latter portion of this quotation speaks to the ableism that is present in the world of the novel. The Pale Lightning and other Space Forces ships are built to human specifications, and other species are expected to adapt by making themselves human-shaped. While this makes a degree of sense given that dragons are enormous in their natural form, it also sends the message that humans are the “normal” species and that all others are different and must conform.

“Despite the fact that I could have used the extra hours of sleep, I did a better job of cleaning the bathroom the second time. I suspected I wouldn’t be sleeping in anytime soon, not while I was on this ship. But Jun had served on it, too, once. If he had survived the experience, so could I. Had he ever been unfortunate enough to be stuck with latrine duty?”

Similar to the passage in which Min realizes that guards also must deal with problems like broken-down robots and boring chores, this section is another example of Min realizing the difference between the reality of ship life and her original, idealized conception of what it must be. At home, her image of Jun’s life involved grand adventures and seeing all the worlds of the universe. In reality, his day-to-day life was much more mundane, consisting of chores and training. As Min comes to terms with this difference, she feels closer to her brother because she is living experiences similar to those he had while aboard the Pale Lightning.

“As a ghost, he was trapped between the world of the living and the world of the dead, unable to visit loved ones in either realm. Most ghosts were bound near the site of whatever had felled them, although I wasn’t sure how that worked when he’d died in space. Before he could move on to his eternal rest, he needed to know what had happened to him.”

Here, Min thinks about Jang and her promise to learn what brought about his death. As described in the book, Korean mythology reflects the belief that ghosts who have unfinished business continue to linger in the physical world; they are often anchored by the need to understand the cause of their death, or to punish the responsible party. The author also utilizes the commonly held belief that ghosts may haunt someone or something near where they died; however, this passage diverges from tradition by applying the rule to those who die in the vastness of space. If Jang is haunting space itself, he could theoretically go anywhere and would not be restricted to the Pale Lightning or another location. He does seem to stay nearby, given that he often replies quickly when Min calls him, but sometimes he doesn’t answer, which means he could be anywhere. In the climax of the book, Jang appears on the Fourth Colony, which is nowhere near where he died, suggesting that he can move around space at his convenience.

“‘They’ve been working on rebalancing the flow,’ Haneul said, ‘but Engineering told me that someone hacked one of the key meridians. The ship’s been cranky ever since.’

‘Which meridian?’

‘The one that runs through Deck Three.’ Haneul frowned at the water tank as if she could fix everything by staring the hapless abalone into submission. ‘We’re hoping the bad luck doesn’t spread to Medical—it’s on the same level.’”

This passage expands on how meridians work in the universe of the story. Following the battle with the mercenaries where Min was rescued from the freighter, the meridian mentioned here has become more and more damaged. Later, Jang unconvincingly tells Min that he has nothing to do with it, suggesting that his ghostly presence has allowed him to tamper with the ship. This explains why the engineers haven’t been able to mend the meridian—if Jang is actively harming it, efforts to fix it will have less of an effect. This also shows how meridians work upon animate objects. Like a person, the ship’s meridians are all connected. Damage in one place can travel and cause new damage in other places, meaning that a seemingly small problem on one of the decks could become a massive problem in the medical bay. The damage is also associated with bad luck, and bad luck in an area like the medical bay could lead to malfunctions in life-saving equipment, turning a small meridian imbalance into a ship-wide problem.

“The engineer didn’t trust me with the master flows, of course. Some meridians were bigger and more important than others. He set me to work with the smaller, less crucial ones. ‘Don’t think it isn’t important,’ he said when he saw my dismay. ‘It’s good practice, and luck in small matters builds luck in large matters.’”

Here, the Pale Lightning is under attack from mercenaries, and Min is stationed in engineering. One of the major tactics in the battle is repairing the ship’s meridians before they can spread bad luck throughout the ship, and Min’s task shows how even a small problem can grow if not taken care of. The main meridian has spread its damage and bad luck to some of its smaller offshoots, suggesting that smaller meridians are more susceptible to damage. The engineer’s final words speak to how luck works. Luck is not an all-or-nothing aspect. Rather, luck may come in increments, and fixing the smaller problems can help to make the bigger problem less of an issue so it may be taken care of more efficiently.

“He held out his hand to indicate height. He went on to give a description, which didn’t sound like me. Then I remembered that I’d been going around as Bora. I wondered if half the reason my mom was so dead set against using Charm was how hard it was to keep track of all the details.”

While Min recovers in the medical bay, she overhears Byung-Ho asking about her. In this passage, Byung-Ho is gesturing while he describes Min, and it takes Min a moment to realize that the person he’s describing is the version of her that she showed him. This is one of the first times Min realizes the trouble with using Charm so heavily. Up until now, she has been mostly convinced that Charm is the best way to achieve her goals. Here, Min starts to see the downsides of Charm, for although it lets her hide in plain sight, it is also difficult for her to remember her different personas; the resulting confusion and cognitive dissonance illustrates a particular nuance of The Evolution of Personal Identity, for Min’s difficulty in sorting her true self from her false personas demonstrates the many damaging effects that constant deception can inflict upon the psyche of the deceiver.

“I squinted at the interrogator. She wasn’t using magic, but it was a kind of Charm nonetheless. The more she befriended the prisoner, the more he would let his guard down around her, and the higher the chances he would let something slip.”

In this passage, Min is watching an officer interrogating one of the mercenaries who attacked the Pale Lightning. Rather than using torture or heavy-handed questioning, the officer endears herself to the mercenary by relating to him and empathizing with his situation and backstory. As a way to gain information, this tactic is much more effective than torture because it convinces the mercenary that he is only sharing, not betraying someone. For Min, this moment shows her that Charm isn’t just magic. Min’s Charm lets her plant suggestions in people’s minds, forcing them to think how she wants them to think and see what she wants them to see. The officer here does something similar, if in a less forceful way. Instead of magic, she uses emotions to convince the mercenary to share what he knows, which is similar to Charm because it compels the mercenary to offer information that he might otherwise have kept to himself.

“‘If that thing is really a fox, it might be preparing to eat us,’ the woman said in an undertone, although I could hear her perfectly well.

I couldn’t help feeling nettled. I was standing there with a blaster and she thought I was going to use my teeth?”

Here, Min is breaking the mercenaries out of the Pale Lightning’s brig in exchange for them bringing her to the Fourth Colony. Since coming to the ship, Min has left behind many of the stigmas and prejudices against foxes by assuming Jang’s identity and keeping her true nature a secret. Here, she has revealed her fox nature by shapeshifting in front of the mercenaries, and this decision evokes the fear that many people have of her kind. The woman’s comment shows that people would rather believe legends and myths over the evidence of their own eyes. She fears that Min will eat them, even though Min is holding a weapon that would make for a much more efficient death.

“According to the engineer, with the four of us on board, we had about twelve hours before the lack of power to the air recyclers would become an issue. I could extend that time a little by taking on an inanimate shape, like a table, but that meant I wouldn’t be able to help the others.”

These lines come while Min and the mercenaries are on the mercenary ship after the power has gone out. Without power, the life support system can continue functioning for a few hours, after which the situation will become more problematic, and Min’s thoughts here show how Charm can be a tool in the right circumstances. Up until now, Min has used Charm to trick those around her and fool her way into places she shouldn’t be, but here, she is thinking of how Charm could help others by extending the amount of time the life support system will provide them with breathable air. This passage also shows the difficult decisions that be made to survive critical situations. Min could use Charm to give the others more time, but without her help, prepping to get off the ship or trying to fix it will go more slowly, which might render extra time to be moot.

“‘Since we have time before we land,’ I said as I worked, frowning at the delicate wires, ‘tell me why you turned coat.’

Haneul winced, but Sujin said steadily, ‘Because some things are right and some things are wrong. We had to do what was right.’”

In this section, Min, Haneul, and Sujin are on the Pale Lightning’s escape pod on their way to the Fourth Colony. Min doesn’t yet know that Haneul and Sujin rescued her on Captain Hwan’s orders, so her question here seems innocent enough to her. Haneul’s wince comes across as feeling embarrassed about initially turning her back on Min; however, the subsequent revelation of her compliance with the captain’s orders forces readers to reinterpret this facial expression in an entirely different light, for in reality, she feels guilty for “turning coat” on Min and is betraying her in this very moment. Sujin’s answer seems to speak to right and wrong in the moment—firmly siding with Min as right and the captain as wrong. Later, Sujin is more reluctant to be Min’s ally, which calls into question what Sujin thought of as right or wrong here. Altogether, this passage shows how profoundly one’s perspective can influence a larger understanding of character dialogue and actions. Since Min doesn’t know the truth, she (and by extension, the reader) must interpret everything through what she thinks she knows. Only later will she realize that Haneul and Sujin’s words and actions here have entirely different meanings.

“‘At least we haven’t seen any ghosts yet.’

‘They’re waiting to greet us as equals,’ Haneul said. Her attempt at a joke was followed by a dismal silence, and she sighed. ‘Sorry. That came out wrong.’”

Here, Min, Haneul, and Sujin have touched down on the Fourth Colony and are making their way through the trees. Haneul’s joke refers to the intricate levels of greeting that exist in Korean culture. Whether in spoken language or body language, saying “hello” or “hi” in different ways or with different inflections mean different things, and various types of bows are used depending on the relationship between two people. Often, a slight bow of just the head and shoulders is used between people of equal rank, as demonstrated among the cadets in the Space Forces. In order for such greetings to be effective, people must be in the same place, and Haneul’s joke suggests that the ghosts haven’t made themselves known yet because they are being polite and waiting for the group to find them. Given how nervous the three are, this idea does not go over well.

“That was all I needed to hear. According to the old stories, wrongful death warped people’s souls and made them vengeful toward the living. Jang hadn’t seemed too bad, but he hadn’t been dead for as long as these six ghosts, and he hadn’t been left behind by the captain. A shaman might have known how to pacify Lieutenant Seo-Hyeon and her team, but I was no shaman.”

In Korean culture, shamans are mediums between the living and the dead and are believed to gain their powers from higher beings. Shamans have the unique ability to pacify ghosts and help them pass on: something that Min wishes she could do here. In this quotation, the ghosts of the former Pale Lightning crew members have expressed their anger with Captain Hwan and their belief that he is to blame for their deaths. As has been established with Jang’s ghost in earlier chapters, this conviction means that the crew members’ ghosts have unfinished business and must exact revenge upon the captain before they can rest. The longer a ghost remains in the physical world, the more corrupt it can become, and these ghosts are willing to do whatever it takes to take their revenge. They are even willing to sacrifice Min and the others, who have nothing to do with the crime.

“I could have said a lot of things, like You betrayed me to them! for one. Before, when Jun and I were growing up together, I would have spat out words carelessly. But now I didn’t want to say anything I wouldn’t be able to take back. I’d changed since I set out from Jinju, even if I couldn’t pinpoint how exactly.”

This passage outlining Min’s thoughts occurs when Jun’s ghost finds her after bringing her group to the other ghosts to be used as bait to attract the captain. Min is understandably wary of her brother as a result; she does not know if she can trust him or if he has been corrupted. In this scene, he has just asked her to listen, which allows Min to understand that she has changed significantly since her time on Jinju. Then, she would have shouted at him and accused him of trying to hurt her without giving him a chance to explain. Her realization that she isn’t just yelling whatever comes to mind highlights her sudden realization of the true extent she has already grown and improved upon her previous version of herself. Thus, this bittersweet reunion speaks to the importance of The Evolution of Personal Identity.

“Jun floated ahead of us. I envied his lack of legs and the fact that he didn’t have to care about getting wet. Almost as soon as I had that thought I realized how stupid it was. It couldn’t have been fun to be a ghost on a deserted planet. My face burned with shame.”

These contemplations of Min’s occur while she, Haneul, and Sujin follow Jun to the Dragon Pearl. The rain has started up again after a short break; Min is wet and miserable, and therefore momentarily jealous of her brother’s noncorporeal form. Immediately, she reprimands herself for having such a selfish thought, but her momentary envy of his “luck” at not having a body also shows that even a bad situation offers some benefits. Jun’s situation seems hopeless at this point, but not being able to feel the drenching rain is an up-side, no matter how unfortunate the rest of his situation might be.

“In the old stories, the number four signified death—the Fourth Colony had turned its own name into a prophecy. I might not be a shaman, but I knew magic responded to suggestions, just like people responded to Charm. And between Haneul, Sujin, Captain Hwan, and me, there were now four living supernatural creatures on the Fourth Colony. Perhaps this was all meant to be.”

Here, the captain has caught up to the kids, and they are now the only living supernatural creatures on the planet. The number four has been associated with death and bad luck throughout the book, and in a sudden reversal, this passage instead creates a positive connotation of the number four. In Korean culture, fourth floors in buildings are often left unnumbered to ward away bad luck (similar to the 13th floor in Western cultures), and if that same logic applies to the story world, the Fourth Colony never should have been numbered as such. Min’s observation that magic responds to suggestions plants the idea that the Fourth Colony, by having the number four in its name, was always destined to succumb to its current fate so it could later be rescued by four people. Min’s idea invokes the symmetry of numbers and magic, as well as the idea that events are predestined.

“Hwan’s amber eyes met mine for a single moment. No trace of the man remained in them. A tiger looked at me, cunning only in the way that an ordinary animal predator—rather than a supernatural one—is cunning. Haneul tried to approach, to calm him down, but he roared and lunged at her, swiping the air with a huge paw. The ghosts kept him at bay, hissing and howling. He shrank back, snarling, and in this way they herded him away from us and toward the woods in the distance.”

After Min uses the Dragon Pearl to terraform the Fourth Colony and lay the ghosts to rest, the ghosts of the Pale Lightning’s crew members (minus Jun) take their revenge on Captain Hwan. By directing their negative ghostly energy at him, they harm his mind, which prompts him to shift into his tiger form. In Korean mythology, tigers are one of the strongest types of mythical creature, and they turn into white tigers when they reach peace and enlightenment. By contrast, the captain takes animal form here because it seems to be all he is capable of, given that Min notes his eyes contain only animal-cunning. However, Captain Hwan will return in his human form in the sequel, so the effect of the ghosts’ vengeance is not permanent.

“‘Jinju,’ I replied. ‘But I can just catch a ride from the next station. I don’t want to be any trouble....’

Ji-Eun burst into laughter. ‘No, not you, a stowaway who impersonated a cadet, sabotaged the ship, stole an escape pod, and cleared the Fourth Colony of all of its ghosts. You’re no trouble at all.’”

This excerpt follows Min terraforming and laying to rest the Fourth Colony’s ghosts. Back on the Pale Lightning, it’s confirmed that the Dragon Pearl has claimed her as its new guardian. As a result, she has enormous power at her fingertips that will make her a target of anyone who seeks to take the Dragon Pearl for themselves. Getting her home is the safest option at the moment, but after everything she’s been through, Min doesn’t want to be at the center of attention or to cause any more trouble for the Pale Lightning than she already has. When she left the Pale Lightning after being taken prisoner, she was the enemy of those on board. Now, after the captain’s actions have been revealed and she has saved an entire planet, she has earned instant respect, which shows just how quickly a situation can change.