The Institute

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7, Chapters 1-28

Part 7, Chapters 29-42

Part 8

Part 9

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Part 9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 9: “The Lisping Man”

Part 9, Chapters 1-6 Summary

Three months later, a strange man with a lisp arrives at the farmhouse outside of DuPray where Tim lives with the Institute children. The stranger introduces himself as Bill Smith. He tells Tim and the children that by destroying the Institute, they destroyed the only thing standing between humankind and the end of the world.

Mr. Smith tells them that 70 years ago, it was discovered that children with psychic abilities could be used to eliminate individuals destined to destroy the world. The Institute uses a few powerful precogs (people who can see glimpses of the future) to identify targets and allegedly saved the world at least 500 times. Unlike the Institute children, the precogs live lives of luxury.

Luke replies that he already worked out that precognition was involved. Researching precognition, he learned that it is only accurate for a few hours or days ahead of any given event; beyond this, it is useless. Mr. Smith admits that the Institute came to the same conclusion but argues that even the possibility of saving the world makes their efforts worth it. Tim shocks Mr. Smith by refuting this, as sacrificing children for the sake of something that may or may not happen is superstition, not science.

After Mr. Smith leaves, the children worry about the possibility of having condemned the world. Tim reassures them that they are not responsible for the rest of the world: Their job is to survive and love each other.

Over the next few months, the children leave the farm one at a time, returning to what families they have left. Each child has a key to a safety deposit box containing the flash drive. If anything happens to even one of them, the rest will take the drive to the press. Luke remains with Tim and reflects on his friends—especially Avery, the real hero of their story.

Part 9 Analysis

The Institute’s “proof” of its effectiveness has two major flaws, the first being survival bias. Mr. Smith argues that the continued existence of the world proves the Institute’s sacrifice of children works, but he cannot prove that the world would have ended without the Institute and its psychics. For all he knows, the love of ordinary people is what truly keeps the peace.

The second flaw has to do with statistics: 500 potential extinction events taking place over the course of 70 years (roughly 7 events per year) suggests that such events are extremely common, yet the Institute assumes their precogs—fallible humans with an unreliable talent—identified and prevented all 500. The likelihood of this is infinitesimal.

In a sense, the Institute’s collapse leaves the world without a guardian. Even Luke harbors doubts about whether he doomed everyone. There is comfort in the idea of an all-powerful entity watching over the world. Without this entity, Luke, Tim, and their friends can only love each other and hope that ordinary people all over the world are doing the same. They must accept the fact that they can neither control the world nor delegate control to someone or something more powerful.

The Institute only ever provided false security. At best, it made no difference at all; at worst, it actively made the world unsafe. Regardless, Mr. Smith dangles the temptation of a universal parent that takes away uncertainty. Tim performs the appropriate role of an adult, a parent, when he tells the children that they are not responsible for saving the world—which is too great a burden for anyone. At the same time, he doesn’t advise abandoning all responsibility. Luke and his friends know that loving each other is a heavier burden than having fun, but it is the world’s only real chance at survival.