The Mercy of Gods

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Black Box Translator

Translators are a common element in space opera, conveniently erasing the language barriers that would hinder communication among multiple incompatible species. The black box translators are apparently rare among the species in the ziggurat. While the Carryx all carry one, only a select few of the captive species do. For Dafyd, these translators represent a privilege and a step toward better understanding. When the human group defeats the Night Drinkers, the Night Drinkers give them a black box translator as a symbol of their surrender, which marks a significant turning point in the plot because it allows them to find the other human groups.

Thus, the black box translator is meaningful on several levels. It’s a plot device that brings the disparate human groups together, which eventually leads to Dafyd betraying the human uprising. In addition, the translator symbolizes both the humans’ victory over their rivals and the human endeavor to understand. This is especially true for Dafyd, who makes the most effort to understand the Carryx, believing that this effort will help them survive in the end. While the other humans seem content to focus on the berries experiment or their resistance efforts, Dafyd uses the translator to its full potential by wandering the hallways and questioning every species he comes across. In Dafyd’s hand, the black box translator becomes not merely a convenient plot device but a symbol, and it thus thematically connects to The Human Drive to Understand.

Animals

The motif of animals recurs throughout the novel. During the invasion, Dafyd and Else observe the many species that work under the Carryx’s command, including the Rak-Hund, Soft Lothark, and others, and surmise that they’re pets or enslaved beings. Additionally, Ekur’s perspective explicitly calls the species under its command “animals.” Ekur views other species as lesser beings whose proximity is corrupting. Dafyd’s observations of Carryx behavior lead him to understand that they don’t view humans as enemies or conquests but rather as wild animals to either domesticate and use or eradicate as dangerous and ungovernable.

The Carryx continually refer to other species as animals: unintelligent, illogical, and lawless. In contrast, they view themselves like farmers or zookeepers, as apparent in the title keeper-librarian. This motif of comparing other species to animals contributes to the theme of Colonization and Dehumanization. The Carryx rationalize their conquest of other planets by claiming that it’s no different than domesticating or culling a wild animal. This is especially true of the humans on Anjiin. Ekur’s final statement in the epigraphs describes their invasion as the “abasement” (humiliation or degradation) of Anjiin, implying that humanity has experienced degradation to their lowly animalistic foundations.

The Berries Experiment

When Tkson tasks Tonner’s research group with conducting the berries experiment, the humans understand that it’s a test of their usefulness. However, they don’t understand the full implications of the test until much later. While Tonner focuses on the scientific possibility of the berries experiment, Dafyd tries to decipher what deeper meanings and symbolism this test might have. Eventually, Dafyd realizes that the experiment isn’t merely to assess their scientific skill but also to determine how well the humans can adapt to their new setting, provide for and protect themselves, and endure domestication.

Thus, the berries experiment becomes a symbol of the team’s resistance and compliance, a thematic extension of The Ethics of Survival. Tonner obsessively focuses on the scientific possibility and success of the experiment because he wants to believe that if they can prove their use and do as the Carryx want they’ll remain safe. He chooses the path of complying with their captors for the sake of survival. Therefore, he finds the Night Drinkers’ attack especially shocking and horrifying because it proves that his logic is faulty and the Carryx won’t keep them safe. Dafyd correctly surmises that this is because protecting themselves in this rivalry is part of the test, like the idea of survival of the fittest. In contrast with Tonner, Urrys and Jellit argue that performing the berries experiment is tantamount to willing enslavement and complicity in their own dehumanization. Passing this test may keep them alive in the short term, but they’ll lose their humanity in the process, thus tying together the theme of survival ethics to that of Colonization and Dehumanization.