What Moves the Dead

Riding Hob, Easton continues toward the house of Usher. Ka passes a hare with orange eyes, which stands and stares at kan. Easton dismounts and leads Hob across a causeway, which leads to the Usher’s courtyard. Knocking on the door to the house, Easton waits several minutes until a servant appears. The servant agrees to send a boy to take care of Hob, and Easton enters the dark house.

Roderick, who is extremely thin and pale with wispy white hair, asks Easton why ka is there. Easton says that Madeline wrote and asked kan to come. Roderick leads Easton through the house, which is in poor condition. They arrive at the parlor, where Madeline is sitting. Madeline is thinner than Roderick, and her lips and fingernail beds are cyanotic. After Easton greets Madeline, Roderick introduces kan to James Denton, an American. Easton can tell that Denton recognizes kan as a sworn soldier from Gallacia.

Madeline announces that she is tired, and Roderick anxiously leads her to her bedroom. When Easton and Denton are alone, Denton addresses Madeline’s condition. He has attempted and failed to discover the cause of Madeline’s deteriorating health. In her letter, Madeline wrote that she is dying, and Easton fears it is true. Ka is troubled by Madeline’s illness, as ka is familiar with war-related deaths rather than slow, progressive illnesses. Denton has tried to get the Ushers to leave the house, but Roderick refuses to leave because Madeline would probably not survive the move.

In an aside to the reader, Easton describes the various pronouns in the Gallacian language, including the militaristic ka/kan, and va/van, which are used for children. Years ago, Gallacia was facing invasion, and the military was weak, so women began to join the army. Later, Gallacians tried to force women out of the army, but the women refused to leave, and new policies were made to guarantee women the right to become sworn soldiers. They are represented by a pin so that others know to address them as ka/kan, and they have the same clothing and hairstyles as male soldiers. Easton spent 15 years in the military and retained the ka/kan pronouns after becoming a civilian, although retired soldiers have the option to resume using the pronouns used prior to their service, if they so choose. (Roderick, for example, returned to using he/him after his service was complete.)

Easton explains that ka joined the military to support kan family. Roderick, who served under Easton’s command, returns to the parlor and explains that he and Easton were “scared witless” during the war. When Roderick reveals that Denton is a doctor, Denton argues that he had little training and contends that most of his medical experience is war-related. Easton, Denton, and Roderick sit together and exchange war stories.

Roderick and Easton talk as Roderick leads Easton to kan bedroom; Roderick is worried that Denton said something offensive, and Easton explains that ka did not mean to surprise Roderick with kan arrival. Roderick is comforted by Easton’s authoritative presence, saying, “You led the charges. You knew what had to be done and you did it. I…I could use that now” (30). He is more afraid of the house than he was of the war. At breakfast, Easton thinks of ways that ka can contribute to the Ushers’ food supply. Denton enters, and Easton asks for Madeline’s medical diagnosis. In Paris, Denton says, Madeline might be diagnosed with hysteria, but Denton believes that to be a useless diagnosis. He is certain that she has catalepsy and anemia, but those are symptoms, not diagnoses. Easton suggests that ka can help by hunting and providing meat.

Easton gets lost in the house and finds Madeline sitting on a balcony, looking at the tarn. They reflect on a fishing trip years ago, then discuss Madeline’s condition. She feels restless and knows that she doesn’t have much time left. Easton suggests that Madeline leave the area, but Madeline refuses, arguing that she enjoys going to the lake to confess her sins. After helping Madeline to her bedroom, Easton returns to kan room and finds that kan batman, Angus, has arrived. Angus once worked for Easton’s father; he agreed to work for Easton when ka joined the military, and he stayed with Easton after ka separated. Angus is naturally superstitious, and he agrees that there is something malicious about the house of Usher. Easton tells him about kan encounter with Eugenia Potter. Mushrooms, Angus claims, are a sign of both the Devil and of fairies. When he passed through the village, he learned that the villagers also dislike the Ushers’ house, though they appear to be sympathetic toward the Ushers themselves. The villagers say that the house is haunted by witch-hares, or witches disguised as hares. The hares in the area do not behave normally and are unafraid of humans. Angus refuses to hunt on the property but plans to go fishing.