The Last Cuentista

“I saw Dad shaking his head. ‘Equality’s good. But equality and sameness are two different things. Sometimes those who say things without really contemplating what it truly means […] That dogma runs a thin line.’”

Petra’s father has just watched a news broadcast featuring early members of the Collective movement. They glorify eradicating differences in the name of equality. Their followers blindly repeat this adage until it becomes dogma. Hundreds of years later, Petra will see the damage that dogma can do.

“Maybe my parents are right, and I should just study plants and rocks like them. Maybe wanting to tell stories is ‘living in a fantasy world.’ […] What’s Lita’s secret? I will never be as good as her.”

Petra has just tried to calm Javier by telling him a story. She ends up stressing him out even more. She lacks confidence in her skill because she is still new to the art of storytelling. Lita has been a cuentista for her entire life, and this passage emphasizes the importance of practicing an art form in order to excel at it.

“Ben’s voice skips like the first day I met him, when he found out his brother’s ship had been attacked. ‘This has to work …’ More pounding. I barely hear Ben’s heartbroken words. ‘A world without story is lost.’”

Ben has barricaded himself in Petra’s room, trying to download all the stories he can into her memory before the Collective comes for him. Like Petra, Ben tacitly understands the value of myth for the human psyche and society. Not only would a world without stories be lost, but the human race itself would be lost too.

“A yellow vein runs through the crimson rock. The red is similar in hue to the stone he’s just placed in his little pail. ‘They’re not meant to be identical; they’re meant to complement one another. Differences make things beautiful as a whole.’”

Petra and her father are on a rock-hunting excursion. Her father’s comment about the beauty to be found in difference is significant. It flies in the face of everything the Collective will preach about the need to erase all diversity.

“‘Besides, your name suits you. You’re strong.’ I look up, and her eyes are welling up. ‘I don’t know what, but you will be the foundation for something amazing one day.’”

Petra is annoyed that her name means “rock” in Greek. However, her mother predicts that Petra is bound for greatness. Her mother won’t live to see her prediction come true, but Petra proves her immovable nature when faced with pressure from the Collective to conform or die.

“But in the end, even with the comet coming, everyone had been out for themselves. They didn’t have much time, but they didn’t even try to pool resources to build a shelter, or maybe another ship. Everyone worried only about their own.”

Petra is commenting on the state of the world shortly before the comet hits. Her conclusion is exactly what the Collective would say too. In a world where everybody is selfishly focused, what is the best way to go forward? While Petra and the Collective can see the same problems, they have radically different solutions; Petra believes that peace can be achieved through cooperation and celebrating differences, while the Collective believes the only way to ensure harmony is to eliminate differences entirely.

“A distant echo of Lita’s voice fills my mind. ‘You must always remember the story of the fox and crow. It is good to trust others. But there are some, like the fox, who will make promises to gain your trust. They are tricksters and will not have your best interest at heart. You must be able to sense those who have selfish intentions.’”

Petra has just noticed a resemblance between Nyla and the fox of a fable. The Chancellor has just made a grand speech about self-sacrifice for the good of the Collective, but she herself isn’t making any personal sacrifices at all. Petra is astute enough to see the contradiction and can ascertain Nyla’s character as a result. Her best source of guidance in navigating the world of the future is an old fairy tale.

“My parents wanted a better future too. But Dad said exactly the opposite of how people needed to get there. ‘It’ll be our job to remember the parts we got wrong and make it better for our children and grandchildren. Embrace our differences, and still find a way to make peace.’”

Petra has learned to appreciate her father’s perspective the hard way. She has seen the consequences of Nyla’s drive to eradicate differences. It leads to unspeakable atrocities in the name of progress. The price of their version of peace is the loss of the human race.

“I know I can’t live a life without my memories. If I forget them, it’s like my family never existed. Tears drip down my face and neck until my hair is damp. Feathers and Rubio deserve to have those memories of their families back too.”

Petra is beginning to recognize her emotional kinship with the other human survivors. Grieving the loss of her own family expands her sense of empathy for others who have suffered similar losses. Like storytelling, empathy and compassion are integral parts of the human spirit. Petra will eventually risk everything to save not only herself but Feathers and Rubio too.

“The ship was set to be self-guided and able to go for centuries without maintenance. So beyond checking on our pods and Cogs, and getting things prepared for arrival on Sagan, the old Monitors like Ben were supposed to have the time and space to work on the things they loved. Now it’s all just busy work. Nothing creative or unique; nothing colorful or messy.”

Petra is watching members of the Collective scrub and clean the interior of the ship. Since they have no individual interests to drive them, they are worker bees who toil mindlessly to fill the empty hours of their lives. Their existence is utilitarian but pointless.

“I glance over, and Feathers has a smile on her face. Rubio’s brow is furrowed. ‘Fascinating,’ he whispers. By their reactions, they’re still not quite as blown away as I am. But obviously something within them, no matter how deep, can still be curious and impressed by something beautiful.”

The Zeta team has just gotten a glimpse of the landscape of Sagan as their shuttle approaches. An appreciation of beauty in all its forms is an emotional trait that all the Collective’s reprogramming has been unable to eradicate. The Cogs rewrite the mind, but they are incapable of touching the heart.

“Suddenly, I know what Lita’s words really mean. Blancaflor wasn’t just brave because she crossed the ocean herself. She was brave because she took the risk in saving the prince. If I leave without Rubio and Feathers, that’s not enough. Only if I take the risk and bring them with me, am I truly crossing the ocean.”

Once again, Petra receives insight and guidance from a fairy tale. She is referring to the story of a heroic princess who saved not only herself but a captive prince too. While Petra stubbornly clings to her individuality, she is also capable of recognizing her psychological kinship with her shipmates. They are all part of the human family.

“He’s never been to a museum and seen art from Cézanne to Savage. Basquiat to Kahlo. He’s never eaten in a universal commissary with choices from udon to bucatini, Irish stew to pepián. Just because someone says something over and over doesn’t make it true. And suddenly, after all this time, I truly understand what the word dogma means.”

Petra has just heard a member of the Collective piously repeat the dogma that their way of life now keeps them safe from hunger and war. Since he has never eaten real food, he fails to realize what a poor substitute a bioloaf makes for a real meal. Almost four centuries after her father warned her about the dangers of dogma, Petra finally understands.

“Feathers clasps her hands together and giggles. I see the excitement in her eyes for something she doesn’t entirely ‘understand.’ She still ‘feels’ the thrill of the treasure.”

Petra has just told her shipmates a cuento. The power of storytelling becomes obvious in Feathers’ delighted reaction. Storytelling is not an intellectual exercise; the power of words taps into the heart and awakens the imagination of the listener.

“His chin is still on his chest, but his eyes peek upward at me. ‘You’re trying to find something good for yourself, even if the Collective tells you it’s dangerous,’ I say. ‘You are trusting your gut. That is good.’”

Petra is talking to Voxy about his desire to read a book. Nyla tried to convince him that no books exist on the ship, but his own stubborn determination made him keep seeking until he finds the hidden seed vault. The Collective controls its members through fear, but Voxy trusts his feelings just as any human might.

“‘One day, it is possible you and I may have to take on more knowledge than you could dream of. Even in a Collective, the burden of hidden power falls on a few.’ I think of all the unused Cogs in the drawer. ‘But for all to possess that knowledge is dangerous.’”

Petra is eavesdropping on a conversation between Nyla and Voxy. The Chancellor’s hidden motives become clear in this quote. She recognizes the power contained in the history and literature of the old Earth. At some point, she plans to download all of that information into her own brain. This will give her superior knowledge, and knowledge is absolute power in the Collective. 

“‘Better to eliminate all threats now for what may come, even if it is units and units away.’ Everything Dad said was true. To achieve their goals—to have no starvation, or war—they are willing to do the worst kind of evil.”

Nyla has just explained to Crick why it would be a good idea to exterminate the First Arrivers on Sagan. Even though the Collective can’t use the planet for their own settlement, Nyla is so fearful of the very existence of humanity that she will destroy that threat, even if the Collective never benefits from that action in the future.

“This could take several units, but we can ensure this settlement will belong to the Collective and the Collective alone. It is truly a kindness to humanity to halt those who would destroy this planet, as they’ve done to their own. A new origin!”

As in the preceding quote, Nyla paints her murderous actions in altruistic terms. She is going to kill a group of innocent people for their own good. She doesn’t wish to acknowledge that the harm humanity has done can be counterbalanced by its positive qualities.

“Javier touches it like he always has. Every. Single. Time. Suddenly the old man before me is my little brother again. I choke out the final words. ‘Books became our language. Books became our home. Books became our lives.’”

The minute Javier touches his childhood book, his memories return. Petra’s comment about the sustenance to be found in books can just as easily apply to her cuentos. Storytelling in all its forms awakens the human heart.

“The panic on his face is there for the same reason he wanted the stories so badly. Each story, each person is different. Messy sometimes. But colorful, mismatched, and beautiful.”

Voxy is very disturbed as he watches Petra’s mind about to be reprogrammed. For her part, Petra notices the shred of humanity in her little friend. His distress is a sign that he has the capacity to feel. He may yet be saved.

“Crick clears his throat. ‘Not being tethered to tradition allows us to be logical,’ he says, and I wonder if he truly believes it. What the Collective doesn’t understand is by honoring the past, our ancestors, our cultures—and remembering our mistakes—we become better.”

Valuable lessons can be learned from past mistakes. By erasing history, the Collective has erased all opportunities for reflection and improvement. As the adage goes, those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it; instead of an upward evolutionary spiral, the Collective has settled for the stasis of death.

“And though I’ll be gone in any moment, I know in this instant who I am. I am not a scientist. I am not what my parents hoped I’d be. I am what Lita knew I was. I am a storyteller.”

Throughout the novel, other characters attempt to define Petra. Her parents wanted her to study science. The original mission to Sagan needed her to be useful and planned to give her botany and geology Cogs. Now, the Collective wants her to be a botanist serving the needs of the group. Petra is at the point of losing her memories. At this critical juncture, she defiantly proclaims her real identity: She is a cuentista.

“I let my memories fill me. I am bringing all of them: Mom, Dad, Lita, Javier, and our home. Ben and my crumbling library, deep in my mind. The stories of Lita and my ancestors. I’m bringing them all to this world.”

When she makes this statement, Petra assumes that all the First Arrivers are dead. Still, she is intent on bringing her ancestors and memories with her to this new planet and society, even if it only benefits the Zetas, the only five people left alive in the galaxy. She is determined to create continuity, even if only on a tiny scale.