Scythe

The Vernal Conclave takes place in Fulcrum City, which resembles ancient Rome. On the morning of the first day, Citra asks Faraday if the other scythes know that he has taken two apprentices. He tells her that it will be fine but that he did not ask for permission. Faraday points out a woman to them, Scythe Curie, whom Citra has heard called “The Grand Dame of Death” (128). She gleaned the final president and his cabinet before control was given to the Thunderhead. They see four scythes in blue, jeweled robes. Faraday tells them that they are to be avoided and that their leader is Scythe Goddard. Rowan and Citra have heard that Goddard prefers mass gleanings, but Faraday does not confirm this.

They see a fat man named Xenocrates who holds the office of High Blade and will preside over the conclave. When Faraday introduces Rowan and Citra to him, he says that there has never been a double apprenticeship before. Citra thinks Xenocrates is insincere and does not trust him.

Rowan overhears two junior scythes—a young woman and a woman—complaining that after they get their rings, their gleanings have to be approved for their first four years. When he tries to include himself in the conversation, they call him a “spat” and tell him to go away. Spat is short for “spatula” and means that apprentices are only good enough to flip the scythes’ burgers. Faraday intervenes and sends the junior scythes away. He tells Citra and Rowan that he knows that the girl will be confirmed that day and the boy will be denied. He says the boy is too quick to anger and that it has disqualified him.

They enter the meeting hall. The conclave will take 12 hours. Any unfinished business will wait for four months until the next meeting. The meeting begins with the Tolling of the Names, during which each scythe recites the names of 10 of his victims. Citra finds it an interminable and boring process, and it takes two hours. Next, all of the scythes line up and perform a ritual hand washing. Then, 16 scythes who have been accused of bias in their selections are singled out. They are each chastised. Then Xenocrates calls Goddard before the group. Goddard has been anonymously accused of cruelty during his gleanings. He insists that his accuser step forward, claiming that he will not be judged by a nameless accuser. No one steps forward, and Xenocrates moves on. Faraday tells Citra and Rowan that he believes Goddard accused himself because it will “take the steam out of his enemies” and no one will accuse him now (137).

During a break, Citra observes Goddard while Rowan listens to scythes plotting and scheming about secrets and methods in their respective regions. Goddard is accompanied by a man in yellow, a woman in green, and a man in orange. Citra believes that Goddard knows she is watching him.

During lunch, Citra asks Curie when they will be tested. Curie smirks and refuses to answer. Citra wonders what she will miss in the conclave—which has fascinated her since the initial dullness passed—while she is testing. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, various legislative issues are presented and ruled upon. Faraday proposes an oversight committee that will help structure the granting of immunity in a fairer way, but time runs out before Xenocrates can propose a vote.

Four scythe candidates are called to the front of the room. Three rings are brought out. The three that receive rings announce their “Patron Historic,” a historically eminent figure after whom each will be called. They are soon ordained as Scythe Goodall, Scythe Schrodinger, and Scythe Colbert. The boy who Faraday said would not be ordained—Ransom Paladini—waits for a moment and then leaves the room angrily. Xenocrates summons the remaining apprentices.

The eight apprentices are lined up and face the audience. Xenocrates announces that Scythe Curie will be the examiner. Curie tells them they will each be asked one question. Curie moves down the line, presenting each apprentice with an ethical dilemma occurring during a gleaning and asking what they would do. There are two acceptable answers. The apprentice who provides an unacceptable answer is told that his punishment will be chosen by his master. When it is Citra’s turn, Curie asks, “What is the worst thing you have ever done?” (148). Citra tells her that when she was eight, she tripped a girl, pushed her down the stairs, broke her neck, and never took the blame. Curie tells her that she is lying and will be punished. Citra does not argue.

Curie asks Rowan what he is most afraid of. Rowan says that he is not afraid of anything. Citra realizes that he is doing it so she will not be punished alone. Faraday tells him he should not have done it and that his good motives may be used against him as weapons. They return to conclave business, and everyone is restless. When they are almost finished, Scythe Rand, the green-robed woman who is with Scythe Goddard, says she has concerns about Faraday’s apprentices and that they should not be competing for the ring given that they are obviously experiencing camaraderie. In order to make it a real competition, Rand proposes that the winner of the competition be required to glean the loser. As Faraday protests, Xenocrates approves the proposal, telling Faraday that he should not have chosen two apprentices.

Citra says that the Scythedom could never make her glean Rowan, but Rowan says that it will be able to make them glean each other because it knows their vulnerabilities. Rowan believes that Goddard sees Faraday as a threat, which is why he is attacking his apprentices. At home, Citra cannot sleep. She knows that if she wins the ring, her sorrow over gleaning Rowan will haunt her forever. The next morning, Faraday tells her and Rowan to study while he goes out alone. When he tells them that nothing has changed for them, Rowan disagrees, to which Faraday replies, “Maybe everything will change again” (159).

Hours later, Citra and Rowan discuss their situation. Rowan sits on her bed, and Citra kisses him. Then she tells him that she hasn’t fallen in love with him and that now that they have gotten the kiss out of the way, he should go back to his own room. Rowan says he hasn’t fallen in love with her either.

The journal entry is from the gleaning journal of Goddard. He boasts of gleaning with pride, not shame. He sees a future world in which scythes are chosen because they enjoy taking life and being above the law.

Four scythes arrive at the doorstep of an executive. It is Goddard and his apprentices: Rand, Volta, and Chomsky. When the man asks what they want, they enter his home and begin exploring. He tells them his name, “Maxim Easley,” and asks, “[S]urely the name means something to you?” (164). The scythe in orange says they know that Easley runs Regenesis, the second-largest company in the “turncorner industry.” Easley becomes desperate and asks them what they want. Goddard says he wants Easley’s entire estate.

Rand returns from the kitchen with a pool boy. The scythe in orange touches the man’s cheek. He dies instantly from a product the scythe purchased from a vendor at the conclave. Goddard offers Easley and his family a year of immunity for every year that Goddard lives at the estate. Then he tells Easley to go to work and resign. He is going to be Goddard’s new pool boy.

Curie writes that scythes cannot glean each other but can glean themselves. She thinks this is a wise arrangement and has considered suicide several times: “But I can’t bear the thought of other scythes gleaning in my absence” (169).

Citra and Rowan are awakened by someone pounding on the front door late at night. Faraday is gone. Two members of the BladeGuard (the enforcers of the Scythedom) are on the doorstep. They say that Rowan and Citra must come with them but do not say why. The High Blade Xenocrates appears behind the guards. He says that Faraday has “invoked the seventh commandment” and has “gleaned himself” (171). Citra and Rowan ride with Xenocrates to his home in Fulcrum City. Xenocrates keeps saying how sorry and sorrowful he is that Faraday has died, but Citra does not believe him. He tells them that the night before, Faraday threw himself in front of a train. He tells them that when a scythe self-gleans, his apprentices are unbound from him. Faraday ended his life to spare them from having to glean each other.

Scythe Curie will be taking over Citra’s training. Rowan will now be apprenticed to Scythe Goddard.