In the Lives of Puppets

The next morning, the group starts their quest. Victor conceals his humanity with the help of a disguise made by Rambo, “a metal helmet with protruding lights and wires and a vest with an old, unusable battery sewn into the center” (177). They approach one of the Old Ones in the Scrap Yard. The machine is unusually still, and Hap throws a piece of metal at it to make sure that it’s asleep. The android then rips open the Old One’s paneling and holds up Nurse Ratched so that she can gather the information they need from the machine. She creates a map to the City of Electric Dreams, which lies 700 miles southeast and will take them weeks to reach. Overwhelmed by the distance, Victor sinks to the ground. Hap tells him to get back up, saying, “You’re not w-weak. You’re V-victor Lawson. Inventor. Creator” (182). Rambo and Nurse Ratched explain that weakness and recovery are not the same things. With his friends’ encouragement, Victor gets back on his feet and faces east.