Chapters 16-18 Summary

Just as Binti passes out, she somehow sends a “wild line of current” to the edan. Simultaneously, she has a revelation in which she sees the Meduse clearly and feels she understands something fundamental about them. One of the Meduse stings her in the spine, and she loses consciousness. Sometime later, Binti wakes up to find that the ship is one hour from Oomza Uni.

After they land, Okwu informs Binti that the human pilot is still alive. Binti realizes she is hearing Okwu in a different way than when the edan was translating. Okwu tells her it is because Binti is truly a “master harmonizer.” Okwu explains that some of her otjize was used to heal sick Meduse and that her “people will be remembered by [his] people.” Because Binti can translate for the Meduse, the chief names her the Meduse ambassador.

Chapters 16-18 Analysis

The edan’s electrical currents, or “spirit flow,” move between Binti and the edan and then outward to the Meduse. As the currents flow and translate speech, they create a strong connection between Binti and the Meduse. This connection represents the understanding building between Binti and the Meduse. Like Binti’s feelings, the current feels out of her control most of the time. As she struggles to understand the Meduse’s motivations, she gains more control over the currents and finally manages to create her own, which she sends to the edan. In this moment in the plot, Binti takes control of her emotions and reaches out to the Meduse with her own energy. The enormous effort this requires reflects the effort required to connect two people in conflict.

Binti’s use of otjize, like that of the edan, changes over the course of her time with the Meduse. Like the edan, this transformation mirrors the growing empathy between Binti and Okwu. Initially, Okwu takes the otjize from Binti without asking permission. As their relationship develops, Okwu stops threatening to take the otjize by force, and the Meduse even apply some to Binti’s wounds while she is unconscious. The otjize heals Binti’s wound and many injured Meduse, forging a positive relationship between Binti’s people and the Meduse. Figuratively, it begins the healing between the Meduse and humanity.