Buck is on his laptop, in the Continental Lounge, bleeding from his head
Captain Steele and flight attendant Hattie have been dropped off in suburban Chicago and head to their respective homes
Awareness dawns
A doctor in the lounge who dresses Buck's head wound assures him "[he's] workin' free today. Call it a Rapture Special."
Ray Steele discovers that his wife Irene and son Ray Jr. (aka "Raymie) "had vanished from the face of the earth."
Dramatis Personae novae
Marge Potter, Steve Planck's "matronly" secretary
E-mails Buck with information regarding Hattie's family (Mom & sisters are o.k.!) Several staffers are gone, but "[e]verybody from the senior staff is accounted for .... Have you noticed it seems to have struck the innocents? Everyone we know who's gone is either a child or a very nice person."
Buck ponders theory
"Marge had referred to the innocents. The doctor had assumed it was the Rapture. Steve had pooh-poohed space aliens. But how could you rule out anything at this point? His mind was already whirring with ideas for the story behind the disappearances. Talk about the assignment of a lifetime!"
A thought gnaws at Buck whilst on line trying to line up a flight to New York
"[H]e tried to remember what it was Chaim Rosenzweig, the Newsmaker of the Year, had told him about the young Nicolae Carpathia of Romania .... Rosenzweig had been impressed with Carpathia, that was true. But why?"
From Buck's archived transcript of his interview with Rosenzweig, circa the "Russian Pearl Harbor" on the topic of Mr. Carpathia
"I found him most charming and humble .... a peacemaker and leading a movement toward disarmament .... Blonde and blue-eyed, like the original Romanians, who came from Rome, before the Mongols affected their race."
Foreshadowing?
"This man is about your age, by the way .... One day you must meet Carpathia. You would like each other ... he is a man of high ideals. If he should emerge, you will hear of him. And as you are emerging in your own orbit, he will likely hear of you."
Next steps
The Global Weekly's unlimited resources are primed to send Buck to New York. Per Buck's conversation with the "young woman" at Pan-Con's Lounge counter "I have to get to New York ... I know it's the worst place to try to get to right now. But you know people ... pilots who fly on the side, charter stuff .... Let's say I had unlimited resources and could pay whatever I needed to. Who would you send me to?"
The wrap
Some chapters have to happen so other stuff can happen. Carpathia seems like a nice guy. Chaim seems like a nice guy. Could things not be as they seem?
Thought of the day
Why are minor male characters given names in this novel, but minor female characters consigned to a gender and age description?
Afterthought of the day
The Mongols invaded Rome?
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