Essay Questions

What does the novel imply about climate change?

The implication of the novel seems to be that, in the far distant future, the world's resources will have either dried up completely or be severely limited; they will also, as a result, be the most lucrative form of currency and business will be built upon them.

Water is the most in-demand resource because of its scarcity, and the way in which the world's water supplies are controlled by only the very corrupt. The novel suggests that climate change will leave a world that is impoverished both in resources and the ethics required to viably distribute the resources that are left for the good of the future of humankind.

What does the book tell us about the author's view of big business?

Clearly the author is not a fan of big business, because there is not one character involved in big business that has any kind of moral backbone or ethical quality. This rather blinkered view of the corporate world leads the novel to appear to be completely anti-business, although the objective was most likely to show that corporate conglomerates are not the most suited to distributing resources equitably because they will not work together, but rather would prefer to destroy precious resources just to damage their competitors.

Why is Angel so devoted to Catherine?

Angel is a loyal man and for this reason does not expect disloyalty from others. He is also bamboozled by Catherine's apparent appreciation of his loyalty and her appearance of having the same amount of loyalty to him in return. Angel risks his life for Catherine on a daily basis, and for this reason imagines that she will reciprocate. He realizes that this is not the case, but by this time it is almost too late; he has done too much for her to be able to truly be free of her in his professional life, and in his personal life, he is so lacking in trust of others because of her betrayal that he is a changed man, almost more like Catherine than the man he used to be.