After sobbing that I didn’t understand Sy clinging to the Academy in the face of the potential answers Fray offers, I was asked:

Do you think Sy understands?

Does Fray?

Do any of the Lambs?

Does Hayle?

While this is obviously a dystopia in a variety of ways, fundamentally I’m unclear on _what_ Sy has hope in the Academy for – what it’ll make ‘better’.

There are indications he’s thinking on the scope of humanity, but I’m unsure if he’s concerned about abstract forces like death, entropy (hi Entities), war, etc., or if there’s some more concrete, nebulous force working against humanity that I haven’t been made aware of yet.

Alternatively, he could be pretending to care about humanity, but really (and understandably) his concern is closer to home – whatever threat he perceives affects his fellow Lambs, and he thinks the Academy will be better positioned to address it.

Whatever the case, Fray does understand as she accepts his answer at face value, and knows that she won’t be able to sway him.

In terms of the other Lambs, I can’t really begin to guess without understanding Sy’s objection myself. Is it something Jamie could reason about? Mary could understand on an instinctual level? That Helen could perceive with her other-ness? That Lillian could wield Academy knowledge to divine? Of all of them I think Gordon is the one least likely to have a unique reason to understand but I’m speaking so abstractly at this point that I don’t really know what I’m saying

Sy specifically calls out Hayle’s work as the bastion of his faith in the Academy, but I don’t know if that’s intentional or derivative

Unsure if that really answers the questions, but it’s good to mull on for now. In the meantime, we will see if 4.5 can mend my shattered heart :(.

Chapter 4.5