106 pages • 3 hours read
Oryx and Crake
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Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
After graduating from Martha Graham, Jimmy moved in with his then-girlfriend and some artists who claimed that human society was a monster that “made the same cretinous mistakes over and over.” They also believed that even air and light would soon be artificial, as earth’s oxygen layers and ozone would be destroyed.
Finally, Jimmy found a job at a compound called AnooYoo. His role involved promotion, in line with the company’s claim to offer people perfection. He had expected his girlfriend to be pleased, but a friend of hers had committed suicide after a failed attempt to cure depression, wrinkles, and insomnia courtesy of AnooYoo.
Jimmy spent his days writing marketing spiels for AnooYoo products and found this work depressing. He had broken up with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, his father and Ramona were trying for a baby, and Ramona said that, if they did not succeed soon, they would “try ‘something else’ from one of the agencies – Infantade, Foetility, Perfectababe.”
Crake was working at the most powerful compound, RejoovenEsense, and his Uncle Pete had died of a virus—seemingly a result of sabotage. When Jimmy asked if Crake was present during all this, Crake had replied “In a manner of speaking.” Since then, Jimmy and Crake drifted apart.
Jimmy spent much of his free time watching news stories about disasters and scandals. A girl featured in one story said that she used to be in movies but was glad to have been bought by a man who had seen her online and felt sorry for her. She now spent her time locked in a garage and, in court, testified that she used this time to learn English and watch TV. Her captor subsequently escaped prosecution, though he was ordered to send her to school. She was currently studying child psychology.
Upon seeing a close-up of this girl’s face, Jimmy thought he recognized her. He took out his picture of Oryx and compared the images: time had passed, but the look was the same and made Jimmy feel lightheaded.
Jimmy was still grilled regularly by security, though he had not received any foreign postcards in a long time. However, in one video that security showed him, Jimmy saw his mother being executed. Somehow, she had known that he would see the video, as she addressed him and said “Goodbye. Remember Killer. I love you. Don’t let me down.” Jimmy initially claimed that he did not recognize this woman, but his interrogators sensed his uneasiness. He consequently told them that Killer was the pet rakunk he owned when he was a child. Later, Jimmy had wondered when the execution took place or whether it was faked.
Jimmy spent the following weeks brooding, drinking, and feeling forlorn. He felt a need for revenge, though he did not know the target and realized that it would be useless. He had previously found comfort in remembering obsolete words, but this was no longer the case. He also felt a sense of impending dread.
Chapter 11 Summary
Snowman is plagued by dreams about his past, compounding his present misery. The storm has now passed but, as he sets off for the mall, he is pursued by a large group of pigoons. He hides in a gatehouse but knows that it is only a matter of time before the pigoons manage to pry the door open. Luckily, Snowman finds another door leading to a staircase that he ascends just in time to avoid the ravenous pigoons. He emerges into a watchtower full of high-tech, non-functioning devices. He finds an old windup radio that now emits white noise. He wonders whether there are any distant countries that might have escaped, but, because “the thing was airborne,” he knows this is highly unlikely. Still, he prays to hear someone.
Suddenly, a voice comes through speaking a language that sounds like Russian. Then, another voice comes through in English, and Snowman yells in response. He wonders if he is being too hasty but cannot help feeling excited.
As night falls, Snowman lies down in a cot and thinks of how a living person once slept there with no clue about what was to happen. Jimmy, meanwhile, had had clues and wonders if it would have made any difference if he had killed Crake earlier.
The next day, Snowman assesses his options for escape and finally manages to make his way out through an air vent. When he emerges, he can see smoke in the distance.
Chapter 12 Summary
As Snowman rests for a moment, he asks himself what Crake needed him for. He wishes that Crake could have left him alone and reasserts that he had never wanted to hurt anyone.
While working at AnooYoo, Jimmy received a visit from Crake, who had heard about what happened to Jimmy’s mother and wanted to see how Jimmy was doing. Crake and Jimmy subsequently went on trip to the city, though Crake gave Jimmy a vaccine to protect him against whatever germs or viruses lurked there. Jimmy was surprised at how different the surroundings and people were compared to the compounds, and he found this fascinating.
Upon seeing stores offering solutions to various human defects, Crake remarked that this must be where the products made in the compounds turn up. He also explained that the market was competitive but that they were holding their ground. Jimmy later got drunk at one of the city’s bars but, the next day, he vaguely recalled Crake offering him a job at “Rejoov” and assumed that he must have said “yes.”
When he arrived at AnooYoo on Monday morning, Jimmy was congratulated by his bosses on his new position. At RejoovenEsense, Crake showed Jimmy around the impressive compound. When Jimmy asked who paid for it all, Crake replied that it was built on “The wish to stop time. The human condition.”
Crake’s unit was called Paradice and was working on immortality. The first step involved cultivating a pill intended to prevent the external causes of death—such as war—by diverting human energies in more beneficial directions. The pill would also protect individuals against sexually-transmitted diseases, promote energy and libido, and prolong youth. Crake added that there was a fourth purpose that would not be advertised: the pill would act as a form of birth control, thereby lowering the population level. This would benefit the planet as a whole, as there would be more resources to go around.
Jimmy was surprised by Crake’s altruism, but Crake emphasized that the human species was in deep trouble. Crake envisaged that the pill would be a big money-spinner and must-have product around the globe. He knew that “crank religions” would object to it but would be powerless to stop it. Jimmy’s role, meanwhile, would be to work on the ad campaign.
Paradice had been Crake’s concept and was a highly advanced, closely-guarded dome. It also featured an airlock in the event that it needed to be sealed off. The staff had been given names such as “Polar Bear” and “Indian Tiger,” which Jimmy recognized from Extinctathon. In Crake’s office, Jimmy spotted fridge magnets featuring phrases such as “Where God is, Man is not.” Crake then showed Jimmy his main project, and Jimmy got his first look at the Crakers: beings that had been engineered and were living in a bubble-dome complete with an advanced projection of a natural landscape. Crake informed Jimmy that, after much trial and error, the engineers had created a race that were capable of reproduction and drop dead painlessly aged 30.
Aside from Crake, nobody was allowed out of the complex. There were a lot of competing companies, and the project was top secret. The workers’ living quarters were inside the security zone but outside the airlock. This was to avoid the spread of infection were any of the staff members to get sick. Crake was hoping to go public with the project soon, enabling people to order a tailor-made baby possessing whatever characteristics they desired. Moreover, whole populations could be created with pre-selected characteristics. The project was intertwined with the BlyssPluss pill, which “would put a stop to haphazard reproduction, the Project would replace it with a superior method.”
As with physical features, Crake explained that people could be programmed so that they no longer possessed any destructive tendencies. There were no hierarchies among the Paradice people, who existed in a state of placidity. Jimmy suggested that Crake was going beyond what most average people would want in a baby, but Crake replied that the Paradice people served as models of what was possible.
One day, Jimmy spotted Oryx in the Paradice dome along with the Crakers. Her stare was the same as the one he had initially been so affected by, though her eyes were now green, since she was wearing contact lenses to fit in with the Crakers. Jimmy was overwhelmed to finally see Oryx for real, and asked Crake who she was. He replied that she was teaching the Crakers botany and zoology. As they talked, Jimmy was horrified to realize that Crake was in love with her. Crake went on to explain that he met Oryx via Watson-Crick: he had given Student Services a printout of her picture and they were able to find her.
While discussing the Paradice project with Jimmy and Crake, Oryx revealed that one of the Crakers had expressed curiosity and had asked who had made them. She told them the truth: it was someone called Crake. They had not asked any follow-up questions and seemed to find this satisfactory.
From then on, Jimmy spent him time feeling tormented by his secret desire for Oryx. He had to keep telling himself that she was off limits and focus his attention on the ad campaign, though this work barely required any effort on his part. However, one day, Oryx revealed that she was aware of Jimmy’s unhappiness and that Crake would not want to see his friend unhappy. She said that Crake was her boss while Jimmy was there for fun. Besides which, Crake would never know.
As time went on and Jimmy and Oryx began their affair, it seemed that Crake did not know. It was nevertheless apparent that, despite his focus on his work, Crake loved Oryx. He also seemed to trust her and considered her an expert businesswoman. According to Oryx, sex with Crake was “direct and simple” compared with the fun and intrigue she felt with Jimmy. She was also a skilled liar, ensuring that Crake would never suspect anything.
Snowman keeps replaying the phrase “if only,” wondering if there is anything he could have done that would have changed the course of events. He concludes that he could not have made any significant difference to what happened.
As he and Oryx became less careful about concealing their relationship, Jimmy wondered whether Crake knew. It did not seem like it at the time, but Snowman now thinks that there were signs. Crake had started asking questions such as “Would you kill someone you loved to spare them pain?” and told Jimmy that he should take charge of the Paradice Project if anything happened. Jimmy was unsure what Crake expected might happen and said that Oryx might be better suited to the role. Crake, however, said that, “If I’m not around, Oryx won’t be either.”
Jimmy suggested to Oryx that they run away together, but she said she would never leave Crake and believed in his vision. Jimmy was still skeptical about Crake’s motives but Oryx insisted that he wanted to make the world a better place. Like Crake, she also asked Jimmy to promise to look after the Crakers if the need arose. Now, Snowman wonders what she had in mind back then and how much she had figured out.
When Oryx went out to get pizza one night, Jimmy became anxious as time went by and she did not return. Then, the first bulletin came in, followed shortly by many more. Jimmy first assumed that it was a minor epidemic, but it soon became clear that there was a global outbreak. The reports indicated that the virus was probably airborne and that time span between visible onset and death was very short.
Jimmy then received a call from Oryx, who was crying and saying, “I am so sorry. I did not know.” She explained that the outbreak was caused by pills that she had been selling in cities in an attempt to help people. She started the sentence, “Crake said . . .” but the line cut off. Jimmy knew that, when and if she returned, he would be unable to bring himself to lock her out.
The virus was breaking out simultaneously across numerous cities. Jimmy tried to reassure the staff that they were safe and could wait it out, adding that they had to protect the Paradice models and should not let anyone in. He then received a video call from Crake, who, though sounding drunk or high, claimed that everything was under control. He said that he would be back soon, and Jimmy wondered if he would bring Oryx with him
Jimmy then told the staff to get some sleep, telling them that there was no immediate danger. He accompanied them to the airlock and watched them leave—he was also scared that they would become hysterical and try to break out of the complex or let others in. Now, there was no one in the dome other than the Crakers and him.
Jimmy heard someone trying to open the airlock. Crake was asking to be let in, but Jimmy reminded him of his order to seal the airlock. Crake replied that he was not a carrier. Likewise, Jimmy was immune—the vaccine that Crake had given him whenever he visited the city had contained the antibody serum.
Crake then said that Oryx was with him, and Jimmy opened the airlock. Crake was carrying Oryx, who looked as though she were asleep. He subsequently said “I’m counting on you” to Jimmy before slitting Oryx’s throat. Jimmy shot Crake.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
By chapter 10, Jimmy has graduated from college and is living with his girlfriend and some artists. Though seemingly the opposite of Crake in their bohemianism, they likewise believe that human society is reaching a crisis point. Jimmy has also started working in marketing for a company called AnooYoo, which offers people a “perfect” life. The reality of this situation, however, is raised by Jimmy’s girlfriend, who says that a friend of hers killed herself after having paid the company to cure her depression, wrinkles, and insomnia to no avail.
Jimmy later breaks up with his girlfriend and also learns that his father and Ramona are trying for a baby but are considering trying “something else” from an agency such as Perfectababe. We thus see yet another area in which people are turning to corporations and genetic engineering.
During this time, Jimmy sees a news report about a girl who had been working in pornography but was bought by a man who saw her online, felt sorry for her, and proceeded to keep her locked in a garage, where she watched TV and learned English. Though years have passed, Jimmy recognizes her as Oryx, who is now studying child psychology. Oryx’s own testimony here also indicates that she does not resent her confinement, as she was not mistreated and used her time productively.
Another important event occurs in this chapter when Jimmy is shown a video of a woman being executed. Jimmy recognizes her as his mother, and, when she looks into the camera and says, “Goodbye. Remember Killer. I love you. Don’t let me down,” Jimmy knows from the reference to his pet rakunk that this is a secret message to him. This would appear to give closure to the question of what happened to her, though Jimmy wonders if the execution could have been faked.
Chapter 11 depicts a tense situation in which Snowman is hounded by a group of angry pigoons and manages to escape in the nick of time by ascending a stairwell in a security watchtower. There he finds a radio and a voice comes through in language that sounds like Russian, followed by another in English. The exchange may be fleeting, but Snowman is understandably excited to hear human voices.
Later that night, Snowman reflects that there had been clues about what Crake was planning. As Crake’s closest friend, it is hardly surprising that Snowman tends to think back on the lead up to what happened and wonder if there was anything he could have done. What would have happened if he had killed Crake earlier?
Having spent the night shielded from the pigoons, Snowman manages to find a way out via an air vent the following day, whereupon he sees a cloud of smoke—further evidence of human inhabitation. This chapter therefore places Snowman in a precarious situation in which he narrowly avoids death while finding himself with yet more time for personal reflection. Still, seeing and hearing evidence of other human beings is a major turning point.
Chapter 12 begins on another reflective note, with Snowman resenting Crake for having dragged him into his plans and reiterating that he meant no harm. Indeed, it is hard for Snowman to reconcile his own obliviousness to what Crake had been planning with the events that transpired. As far as he knew, he had been hired to work on marketing. Likewise, he thought that they were childhood friends and, despite the clues that he can recognize now, he could hardly have anticipated the magnitude of what Crake intended. As the adage goes, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
This chapter then goes back in time to an instance in which Crake took Jimmy to the city for the first time. In what later becomes a crucial plot point, Crake had given Jimmy a vaccine to protect him against whatever lurked there. As Jimmy had been drunk when Crake offered him the job, he remembers little other than having accepted. When Crake shows Jimmy around the compound in which he will be working, Jimmy is impressed and asks who paid for it. Here, Crake reaffirms humanity’s desperation for immortality and perfection, answering, “The wish to stop time. The human condition.”
Accordingly, Crake’s own project is called Paradice and is working on immortality. He claims that the first step is creating pills to reroute human energies that would usually result in destructive impulses. He also claims that the pills will offer increased energy and wellbeing. However, what customers will not know is that they also serve as a form of birth control. Here, Crake voices the overriding conclusion that informs the project: the planet is overpopulated and resources will soon no longer be sufficient. From this statement, we can see that Crake is not merely seeking to make money from people’s dreams of immortality. He has an agenda that is concerned with the world at large.
As he acquaints himself with RejoovenEsense, Jimmy notices that staff members have names from his childhood game Extinctathon, and Crake reveals that he recruited them from the playroom. Jimmy also notices that, whereas Crake used to have fridge magnets featuring scientific quips, his office now features magnets bearing statements regarding philosophy and religion. Again, Jimmy thought little of this at the time, but Snowman can now see it as a clue.
Crake then introduces the epicenter of his project: a self-contained biodome that is home to a perfect, genetically engineered species. This is partly aesthetic, but also relates to Crake’s aims regarding efficiency and disposition, as these beings would not engage in wasteful or destructive behavior. One of their features, however, seems to contradict Crake’s offer of immortality: these beings are programmed to die painlessly aged 30. In response, Crake says that immortality can be seen as the absence of the fear of death. He is therefore talking about immortality in a philosophical rather than literal sense, arguing that, since these beings will not fear death, they will feel “immortal.”
Jimmy’s response to the “Crakers” (as they are informally known) is that Crake has gone far beyond what most people would want in a baby, but Crake says that they are merely intended to show what is possible. From this exchange, Jimmy seems to believe that Crake is offering parents the chance to buy babies that will possess ideal human traits, like the Crakers. Crake corrects him somewhat, claiming that the Crakers are “floor models.” As we will see, though, Crake is lying to him.
It is also during this time that Jimmy finally meets Oryx, who Crake managed to find by showing her picture to “student services” (it is evident that he is not referring to student services in the usual sense of the term). They managed to procure her for him, and she is now teaching the Crakers. Jimmy is also disappointed to find that she and Crake are in a sexual relationship. Crake’s reason for having sought her out is not stated, but it would seem to go beyond him being attracted to her image from all those years ago.
Though Jimmy tries to conceal his feelings for Oryx, Oryx proceeds to seduce him and he ultimately reciprocates. As they pursue an affair, Jimmy wonders whether Crake knows what is going on. However, Crake seems more dedicated to his project than his relationship. Jimmy also keeps asking Oryx about her past, and she is frustratingly vague. Moreover, when she does admit some of her past experiences, Jimmy cannot understand why she seems so calm and collected. Indeed, the differing dispositions of Jimmy, Crake, and Oryx are prominent throughout this chapter.
At this juncture, Crake starts asking Jimmy to respond to philosophical dilemmas such as “Would you kill someone you loved to spare them pain?” He also asks Jimmy to take charge of the Paradice Project if necessary, adding that, “If I’m not around, Oryx won’t be either.” Oryx asks him to make this same promise to her. Jimmy is puzzled by all this and does not understand the ramifications. As he thinks that it is merely theoretical, he agrees. He does not realize the magnitude of what faces him, but, looking back, Snowman wonders how much Oryx knew.
When Oryx goes out for a pizza one night and fails to return, Jimmy becomes worried. He subsequently learns that there has been an outbreak of a global epidemic, and a tearful phone call from Oryx reveals that—unbeknownst to her—the virus was contained in the BlyssPluss pills that she had distributed. So, while Oryx may have been more perceptive than Jimmy, it appears that she did not know the full extent of Crake’s plans, either. As Jimmy receives incoming bulletins, he acts to secure the building from any risk. Ultimately, the only ones left in the dome are the Crakers and him.
The novel’s most dramatic event occurs when Crake arrives, carrying Oryx, who appears to be asleep. Before letting Crake in, Jimmy is conscious that he has now finally learned the truth, which had hitherto taken the form of a string of clues that Jimmy had not picked up on. When he lets Crake in, a quick succession of events takes place: Crake says, “I’m counting on you” and then cuts Oryx’s throat, prompting Jimmy to shoot Crake.
Crake’s plan has now revealed itself to both Jimmy and the reader in vivid fashion, and we see that Crake was lying about the pills and the Paradice project. He was telling the truth about his motives, but no one knew that his aim was to wipe out the human race. It also appears that Crake had acted as puppet master, using Oryx to manipulate Jimmy. Not only was he willing to sacrifice Oryx, he was ready to die in order to secure his project’s success. For all his intellect, Crake did not see himself as possessing the required empathy to lead the Crakers. That was why he employed Jimmy, with the promotional job and Oryx as the bait.
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