Nyxia

“You get in there and fight, Emmett. Be worthy. Not in their eyes, but in yours. Break the rules you need to, but never forget who you are and where you come from.”

Emmett’s father voices the main lesson that Emmett will imbibe through the course of the novel: that a person can find worth and freedom outside of society’s rules. Throughout the novel, Emmett’s father regularly encourages him to not change himself for Babel or their gain but to remain true to himself. While Emmett’s ambition threatens to derail him from this course, he manages to find his way back to it by the end.

“Babel Communications has gathered the peoples of Earth and reversed it. There’s something sacred to our easy, borderless conversation. Either something sacred or something forbidden.”

Emmett considers the biblical allusion in Babel’s name, which foreshadows how Babel’s intentions may ultimately create disaster. Throughout the novel, Emmett will wrestle with the good that Babel’s resources can do, like take care of his mother’s health, and the negative consequences of Babel’s actions, like his injuries and Kaya’s death.

“Dismiss your idea of fair here and now. Our rules are our rules […] We say what is fair and what isn’t.”

This quote develops the theme of The Exploitation of the Poor by Greedy Corporations. Babel Communications uses its wealth and status to dictate justice for the people it has power over—in this case, the competitors. Babel assumes the power to upturn traditional ideas and morality and ethics since it knows that these teenagers who come from poverty are completely at its mercy.

“My dreams are black holes […] I’m not sure which dream is scarier, the destroyed or the destroyer. As I stare at the ceiling, I realize that Babel’s competition will make me one or the other.”

Emmett uses the image of a black hole to explain his fears about how Babel might change him into a violent person through the competition. A black hole is dark and inscrutable, and it also has the power to suck in everything around it. Similarly, Emmett feels powerless against his ambitions, which are sucking him in and which he worries might be dangerous and dark. Throughout the novel, Emmett struggles between his desire to win and his desire not to harm others.

“Babel’s competition isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon in which we’re occasionally asked to walk on water.”

Emmett uses the metaphor of sprints and marathons to communicate how Babel’s competition can’t be won by a single decision but must be fought for over the course of many days and many tasks. Emmett alludes to the biblical story of Jesus walking on water to describe how Babel challenges them to do things that the competitors initially believe are impossible.

“The machine coughs black liquid into a ceramic cup […] Even the coffee makes me think of black holes.”

Emmett builds on the black hole image to demonstrate how he is consistently worried about what Babel’s competition is doing to his personality. He feels powerless against its dark pull and is afraid of losing his better nature as he gets drawn into the competition. The author personifies the coffee machine, describing the coffee pouring as “coughing” to foreshadow how everything on Genesis 11 is infected by Babel’s evil.

“Vandemeer might have the degree, but it feels like Kaya can see things he doesn’t.”

This quote builds on the theme of The Power of Cooperation and Human Connection by pointing out how Kaya—who represents collective action—has an ability or power that Vandemeer does not. While Vandemeer is trained in medicine, he has bought in to Babel’s competition, which lessens his powers. Kaya, however, refuses to submit to Babel’s authority and never compromises on her ethics; her empathy and connection make her more perceptive than Vandemeer.

“‘What are they preparing us for?’ Kaya’s eyes are lost in calculation. […] ‘[W]hy are they having us fight?’”

Kaya’s reaction here foreshadows Babel’s deception. While Babel initially told the competitors that their mission would be peaceful, the competitors are being trained to fight one another. This quote also demonstrates Kaya’s intelligence and strategic skill, as well as her willingness to question Babel and their intentions.

“Babel’s fundamental belief is competition […] it means that the higher-ups don’t just see us as chess pieces. They see everyone as chess pieces.”

Emmett uses the simile of chess pieces to explain how Babel manipulates individuals to achieve its own success. In a game of chess, each piece’s purpose is to defend or take the king. Earlier in the novel, Emmett describes Marcus Defoe as a king. In this quote, Emmett learns that Defoe and Vandemeer are likely working for some larger king who is truly in charge.

“This place is dark enough without friends. I need her. I didn’t realize it before, but I probably don’t stand much of a chance of surviving this competition without her.”

Emmett uses the metaphor of darkness to explain how the Babel competition is difficult and confusing. This comparison to darkness also connects to his black hole dreams and nyxia itself, which is described as a dark substance. This quote also foreshadows how Emmett will lose Kaya to Babel through their decision to keep a tortured Adamite on board the ship.

“For a time, we aren’t competitors vaulting through the endless dark. We’re kids sitting in the back of a classroom. The teacher has given us free time, and something about it tastes eternal.”

The metaphor of “kids sitting in the back of a classroom” describes how the competitors return to their innocence during their rest day while they play cards together and chat. The author suggests that fellowship, games, and collaboration are the true nature of children. However, these teenagers have been thrust into “the endless dark,” an image that symbolizes the trauma they face aboard Genesis 11.

“I’d get mad that she was so tired. I thought it meant she didn’t care about me. The older I got, the more I understood, but sometimes you hold those strikes against people in the darkest corners of your heart.”

This quote reveals one source of Emmett’s fear of abandonment from early in his life. It also foreshadows how early fights between Roathy and Emmett will continue to affect the characters as the story continues. This quote also uses the image of darkness to reference secret thoughts or desires.

“I wonder if this is the student I could have been without all the distractions. If I could have come home and spent hours doing homework instead of babysitting cousins.”

This quote comments on the effects of the cycle of poverty on contemporary students. Families who cannot afford childcare, or who have two working parents, may rely on older children for support. In this case, Emmett spent his time after school babysitting cousins for his family, which meant he had less time than his affluent classmates to spend on studying, which in turn affected his grades.

“She looks like a fallen petal, snapped too soon.”

This quote uses a simile to describe how Kaya died. Kaya was a gentle and beautiful soul, so she is likened to a petal, which was once lovely and full of life. The author uses “snapped” to show how her death was violent and intentional.

“My mouth begs to explain, to say that this was Babel’s fault, but Defoe silences me with a look.”

The author personifies Emmett’s mouth to show how Emmett is disassociating from his body to cope with the trauma of Kaya’s death. Emmett’s body seems to be reaching toward the truth, but he understands that he will jeopardize his chances of success if he gives in, so he forces himself to stay quiet. This quote also shows the conflict between Emmett’s ethics and his desire to win and secure the reward.

“Babel doesn’t shelter the weak. We amputate, rebuild, and conquer.”

This quote foreshadows the possibility that Babel won’t honor their promise to provide for the competitors who don’t earn their spot on Eden. Marcus Defoe suggests that the losers will be cut away, or killed, rather than “sheltered.” This shows how corporations like Babel are devoid of compassion and focus solely on profit as they “rebuild and conquer.”

“But Kaya’s death changed me, changed everything. I can’t go back to cold competition and ruthless winning. […] For her, I try to be better.”

This quote demonstrates how Emmett’s strategy changes after Kaya’s death. It also builds on the themes of cooperation and connection and of the dangers of ambition. Emmett blames the competition for Kaya’s death, so he chooses to honor her memory by aiming to be a “better,” more ethical person.

“A part of me wonders how I would even survive Eden without my two favorite people.”

This quote foreshadows how Bilal will not make it to Eden. At this point, Kaya has died, and Emmett has not met Morning or the other members of Genesis 12, so he holds out hope that he and Bilal may make it together.

“Defoe makes our slang sound like it’s his.”

This line shows how Marcus Defoe colonizes other people’s creative work, including the challengers’ slang. Defoe’s tendency to take what belongs to others and claim it as his represents how Babel and other corporations like them survive off the work of others. Just like Defoe takes the challengers’ slang and pretends it’s his, Babel takes Eden’s nyxia.

“Without her mask she looks like a completely different person.”

In this scene, Morning’s nyxia mask represents the competitiveness between characters, and when she removes it to talk to Emmett, she is metaphorically setting aside their competitiveness to show her vulnerability. This symbolizes how Morning and Emmett’s relationship is threatened by the competition, which is a barrier to human connection.

“Look, I’m glad someone’s got time to play detective, but I don’t. You might be sitting pretty on the scoreboard, but I still have to earn my way down to Eden.”

This quote shows how despite Emmett’s grief over Kaya’s death and his distrust of Babel, he still wants to win the reward that Babel offers. This foreshadows Emmett’s larger struggle in the series to stand up to power even if that decision might hurt him or others.

“‘I cannot wish harm on anyone,’ he says. ‘They have worked hard too.’”

Bilal knows that he will not earn a spot to Eden, but he still does not wish for anyone to be hurt so that he could take their spot. Bilal’s compassion challenges Emmett, who would prefer not to hurt anyone but would still do so to secure a spot for himself. This foreshadows how Emmett will learn from Bilal and choose not to kill Roathy at the end of the book.

“I am a waiting pit, the beginnings of blackest night.”

Emmett, cornered by Roathy and Isadora, prepares to fight and is ready to give himself over to his anger. The author uses the metaphor of a “waiting pit” and “blackest night” to connect to Emmett’s previous dreams of black holes. This also underscores the idea that his angry desire to triumph at all costs is a dark and dangerous one, a “pit” he might lose himself in.