Space Case

As the investigation develops in Space Case, characters continue to keep information private versus revealing it, even with people they trust. This manifestation of the motif of visibility is primarily shown through Dash’s perspective; he avoids sharing particular details of the case with Kira, his parents, Roddy, Nina, and even Zan. This avoidance reflects his maturation as he learns that not everyone can be trusted, but it also limits his ability to figure things out as quickly. When Dash does communicate what he knows, it often leads to additional clues or leads, even when that is through a lack of information on the other person’s part. For example, when he shares his suspicions with Nina earlier in the novel, it is her denial that prompts him to investigate the video footage and to avoid trusting her later on. Similarly, when Dash shares information with his parents, with Kira, and with Zan, he ends up gaining helpful pieces of evidence that help him build a broader network of knowledge.

Computers and robots are portrayed as a huge part of life on the moon, and there are many hints that they should not be entirely trusted. Gibbs uses both serious and silly moments in the novel to illustrate this point. The Gibson residence computer, for example, is programmed by the family to speak as a native German speaker trying to work in English, and it frequently mishears, mispronounces, or misunderstands basic requests. Robots are used for many critical tasks, especially those on the surface of the moon, yet they are overseen by the very kind but seemingly distracted Daphne. While no negative incidents have occurred thus far in the novel with either a computer error or a robot, the consistent small issues and narration about each build a foreshadowing that something more sinister might happen.

The structure of Space Case stays fairly consistent over the course of the novel with the exception of the length of the chapters. As the plot of the novel begins turning toward a climax, the chapters begin shortening in length. Each chapter comprises several key scenes between Dash and other characters, but these scenes come closer and closer together as the pacing of the novel increases in speed. This increased pace is an important authorial strategy to increase tension, including the tension around Dash’s desperation to solve the mystery of Dr. Holtz’s murder. In some ways, the increasing pace of the novel is also an important mirror for Dash’s emotional experience of events. At the beginning of the novel, Dash’s day-to-day life on the moon is slow and uninteresting; as the investigation brings more excitement to his experience, Dash begins narrating with more urgency. The increasing pace, given the urgency it communicates, also plays into the theme of Subverting Authority When Necessary; that is, Dash’s subversions of authority escalate as the challenge of solving the murder intensifies.