Tropic of Orange

On the bus, Arcangel writes a poem for Sol and gives it to Rafaela. The poem is about the myth that Europeans like Columbus “discovered” the new world. The bus is crowded and boiling hot. After hours of travel, it seems they have gone nowhere. Rafaela asks Arcangel about it, pointing out what she thinks is “the very wall that encloses the house where we live” (158). Arcangel tells her that she must look forward like the bus driver, or else the terrain will be tedious. The same black Jaguar, driven by the man in black glasses, is still following the bus. Rafaela sees a growing crowd of people alongside the road, some holding signs that read, “El Gran Mojado! Hero of the People!” (158). She sees a vision of the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, pyramids, and “the great Zócalo of México City, Tenochtitlán swelling with its multitudes, slipping like a single beast across the landscape” (158). She wants to ask Arcangel about the vision, but he is asleep.  

The bus stops at a rest stop. The Jaguar follows suit. Rafaela decides to follow Arcangel wherever he goes, so she gets off the bus with him. The driver of the Jaguar gets out of his vehicle but has difficulty walking: When he tries to reach the bathroom, “For some reason his steps veered away, and he found himself ridiculously walking in circles” (158). Rafaela and Arcangel buy carne asada and eat lunch, sitting on Arcangel’s huge suitcase. She asks Arcangel to take care of Sol if anything were to happen to her. Arcangel agrees, and gives her a small, turquoise inlaid pocketknife to use for self-defense.

Arcangel distributes flyers for the wrestling match between El Gran Mojado and SUPERNAFTA, quickly drawing an excited crowd. Meanwhile, Rafaela watches the driver of the Jaguar continuing to have trouble walking in a straight line. Sol suddenly runs off. Rafaela follows in a panic. The man with the black glasses sees and starts after them. Sol stops, distracted by Arcangel, who has gathered a crowd with his juggling. The villain forces Rafaela into the black jaguar. She watches, helplessly, as Arcangel and Sol get back on the bus.

Buzzworm sets up headquarters in a gold Mercedes with a car phone. A woman named Mona is his de facto secretary because she can write. Buzzworm talks to a representative from the Crips: The gang has employed a sketchy lawyer to help negotiate a permanent truce with the other gangs of the city. He goes to talk to Emi about the types of groups that are sponsoring his shows. He points out that geography seems to be changing: For example, they seem to be getting closer to the Hollywood sign. However, neither Emi nor anyone else on the NewsNow crew notices.

Emi and Buzzworm discuss the development of events in the incontinent. Many different projects are underway, including community gardens, performance groups, and workshops on self-sufficiency, in addition to Buzzworm’s talk show, FreeZone. They discuss the possibility of violence, and Buzzworm speculates that nothing will surprise Emi aside from all-out war.

In the Zócalo, the central square in Mexico City, Gabriel wanders, looking for his contact. He does not know who he is meeting; they will find him, no matter where he is. He merges with the flow of crowds in the Zócalo. Gabriel contacts Emi over the web, venting his frustration at his lack of leads. Emi tells him he received a package from Rafaela. Gabriel remembers his last conversation with Rafaela and suspects the package might contain a body part. He instructs Emi to give the package to Buzzworm and to not get further involved. He contacts Doña Maria, who tells him that Rafaela is gone.

Gabriel finally runs into Marcos, his contact. Marcos gives him a computer database containing the names and dates of death of everyone who has been killed in his village, as well as who killed them, and the entire history of the village. Across the internet, Emi walks him through his computer illiteracy, guiding him along in an almost sexual manner.

The bus that Arcangel and Sol or on breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Arcangel gets out his hooks and cables and begins to tow the bus. The event turns into an enormous commotion. News stations turn up to cover it, but they cannot broadcast it because “the virtually real could not accommodate the magical. Digital memory failed to translate imaginary memory” (169).

Approaching the border, Arcangel can see the entirety of it. He is questioned at the border, and gives sarcastic replies, such as claiming to be named Cristobal Colón (Christopher Columbus). Arcangel sees the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere—not only living and dead people but cultural artifacts, works of art, animals, everything—make its way across the border into America.

Bobby managed to get the human traffickers to reduce their price by 50%. He puts it on his credit card. His cousin is named Xiayue. They are not sure if they are actually related, but Bobby tells her to pretend that she is his daughter. She wants to wait for her brother, Bobby does not know if he made to Mexico alive. She reminds Bobby of himself when he first came to America. He gets her hair cut into a more American style, buys her new clothes, and they go to cross the border. Because they look like average tourists, Border Patrol checks his passport and lets them through. 

Despite the growing chaos in the city, “every sports event, concert, and whatnot was happening at the same time” (175). Manzanar Murakami sees it all “like a gigantic balloon swelling larger and larger. The most horrific aspect of it was that it would all end at the same time—a Caltrans nightmare. One more L.A. disaster” (177). The gridlock has grown to such an extent that all the drivers in Los Angeles abandon their cars and take to the streets.