Chapter summaries Badlands Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Chapter 51: The Convocatoria de Brujos Revealed

Spoiler Warning: This analysis covers the full events of Chapter 51 of Badlands.

Summary

Skip is brought inside the kiva, where the masked figure removes his disguise. He reveals himself as Dr. Morgan Bromley, an ordinary-looking man in his forties with a salt-and-pepper beard and an expensive haircut. Bromley tells Skip that his arrival is the sign the cult has awaited. He identifies himself as the leader of the Convocatoria de Brujos—seekers of hidden knowledge who strive to summon Xuçtúhla, the “master of smoke” from an unseen world.

Bromley explains that the three women who perished in the desert were not victims but willing participants who “elevated” to a higher plane; their sacrifices pleased the diablero. Now, Skip and Edison will be the vessels for the final ceremony. Bromley reveals that the mummified figure is Dr. Carlos Oskarbi, the cult’s founder. Oskarbi recovered ancient Totonteac teachings in Mexico and wrote a book, withholding the central secrets. After his death in the canyon, Bromley completed the work.

On Bromley’s signal, a guard forces a green, gumlike paste into Skip’s mouth at knifepoint, followed by a brown brew filled with insect parts. “Please accept the gift of transformation,” Bromley says. Swallowing with difficulty, Skip is dragged outside to an empty tripod where a pyre is being built. The cult members begin chanting while flames rise beneath Edison’s corpse. As the hallucinogenic substances take hold, Skip’s terror dissolves into a dreamy, uncaring acceptance.

Key Events

  • The masked figure reveals himself as Dr. Morgan Bromley, a professor and leader of the Convocatoria de Brujos.
  • Bromley describes the cult’s goal: to summon Xuçtúhla, the diablero, using the ancient Totonteac knowledge reconstructed by Carlos Oskarbi.
  • The three women’s deaths are redefined as voluntary “elevations” that pleased the diablero.
  • Skip’s arrival is interpreted as the awaited sign; his and Edison’s sacrifices will power the summoning.
  • Skip is forced to ingest a green paste and a bitter brew at knifepoint.
  • The guard hauls Skip to a tripod; pyres are prepared while chanting and fire begin.
  • The drugs now distort Skip’s perception, replacing fear with detached resignation.

Character Development

  • Skip Tibbets: Moves from terrified confusion to a chemically induced passivity. The forced drugs rob him of agency, leaving him drifting in hallucination and resignation.
  • Dr. Morgan Bromley: Shown as a calm, scholarly extremist. His dual identity—a professor and a cult leader—exposes how intellect can cloak dangerous delusion. He frames atrocity as a sacred necessity.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Evidenced Here

  • Hallucinogenic Transformation: The paste and brew symbolize violent loss of control. The “gift” perverts spiritual transcendence into a tool for breaking the will.
  • Sacrifice as Power: Bromley presents ritual murder as an exalted pathway to a “higher plane,” weaponizing the concept of voluntary offering to serve a monstrous purpose.
  • The False Prophet: Bromley’s mild demeanor and academic pedigree mask a ruthlessly unhinged mind, illustrating how charisma and false revelation can justify horror.
  • The Invocation of Signs: The belief that Skip was “summoned” underscores the cult’s fatalistic worldview, trapping him in a narrative where resistance seems futile.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 51 crystallizes the cult’s ideology and stakes. Bromley’s explanation ties together the earlier mysteries: the mummy, the dead women, and the meaning of Skip’s presence. The forced drugging marks a tipping point where physical resistance ends and the narrative shifts into a hallucinogenic nightmare. It transforms vague menace into a concrete supernatural threat and frames the impending summoning as the climax the novel has been building toward.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Q: According to Bromley, what really happened to the three women in the desert?
    A: He insists they “voluntarily and joyfully elevated” to a higher plane alongside Dr. Oskarbi. Their sacrifices pleased the diablero and were not deaths at all.

  2. Q: Why does Bromley believe Skip’s sacrifice is so important?
    A: He claims the previous rituals and sacrifices have prepared the way, and that Skip’s sacrifice—along with Edison’s—will provide the energy needed to finally summon Xuçtúhla, fulfilling the founder’s promise.

  3. Q: How does the drug affect Skip’s emotional state, and why is this significant?
    A: Colors brighten, the ground shifts, and a lassitude spreads through him. His terror fades into uncaring acceptance, disarming his will to resist just as the ritual begins.

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