Chapter 63: Postscript – Joanne's Final Decision

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Joanne writes a diary entry on October 26, 2023, describing her dissatisfaction with her current life and her role as a grandmother. She reveals that Budgie (Bridge) returned from another reality after killing someone in a hospital or science building—likely Amber—and that Budgie fled in Franco's truck. Joanne helped re-bandage Budgie's still‑bleeding arm and called the police, who were already investigating a nearby shooting. Franco was arrested, claiming he saved Budgie from a woman who had been torturing her. Joanne knows the truth: Budgie was briefly herself again and confessed to the killing. While bandaging her, Joanne removed a three‑inch dreamworm from Budgie's arm. She plans to use the worm to travel to a different version of herself—the successful scientist Joanne who gives international talks. She has the box, knows how to build a new one, and has been experimenting with other frequencies. She burns the journal to leave no evidence.

Key Events

Joanne expresses regret about choosing to stay in her current reality, calling it a box that cramps her.
Budgie arrives at Joanne's house, incoherent and bleeding, having driven Franco's truck after killing someone in another reality.
Joanne re‑bandages Budgie's arm, calls the police, and later removes a dreamworm from the wound.
Franco is arrested for the murder of a woman he claims was torturing Budgie; Joanne tells police Budgie was in shock and that Franco had hurt her before.
Joanne admits she considered hiding the voice note from Bridge but chose not to.
Joanne decides to use the dreamworm to jump to a version of herself who is a successful scientist.
She burns her diary to avoid detection.

Character Development

Joanne: The chapter reveals Joanne's deep unhappiness with her mundane life and her impatience with domestic responsibilities. Her choice to remove the dreamworm and plan an escape shows her ruthless pragmatism and her willingness to abandon her family to pursue ambition.
Budgie / Bridge: Though not directly present as a viewpoint character, Budgie is portrayed as traumatized and temporarily dissociative after crossing realities and committing violence. Her confession to Joanne about killing someone demonstrates her fractured state.
Franco: Only mentioned; his arrest for killing the woman he claims was torturing Budgie suggests he may have been an abuser, but also a possible protector in his own distorted way.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Dreamworm as Escapism: The worm extracted from Budgie's arm becomes a literal vehicle for Joanne to abandon her current life. It symbolizes the temptation to flee one's circumstances rather than confront them.
Identity and Reinvention: Joanne desires to become the scientist version of herself, illustrating the theme that people can change realities but must also grapple with their own core nature.
Depression and Dissatisfaction: Joanne's description of fighting "the chemistry of Joanne’s depression" and her feeling that this life is too small frame the entire chapter as a study of how unhappiness can drive radical choices.
Burning the Journal: The act of destroying record is both a literal and symbolic attempt to erase her former identity, much like the postscript title suggests an add‑on that rewrites the story.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 63 serves as a turning point for Joanne's character arc. It resolves Budgie's immediate crisis—her return and Franco's arrest—while setting up Joanne's own multiverse journey in the final chapters. The chapter also deepens the cost of multiverse travel: Budgie's dissociation and Joanne's willingness to use her daughter as a means to an end. The dreamworm extraction and Joanne's plan to jump to another version of herself introduce a new danger, raising the stakes for the climax.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Joanne decide not to hide the voice note from Bridge?
Joanne says she is not evil and will not use her daughter as a breeding ground for dreamworms. By telling Budgie the truth, she demonstrates that she still holds some moral line, even while she later exploits the worm for her own escape.

2. What does Joanne's statement "People can change" mean in context?
It is ironic. Joanne claims people can change, but her plan is to flee to a reality where she is already successful, implying she wants to bypass genuine personal growth. The line reflects her self‑justification for abandoning her current responsibilities.

3. How does the dreamworm function symbolically in this chapter?
The worm is both a literal artifact from another reality and a symbol of parasitic longing. It allows Joanne to literally crawl into a different life, representing the dangerous appeal of escapism and the cost of severing ties with the people who depend on her.

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