Constance Chapter 7: Desperation and Rejection

⚠️ 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

After narrowly escaping Palingenesis agents, Con spends the night in an alley behind an Ethiopian restaurant. She suffers a vivid hallucination of her grandmother, Gamma Jol, which Laleh warned was a symptom of her new body rejecting her consciousness. When she wakes, Con decides she cannot rely on herself alone and goes to find her friend Kala Solomon in Silver Spring. At Kala’s house, Con discovers a huge gap in her memory: she has no recollection of the last eighteen months. Kala is furious because Con stood up her band Weathervane for a New Year’s Eve show at Glass House, a gig Kala says broke up the band. Worse, Con learns she had a boyfriend and moved to Richmond. Kala, realizing Con is a clone, refuses to help, citing prejudice that clones carry diseases. She gives Con cash as “go-away money” and tells her never to return. A roommate reveals that a Palingenesis agent was already at the house the night before, looking for Con.

Key Events

Con spends the night in an alley and experiences a hallucination of her grandmother Gamma Jol from her childhood.
She takes immunosuppressive pills and a protein shake upon waking.
Deciding she needs help, she goes to Kala Solomon’s house in Silver Spring.
Kala confronts Con about standing up Weathervane on New Year’s Eve, an event Con does not remember.
Through Kala, Con learns she had a boyfriend and moved to Richmond in the missing eighteen months.
Kala refuses to let Con stay, calling her a “dupe” and expressing fear that clones carry transmissible genetic diseases.
A roommate tells Con that a scar-faced man from Palingenesis came looking for her the night before.
Kala gives Con money and orders her never to return.

Character Development

Con: Her desperation forces her to break her own rule of never relying on others. She must confront the emotional pain of being seen as “not a person” by a former friend. The hallucination reveals her deep attachment to Gamma Jol and her troubled relationship with her mother. Con also learns that her depression had kept her inert for years, yet in the missing months she somehow moved to Richmond, hinting at unseen growth.
Kala: Initially angry about the New Year’s Eve betrayal, she is shocked to learn Con is a clone. Her prejudice—rooted in widespread anti-clone propaganda—overwhelms their friendship. Kala’s grief for the original Con is real, but she cannot see the clone as a continuation of the same person. Her giving money is a guilt-ridden compromise.
Gamma Jol (in hallucination): A nurturing, no-nonsense presence from Con’s past, representing the only safe haven Con ever had. Her memory contrasts with the present isolation.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Memory and Identity: The eighteen-month gap forces Con to question who she is. She has memories of a life that no longer matches reality. Kala’s accusation—”You’re not even a person”—highlights society’s denial of personhood to clones.
Prejudice and Fear: The anti-clone stigma is laid bare. Kala’s fear of genetic disease reflects a real-world parallel to discrimination based on unfounded science.
Alley as Refuge/Hell: The fetid alley behind the Ethiopian restaurant is both a hideout and a symbol of Con’s reduced circumstances. Her grandmother’s warm kitchen hallucination contrasts sharply with the rank reality.
Visible Difference: Con’s missing tattoos become evidence of her clone status. The roommate’s casual request for a photo commodifies her as a freak show.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the emotional and societal stakes. Con’s personal crisis of identity is compounded by public prejudice. The encounter with Kala shows that even close friends may reject a clone, making Con’s survival more precarious. The revelation that Palingenesis is tracking her social network closes off any simple escape. The chapter also plants crucial information: Con had a boyfriend and moved to Richmond, opening new mysteries about what she was doing in the missing months and who might have been close to her.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Con decide to go to Kala even though it means turning on her LFD? Con realizes she cannot survive alone without resources and that anonymity is actually working against her—Palingenesis already knows where she lives. She gambles that Kala will help, which shows her desperation to break her isolation.

2. How does the hallucination of Gamma Jol reveal Con’s emotional state? Gamma Jol appears when Con is most vulnerable, recalling a childhood refuge from her mother’s hostility. The hallucination suggests Con’s subconscious is seeking the same safety and unconditional love she once had, a stark contrast to the alley and Kala’s rejection.

3. What does Kala’s claim that Con “isn’t a person” mean for the novel’s exploration of clone rights? Kala’s words reflect a societal consensus that clones, being copies, lack the essence of the original person. This dehumanization justifies discrimination and allows former friends to abandon Con without guilt. The chapter forces readers to confront the ethical question: does a perfect copy have the same right to life and identity as the original?