Summaries Nona the Ninth Tamsyn Muir

Chapter 9: John 5:20 — Summary, Key Events, and Analysis

⚠️ 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

Chapter 9, “John 5:20,” unfolds entirely within a dream. A woman—later identified as Harrow—stands with a man on a hill overlooking a devastated plain. The landscape is scraped clean on one side and piled with rubble on the other, a visual echo of the destruction that will come. She asks if the shutdown meant the end of his project. He replies that it would not be over—or even begin—for another year.

The man then recounts the aftermath of a catastrophic leak that exposed their secret project to the world. Official paperwork claimed they had decided to pull back, but he knew they had reinvested in something else. The leak triggered public panic and a collapse of the economy, which had already been fragile. His colleagues reacted in different ways: A— worried about the value of their kill-fee money and the banks; C— feared being recalled to England and forced to leave her partner N—; M— panicked about the health board and the question of what to do with the collected dead bodies they had used for testing.

The man admits that the fate of the bodies was what troubled him most. He knew each one by name and considered them his “mates.” Because of the experiments, the corpses could not be cremated or buried safely, so the health board demanded they be liquefied and buried in a concrete chamber. He resisted, insisting the bodies deserved respect. A police contact, P—, helped keep media pressure down, and his friend G— supported him unconditionally.

Despite the chaos, the man did not panic. He kept working on the canister mixture, experiencing six breakthroughs a day. His colleagues suspected drug use, but he insisted he was sober and sleeping well. He felt an uncanny familiarity with the bodies on the slabs. The electricity authorities eventually refused to keep diverting power to the vats, and the team was ordered to shut down that night. The man went around to his favorite bodies, telling them to “hang on” and using phrases like “kia kaha, kia māia.” Despite appeals from C—, the power was cut at one minute past six.

When Harrow asks what happened, the man smiles and reveals that most of the bodies melted, their brains liquefying almost immediately. But the ones he had touched—the ones he loved—remained incorruptible.

Key Events

  • The dream setting establishes a post-apocalyptic landscape, with a hill and a plain of rubble.

  • The man explains that the shutdown was not the end; the true endgame would begin a year later.

  • The leak of the project causes public panic and economic collapse.

  • Colleagues react with fear: A— worries about money, C— about being recalled, M— about the health board.

  • The man expresses deep attachment to the dead bodies, calling them his friends.

  • The health board demands the bodies be liquefied and buried; the man refuses.

  • The man continues refining the canister mixture, experiencing breakthroughs and feeling a strange connection to the corpses.

  • The electricity authorities cut power despite appeals, and the shutdown occurs at 6:01 PM.

  • The man reveals that most bodies melted, but those he touched remained incorruptible.

Character Development

This chapter deepens the characterization of the man, who is strongly implied to be John Gaius, the Emperor of the Nine Houses. He is shown as both deeply human and disturbingly other. His attachment to the bodies—naming them, calling them “mates”—reveals a capacity for empathy that contrasts with his later godlike actions. His refusal to let the health board desecrate the dead shows a moral line he will not cross, even as he accepts the larger catastrophe.

His obsessive work on the canister mixture, despite the shutdown, hints at a driven, almost prophetic nature. The breakthroughs and his sense of knowing the bodies suggest a supernatural connection, foreshadowing his power to preserve the dead through touch. His humor—such as the “Coke Zero” joke—adds a layer of humanity, but also a disquieting detachment from the gravity of the situation.

Harrow, though mostly silent, serves as the listener and prompt. Her question—“What happened, Lord?”—positions her as both a disciple and an investigator, seeking to understand the origins of the world she inhabits.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Preservation vs. Desecration: The central conflict is between the health board’s demand to liquefy the bodies and the man’s insistence on treating them with respect. This theme extends to the larger narrative: the preservation of the dead becomes a sacred act, and the man’s touch is the mechanism of that preservation.

Obsession and Genius: The man’s relentless work on the canister mixture, even after the project is shut down, illustrates the thin line between brilliance and madness. His breakthroughs are seen as suspicious by his colleagues, but they are also the seeds of his later power.

The Apocalypse as a Personal Story: The chapter frames the end of the world not as an abstract event but as a series of personal losses—the bodies, the colleagues, the dream of saving humanity. The man’s grief is specific and intimate, making the catastrophe feel human.

The Power of Touch: The final revelation—that the bodies he touched remained incorruptible—introduces a motif that will recur throughout the series. Touch becomes a conduit for preservation, love, and perhaps divine power.

The Dream Landscape: The hill and the plain of rubble symbolize the aftermath of creation and destruction. The clean side versus the rubble side suggests a boundary between order and chaos, mirroring the man’s role as a creator who also destroys.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a crucial piece of backstory for the Locked Tomb universe. It explains the origin of the apocalypse that led to the Nine Houses, the exodus to space, and the Emperor’s rise. The man’s ability to preserve the dead through touch is the foundation of necromancy and the entire system of the Houses.

The chapter also humanizes John Gaius, showing him as a grieving scientist who loved the dead he worked with. This complexity makes his later actions—both benevolent and monstrous—more understandable. The dream framing suggests that Harrow is accessing this memory, perhaps through her connection to John, which deepens the mystery of her own role.

Finally, the chapter sets up the central tension of the series: the ethics of using the dead for power, and the cost of trying to save humanity. The man’s choice to preserve the bodies he loved, while letting others melt, foreshadows the selective nature of his godhood.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does the man resist the health board’s demand to liquefy the bodies?

The man sees the bodies as his friends and colleagues, not as mere test subjects. He has worked with them for years and feels a personal bond. The health board’s plan to liquefy and bury them in a concrete chamber feels like a desecration of that relationship. His resistance is both emotional and ethical, reflecting his belief that the dead deserve respect even after their use.

2. What does the man’s reaction to the shutdown reveal about his character?

His reaction reveals a paradoxical mix of detachment and obsession. He does not panic like his colleagues, but instead focuses on his work, refining the canister mixture and experiencing breakthroughs. This suggests a single-mindedness that borders on the supernatural. His calm acceptance of the shutdown, combined with his grief over the bodies, shows a man who is both resigned to fate and determined to preserve what he can.

3. How does the chapter foreshadow the man’s later power as the Emperor?

The chapter’s final revelation—that the bodies he touched remained incorruptible—directly foreshadows his necromantic power. His ability to preserve the dead through touch is the seed of the necromantic arts that define the Nine Houses. Additionally, his obsessive work on the canister mixture and his sense of knowing the bodies suggest a connection to the divine or the supernatural that will later make him a god-like figure.

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