Death of the Author

In the novel, a protocol code called Rusted Robots directs the NoBodies and Ghosts to destroy all Humes. On her way to Cross River City, Ankara is stunned by the command, attacked by three other robots, and left incapacitated.

Ankara wakes up in the home of an Igbo woman named Ngozi, the last human on Earth. Ankara hears a voice in her head that, Ngozi explains, is the result of her attempt to save Ankara’s life. After replacing Ankara’s rusted parts, Ngozi installed a NoBody named Ijele into Ankara’s network. This angers Ankara, though Ijele reassures her that she can’t destroy Ankara without destroying herself. Ngozi works on trying to separate them again.

That night, Ankara learns that Ijele is an Oracle, a thought leader among the NoBodies. Ijele insists that she isn’t in their situation by choice either and that she is as angry about their situation as Ankara is. To earn her trust, Ijele allows Ankara to scan her ID, which is considered highly sensitive information.

Zelu’s novel is published to strong sales. Some members of her family start reading it, and some of Zelu’s students reach out to apologize for getting her fired. Zelu is overwhelmed by the reactions and decides to ride in an autonomous vehicle for privacy. On her own, her anxious thoughts escalate, making her feel like she is self-sabotaging herself. 

She loves swimming and finds solace in the waters of Lake Michigan. An old man recognizes her and tells her that he sees the anger in her writing. Zelu admits that she still feels weird about writing science fiction. The man tells her, “[I]t’s a victory that you allowed yourself to write it” (104).

Zelu receives an email inviting her to participate in a study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The email is sent by a white researcher named Hugo Wagner, who offers to build a robotic exoskeleton that will help Zelu walk again. Zelu discovers that Hugo uses prosthetic limbs to walk as well and decides that Hugo’s offer is authentic. Zelu and Hugo arrange to meet in person. Zelu decides not to tell her mother.

The novel flashes back to Zelu’s childhood. While playing a game with her friends, Zelu tries to gain an advantage by climbing up a tree. The branch she is standing on snaps, and she falls to the ground. In the hospital, the doctors tell her that she has paraplegia. She is forced to give up her dream of being an astronaut. The sound of the branch cracking haunts her dreams from that day onward.

Chinyere looks after Zelu while she recovers in the hospital. Zelu meets a teen with broken legs named Tyrone. Tyrone admits that he is embarrassed about being in the hospital and doesn’t want anyone to see his legs in casts. He declares his anger over resembling a “rusted-out robot.” Zelu reminds him that, unlike her, he will walk again, but she adds that she is grateful she can still use the rest of her body.

Zelu wants to meet Tyrone’s family and friends, but Tyrone dismisses the notion, explaining that he is different outside the hospital. Weeks later, he is discharged from the hospital, leaving her a parting gift that urges Zelu to move onward with her life. They do not see each other again. Zelu develops her upper-body strength and masters the use of her wheelchair. She experiences her first panic attack the day before she is discharged. Going outside, she sees a tree and is reminded of the cracking sound.

Zelu learns that the tree she had fallen out of was infested with beetles, explaining its inability to hold her. By the time she returns home, the tree has already been cut down.

In the novel, Ngozi cannot disentangle Ankara and Ijele without seriously damaging both of them. Ijele and Ankara blame each other for their situation, going so far as to criticize the essential natures of Humes and Ghosts. Ankara challenges Ijele to recognize the beauty of humanity through Ngozi’s stories. Ijele refuses, believing that corporeality is a part of flawed human thinking.

Ankara continues to challenge Ijele’s notions of the physical world, suggesting that bodies are necessary for Chargers to reach space. Ijele reminds Ankara that the network has infinite space. Ngozi installs an update on Ankara to remove Ijele from her system, but it fails. Ankara and Ijele resign themselves to their predicament. Finally, Ijele admits that she sometimes ponders her origins when she looks at the stars.

Zelu meets with Hugo, who calls her one of the great science fiction writers of their time. Zelu downplays her achievement, stressing that she only wanted to write her truth to power. Hugo quotes an interview she gave, in which she said that she felt powerful and specific whenever she swam in the ocean.

Hugo admits that the exoskeletons (“exos,” for short) are still a long way from becoming publicly accessible. Zelu expresses her doubt that the exos will work on her, so Hugo encourages her to try. He stresses that the exos are not meant to cure her paraplegia but to serve as a tool. He was inspired to reach out to her after reading her book, citing another interview in which Zelu had spoken about being “in conversation” with her body. He wants to see how the exos will affect her writing, appealing to her sense of adventure.

Before Zelu leaves for MIT, she decides to tell her family about her participation in Hugo’s study. That Saturday, Zelu tells her news, and her family is dumbfounded.

The family is concerned that Hugo would select Zelu for his study, seeing something exploitative in a white man using a Black person for science. Zelu is offended by the insinuation that she is unworthy of drawing Hugo’s interest. She argues for the possibility of becoming more mobile, but her family focuses on the risks of failure. Zelu accuses them of being overprotective and preventing her from living her life. Omoshalewa finally describes the exos as being “not natural,” to which Zelu retorts that the same could be said for her wheelchair use. She leaves, crestfallen.

Unable to sleep that night, Zelu calls Msizi. She tells him about the exos and is surprised that he has reservations as well. This triggers a panic attack, and she hangs up on him.

Zelu arrives at MIT, having traveled against her family’s wishes. Hugo shows Zelu her exos and explains that they are made from aerographene, light enough to easily move around and strong enough to carry her. He calibrates Zelu’s biometrics to the device so that it responds only to her.

Zelu posts a photo on social media of the physical therapy gym where she is preparing to use the exos. Her followers speculate that the photo has to do with her novel’s film adaptation. Zelu writes a journal entry to allay her anxiety about the impending walking test. She writes about her hope of overcoming her family’s expectations and affirms her decision to proceed with the test, even if it fails.

On the morning of the walking test, Zelu gets up early. At the test site, she meets Hugo’s two assistants, Marcy and Uchenna. Zelu is nervous but tries to relax. Uchenna tells her that Nigerians have made an unauthorized film adaptation of her novel, which greatly amuses Zelu. The team agrees to watch the film after the test.

The test begins with Zelu lying down on a table. She activates the exos, which assembles around her legs. Hugo slowly rotates the table so that Zelu slips into her exos. She grows increasingly nervous as the table moves, but she urges Hugo to proceed. Eventually, Zelu stands upright for the first time in years. Hugo helps her configure the exos with her muscles, relaxing them. She strains through the remainder of the test, which Hugo declares a success.

Hugo drops Zelu off at the hotel. Zelu doesn’t know how she feels but promises to see Hugo the next day. Back in her room, she is excited to try her exos again.

In an interview, Hugo recalls a conversation that he had with Zelu after a hard day of exos training. Zelu asked Hugo to tell the story of what caused his paraplegia. He told her that he was hang gliding in the Colorado Rockies when a rogue gust of wind sent him into the side of a mountain, breaking his legs. Despite his suffering, Hugo referred to the incident as his “ultimate boon,” recalling American literary theorist Joseph Cambell’s theory of the hero’s journey. After the incident, he reached greater heights than ever before.

Hugo then returned the question to Zelu, who shared her experience climbing the beautiful dead tree. She blamed the incident on her arrogance, but he encouraged her to let go of the blame. In retrospect, Hugo believes that taking responsibility for her actions allowed Zelu to accept her situation, but it also made any form of blame especially difficult to bear.