FantasticLand

Travis Barnes, a member of the FNG, activated his body camera when he entered FantasticLand. After responding to 52 devastated towns, his unit was suddenly ordered to prioritize FantasticLand.

Jason Card was the first to approach, ecstatic to be rescued. The FNG also discovered “Paul the Puddle,” the employee killed by Brock. Injured ShopGirls emerged from stores, and a dozen bodies lay nearby, with their heads bashed in.

When Travis confronted the Pirates, they surrendered. At the Deadpool section, Jill Van Meveren rushed toward Travis with a sword before dropping it and being arrested. Travis’s camera captured two Warthog masks on the ground at the World’s Circus. Though a source claimed that body parts were found in the hotel, official reports dismissed any abnormalities. Travis helped escort the Freaks and Mole Men out.

FNG personnel conducted a systematic search, encountering survivors too weak to move. Some had to be carried out. Later, Travis uploaded the footage, admitting that he did so for money. He feels no guilt—he didn’t kill anyone, after all.

Emmet Kelley, the lead prosecutor for cases stemming from Hurricane Sadie, struggled to convict FantasticLand employees. Many survivors didn’t appear monstrous, and strong cases were frequently undermined by witnesses creating reasonable doubt. Emmet was frustrated that Sophie wasn’t prosecuted, despite multiple testimonies claiming that she had shot people. Most FantasticLand employees avoided charges, and Emmet faced backlash for his failures in court.

Determined to convict Brock Hockney, the “Pirate Monster,” and Sam Garliek, Emmet assumed that Brock would be easier to prosecute. However, the public’s hatred focused on Sam, while Brock’s fellow Pirates protected him. Sam’s lawyer negotiated a deal, revealing that he had recorded footage of the “Council of Pieces.” When Emmet met Brock, he found him “creepy and totally convinced of his own righteousness and superiority” (237). This encounter cemented Emmet’s belief that Brock was a true “psychopath” who was instrumental in the violence at FantasticLand.

Choosing between convicting a coward or a monster, Emmet prioritized Brock’s conviction. He struck a deal with Sam, securing the tapes in exchange for Sam’s freedom and a fine. Emmet’s boss demanded his resignation, which he accepted without regret. In the end, Emmet stood by his decision, which ensured that a real criminal faced justice.

Adam Jakes presents his interview with Brock Hockney from prison in full, with both Jakes’s questions and Brock’s responses. Brock is immediately hostile, dismissing both Jakes and his lawyer, and questions how the interview would help him get out of prison. Reluctantly, he explains that he joined Operation Rapture because he liked the idea of being responsible for the park.

Brock argues that the other survivors lacked purpose, making them “far more susceptible to suggestion” (243), which allowed him to recruit them easily. When asked if the “Council of Pieces” was revenge for his brother’s death, Brock admits bitterness, believing that his brother would still be alive had protocols been followed. He sees management’s failure to provide for employees as proof that they had lost authority. Brock claims that freeing his Pirates from the fear of “getting in trouble” was an act of mercy.

Jakes challenges Brock about his past, noting his lack of violent history before FantasticLand. Brock insists that they were at war with management. When pressed about the Pirates’ brutality, Brock evades questions, amused by Jakes’s accusations that the Pirates did whatever they wanted. Brock then provocatively asks Jakes if he is curious about the taste of human flesh, prompting his lawyer to intervene.

Later, Jakes asks what Brock’s purpose was in firing the cannon, and Brock tells him that his goal was to kill people. Brock points out that he is not a huge guy, but no one tried to stop him. He tells Jakes that sometimes everyone must fight, and if you don’t, then you “might as well be meat” (251).

Jakes ends the section by stating that Brock has not given another interview.

Ritchie Fresno begins his interview by distancing himself from his father, Johnny Fresno, who created FantasticLand. He states that he sold his share of FantasticLand Inc. and is no longer tied to the company. He felt overshadowed by his father but thrived in business school, where he found his own path. When Phil Mueller proposed Operation Rapture, Ritchie trusted him and agreed, believing that a skeleton crew would help keep the park intact after a hurricane.

After the storm, reports began arriving. Sam Garliek informed Phil about dead bodies in the park, and Phil ordered him to handle it, leading to the disastrous “Council of Pieces.” Shortly after, the Exclamation Point was reported destroyed. Alarmed, Ritchie called in the military, only to realize that someone from his company had previously informed the National Guard that FantasticLand was self-sufficient and low priority. When bodies were discovered on the Golden Road, Ritchie accepted that the park would never reopen.

Ritchie became disillusioned and met with the FantasticLand board, only to find that they wanted to cover up the incident. Frustrated, he sold the park and walked away. He disapproves of the plan for its future, where visitors “pretend to join a tribe and fake fight with other visitors,” calling it “fucked up on a very fundamental level” (260). However, he acknowledges that it will likely be highly profitable.

In the Afterword, Adam Jakes attempts to explain why FantasticLand descended into violence, but he admits that he still has no clear answers. The carnage was senseless and occurred despite abundant resources. He speculates that the theme park’s setting made the events feel unreal to stranded employees, who were accustomed to constant stimulation but suddenly faced extreme boredom without social media.

Some survivors leveraged their notoriety for new opportunities: Jill Van Meveren became a security consultant, Sophie Ruskin started a podcast, and Glenn Guignol joined a monster makeup reality show. Jakes visited Alice Barlow, a ShopGirl archer, after her mother said she was ready to talk. However, when Alice attempted to share her story, she broke down sobbing. He acknowledges that she might never be ready to talk about what happened at FantasticLand.

Ultimately, Jakes concedes that he does not know how FantasticLand unraveled into bloodshed—and neither does anyone else.