The Terror

Crozier experiences a painless, detached existence where he no longer feels hunger, cold, or a sense of self. He “listens” to dreams belonging to someone or something else.

The dream tells the story of Sedna, a beautiful Inuit girl who rejects many human suitors and is courted by a bird who promises her a life of abundance and comfort. Believing him, Sedna marries the bird and journeys to his homeland, but discovers it’s a bleak place. Eventually, her father, after learning of her suffering, helps her kill her husband and flee. However, the bird people retaliate, chasing them across the sea with a terrible storm.

To appease the attacking birds and save himself, her father throws Sedna overboard. When she clings to the kayak, he cuts off her fingers. From her severed fingers, the sea animals are born. Eventually, she sinks to the bottom of the ocean, where she remains as the goddess who controls the sea creatures. If Sedna is pleased, the animals come to the people to be hunted; if not, they stay with her, and the people starve.

Crozier’s consciousness then begins to return, along with his pain.