The Roar

Awen once again alerts Mika to another commotion in Ellie’s cupboard, but this time, he finds a thriving, green plant. He enters the cupboard and is transformed into a dog. He is about to frolic through the lush greenery when he wakes up. It’s Saturday, Round 1 of the Pod Fighter competition. He meets Audrey, Kobi, and Tom (Kobi’s partner) at the train station. They battle mobs of eager gamers all headed to the competition, but finally fight their way on to the train. At the arcade, they wait in the rain for two hours until they pass security and are allowed inside.

Mika and Audrey find their simulator and begin the game—a more difficult simulation than they’re used to, but soon, they’ve destroyed every Red Star fighter in sight. The next round pits them against shape-shifting fighters, and they must anticipate where the fighter will be rather than aiming for where it is. They successfully complete four levels—including a psychological test forcing them to fire upon children trapped in spheres—and the game is over. They eat lunch with Kobi and Tom, who also completed Level 4, but Kobi’s reluctance to shoot the spheres nearly cost them the game. 

Mika, Audrey, Kobi, and Tom have moved on to Round 2, but for this round, teams must switch positions (gunners become pilots and vice versa), and instead of battling the Red Star fleet, they must battle other teams. The game commences. Players must shoot down one designated fighter while avoiding their own “hunter.” The dogfight is intense as players are eliminated, and Mika and Audrey search for their prey. They find their designated target—masked by an invisibility function—and eventually destroy it. They have survived Round 2 (along with Mika’s nemesis, Ruben), but Tom and Kobi have not. The winners are then given supplements to add to their Fit Mix. Despite their guilt (Mika and Audrey were Kobi and Tom’s hunters), Mika is relieved; his second-round victory has earned his family its first vacation.

Mika’s victory prizes are delivered: real food, a deluxe “phone companion” (an AI program), and a Caribbean vacation, “where all the rich people who live in the Golden Turrets go!” (197). Mika drinks his Fit Mix—with the new supplements added—and lays on his bed, feeling guilty for the tradeoffs he’s made: Helen is gone—maybe in danger—and he can’t tell his parents the real reason he’s competing: to find Ellie.

After school, Mika meets Audrey to discuss strategy for the next round, but Audrey is distracted—her borg eyes have “gone weird,” leaving her disoriented and nauseous, so Mika walks her home. He returns home, and notices a note stuck to one of the biscuits Helen left for him. She warns him he’s in danger and of a “truth” he needs to know. Before he can read the entire note, however, his father throws the biscuit down the garbage chute. That night, lying in bed, he notices a strange golden aura emanating from his hands, leaving light trails when he moves them. The next morning, he sees light trails everywhere, leaving him dizzy on his way to school. During gym class, their instructor orders them to don heavy backpacks and complete a difficult obstacle course. As Mika climbs a rock wall, he sees light coming from Kobi and hears his blood pumping. He falls from the wall, unconscious. He wakes up in the Health Center, and the nurse tells him the light trails are a side effect of the supplements he’s been taking and that his body will acclimate in a few days. She urges him not to tell his parents.

Although the light trails are disconcerting, Mika also finds them strangely beautiful. They lend an air of wonder to his ugly world. In school, Mr. Gray, the headmaster, awards certificates of achievement to Mika and Ruben for their success in the Pod Fighter competition. He also notes the students’ health and fitness, how primed they are to become “fine citizen[s] of the northern hemisphere” (216).

That night, the night before the competition, Mika and Ellie share a dream. He sees his sister lying in bed, a small bird on her knee. They fly up and away from the space station, down toward Earth, the bird flying straight into Mika’s bedroom. Mika senses Ellie’s presence and is filled with a deep love and a painful longing. The bird flies into Ellie’s cupboard where it is caught by a Telly Head, its golden light squeezed from it.