The Stone Sky
Chapter 18: NASSUN, NOT ALONE
by Jemisin, N. K.The chapter opens with Nassun arriving at Corepoint, a silent and eerie city, where she struggles to drag Schaffa’s unconscious body through the deserted streets. Exhausted and desperate, she collapses after attempting to use magic to aid her efforts. The city’s unnatural stillness is punctuated by the presence of stone eaters, who watch her impassively but offer no help. Their stillness contrasts sharply with Nassun’s frantic movements, highlighting her isolation in this strange, otherworldly place.
Interspersed with Nassun’s ordeal are journal entries from an unnamed narrator, possibly Hoa, reflecting on their time in Corepoint. The entries reveal a deep sense of loss and madness, as the narrator grapples with memories of loved ones like Innon and Syenite. The city’s oppressive environment exacerbates their loneliness, and their fragmented thoughts oscillate between bitterness and longing. The narrator also hints at Corepoint’s dark purpose, referencing the mysterious hole and its connection to the Obelisk Gate, though much remains unclear.
Corepoint is described as a unique, resilient city built to withstand harsh oceanic winds, with structures designed to minimize wind resistance. Unlike the ruined cities of the past, Corepoint remains intact but eerily devoid of human life, inhabited only by stone eaters. The city’s underground facilities, once meant for geomagests, now serve as the home of the Guardians. This duality—surface stillness and hidden activity—adds to the sense of mystery and foreboding that permeates the chapter.
The chapter concludes with Steel, a stone eater, offering Nassun shelter in a nearby apartment. Despite her exhaustion, she gathers the strength to drag Schaffa toward the suggested location. Meanwhile, the narrator’s journal entries grow more erratic, expressing frustration with their isolation and the city’s secrets. The juxtaposition of Nassun’s physical struggle and the narrator’s emotional turmoil underscores the chapter’s themes of abandonment, resilience, and the weight of unseen forces shaping their lives.
FAQs
1. How does the physical environment of Corepoint differ from other cities mentioned in the chapter, and what does this suggest about its purpose?
Answer:
Corepoint is described as uniquely built to withstand extreme environmental conditions, with rustless metal, polymers, and wind-resistant angular structures. Unlike Yumenes or Syl Anagist, its architecture prioritizes durability over aesthetics, suggesting a functional rather than ornamental purpose. The city sits atop an underwater volcano and features a massive central hole leading to underground facilities like Warrant, where Guardians are made. This implies Corepoint was designed for long-term, high-stakes operations—possibly related to geological or magical engineering—rather than as a traditional population center. The twisted, wind-shaped vegetation and lack of human inhabitants further emphasize its isolation and specialized role.
2. Analyze Nassun’s emotional state and the stone eaters’ behavior during her arrival at Corepoint. What themes does this interaction highlight?
Answer:
Nassun is physically and emotionally exhausted, dragging Schaffa’s lifeless body and crying for help in a city that offers none. Her desperation contrasts starkly with the stone eaters’ passive observation; they watch with detached curiosity, unmoved by her suffering. This highlights themes of isolation and inhumanity—Corepoint’s inhabitants are indifferent to human vulnerability, emphasizing the gulf between their existence and Nassun’s mortal struggles. The scene also underscores Nassun’s resilience, as she persists despite abandonment, and raises questions about the stone eaters’ motives: Are they incapable of empathy, or is their inaction deliberate?
3. What clues does the diary-like interlude provide about the narrator’s identity and their connection to Syenite and Innon?
Answer:
The fragmented entries reveal the narrator is a former lover of Syenite (referred to as “Syen”) and deeply mourns Innon, whose memory is fading. The narrator’s self-deprecating humor (“jerked off today”) and raw grief (“I lose a little more of him”) suggest they are a surviving member of a close-knit group, possibly from Meov. Their references to obelisks, Guardians, and the Obelisk Gate imply they possess orogenic abilities and are trapped in Corepoint for a larger purpose. The bitterness toward Syenite (“she should forget me”) masks guilt or love, hinting at a fraught past. The entries also reveal their deteriorating mental state, blending technical observations with personal anguish.
4. How does Steel’s interaction with Nassun differ from the other stone eaters, and what might this signify?
Answer:
While other stone eaters silently observe Nassun, Steel actively engages her, offering practical help (shelter, food) and speaking directly to her needs. His gray, bare-chested appearance sets him apart visually, symbolizing a bridge between the stone eaters’ detachment and human vulnerability. His actions suggest he has a vested interest in Nassun—possibly tied to her role in the Obelisk Gate or her unique abilities. Unlike the others, Steel demonstrates a capacity for limited empathy, though his motives remain ambiguous. This interaction foreshadows a potential alliance or manipulation, contrasting with the collective indifference of Corepoint’s inhabitants.
5. Critical Thinking: The chapter alternates between Nassun’s journey and the narrator’s diary. How does this structure deepen the reader’s understanding of Corepoint’s significance?
Answer:
The dual narrative juxtaposes immediate human suffering (Nassun’s) with retrospective, technical musings (the narrator’s), creating a layered portrait of Corepoint. Nassun’s visceral experience grounds the city’s eerie, abandoned atmosphere, while the diary reveals its historical and functional importance—e.g., the “crime scene” of the great project, the obelisks, and the hole’s purpose. The narrator’s fragmented voice also mirrors Corepoint’s decay, blending personal loss with cosmic-scale consequences. Together, these perspectives emphasize Corepoint as both a physical place and a symbol of forgotten power, where individual trauma intersects with world-altering forces.
Quotes
1. “Corepoint isn’t a ruin, quite. That is, it isn’t ruined, and it isn’t uninhabited.”
This quote introduces the eerie, suspended state of Corepoint—a place frozen between ruin and functionality, inhabited by stone eaters rather than humans. It sets the tone for the chapter’s exploration of this mysterious city and its hidden purposes.
2. “They all watch, doing nothing, as this quick-moving, noisy human child sobs into the salt-laden wind until she is exhausted, and then just sits there in a huddle with her fingers still tangled in the cloth of Schaffa’s shirt.”
This poignant moment highlights Nassun’s isolation and the stone eaters’ passive observation, emphasizing the emotional weight of her journey and the uncanny indifference of Corepoint’s inhabitants.
3. “This whole rusting city is a crime scene.”
This blunt declaration (from the journal entries) captures the narrator’s visceral reaction to Corepoint’s hidden history, framing the city as a place of past atrocities and unanswered questions about its purpose and construction.
4. “‘The ocean winds can be cold at night.’”
Steel’s understated remark to Nassun represents the stone eaters’ ambiguous relationship with humans—offering practical help while maintaining emotional distance, a recurring dynamic in the chapter.
5. “SYENITE could make me eat, you talking rock. SYENITE gave a shit about me and not just whether I could fix this world I don’t give a shit about.”
This raw journal entry reveals the narrator’s grief and bitterness, contrasting personal connections with the impersonal demands of the world’s crises—a key emotional conflict in the chapter.