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One Rainy Day in May
Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May
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July 5-7, pages 1-159
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Summary of this section:Astral Omega -- is it distant future or distant past? Intro to humanity's constant struggle: Death and War
Tom's Crossing -- kind of a life-flashing-before-your-eyes-as-you-die kinda thing, which seems to introduce human-animal "familiarity"
Caged Hunt -- an intro to three guys about to go bowling (we'll see more of them in the succeeding vols.)
Ochre Artifact -- A young (cave)boy and (cave)girl in a cave trying to start a fire/keep a fire alive. The girl knows all the adults are dead (unclear how they died or how she knows), but the boy doesn't know yet. After he comes to understand this, they paint each others' faces and head out into the world.
1 - Xanther: On May 10, 2014, Xanther and her step-father, Anwar, drive in the driving rain to get breakfast before going to Xanther's therapist appointment and later picking up a "gift" for Xanther. Xanther is sickly (epileptic and acne'd) and not the most popular 12-year-old, which is a struggle for the family's numerous moves alluded to. She obsessively considers the number of raindrops coming down, certain that there must be an absolute number.
2 - Luther: Outside of Lupita's house, Luther meets up with Almoraz who insults Luther. Luther headbutts Almoraz making his nose bleed. They go inside where Lupita check's his nose. Lupita offers a job helping sell some drugs to Luther. He declines initially, but is later talked into it.
3 - Anwar: At breakfast, Anwar won't tell Xanther what the surprise is, and that it's not till that afternoon. The gift costs $20,000 but Anwar is happy to spend the money on Xanther, who he loves like his own daughter. Mefisto, Anwar's friend and fellow programmer, is brought up. He's been MIA for over a year save for a voicemail from him apologizing for a "prank" that has cause the family's phones to ring off-the-hook to the point that they're basically useless. Anwar then thinks about Dov's funeral (Xanther's bio-father), which Xanther seems to intuit Anwar's thoughts.
4 - Jingjing: Locals in the building JJ lives in are talking about Tian Li, who he works for, as if she's a witch with supernatural power surrounding a cat she has that rides on her shoulders. The cat, too, makes JJ a little uncomfortable. JJ collects monster cards and keeps a cricket in his pocket for good luck. JJ recalls meeting Tian Li 4 years earlier while being arrested for drug use, but Tian Li convinces the police to let JJ come with her, in exchange, he had to agree to quit his drug habits. JJ, dissatisfied with life in Singapore, goes for a walk in the rain and finds billionaire Zhong Sim Lin kneeling before Tian Li, begging a favor which Tian Li is reluctant to oblige. Tian Li seems unaware of Zhong's largesse.
5 - Astair: At home with Xanther's twin half-sisters (Anwar's girls), Astair chases down leaks in the ceiling. The group is waiting for Astairs friend Taymor to arrive to pick them up to go somewhere. Astair delays opening a manila envelope holding her returned/graded thesis--she's second guessing herself after her advisor had good feedback on her first draft. Taymor pulls up but the girls beg to know what Xanther's surprise is: the family is getting a dog.
6 - Orbists: Cas and Bobby, in possession of an "orb," hide in an RV in Marfa, TX. It seems as if the orb can "scry" different points in time and manifest them as if they're a video. Police drive by triggering paranoia in Cas. According to Cas, Recluse has managed to create a VEM Window Reduction which has caused their Distribution to self-replicate. It is unclear what this exactly means. Cas and Bobby discuss colleagues (who seem to have code names like Warlock, Sorcerer, and Treebeard), but they don't have any idea to their whereabouts (or if they're alive?). Somehow Recluse is able to erase data from the internet that Cas and Bobby are trying to disseminate. Bobby muses that the orb may be evil.
Entr'acte -- 2-page collage of items ranging from books, a hard drive (dismantled), shooting targets, and more.
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