The Light Over the Ranges, Chapter Eight: Kit Buzzes Off!

Get it? 'Cause he leaves, and also electricity? Is that a strained pun? It's a pretty strained pun. Why not just admit it? This flashes into the future--1899, and we're dealing with the youngest Webb son, Kit Traverse. Kit is the "scientific" son. He's not super-interested in following in his pa's footsteps, and this causes conflicts, as we'll see, BUT! When you think about it, they certainly could work together in harmony, Webb being interested in how you put chemicals together to sort of transfer from the scientific to the political realm. To be honest, I don't really have a good grasp on Kit's narrative in the novel, so it'll be interesting to see how that works going forward.

We start with a description of 1899 July fourth celebrations (that's how you know when this is), which involve a lot of explosions, and everyone getting all shook up with electricity. We celebrate our Independence Day by blowing stuff up, which HOLY SHIT is a relevant fact for this novel.

Kit considers himself a "vectorist," which I know is something that's going to persist throughout the book, but alas, I'm not super-great at math. I'm going to try to use my math professor brother as a consultant on this blog. But for now, well...that's what he's decided he is: "It could have been a religion, for all he knew" (98). Furthermore: "Water falls, electricity flows--one flow becomes another, and thence into light" (99). It all comes back to light, dunnit? You can endlessly do this string of science to light to chemistry to politics to anarchism.

Hey, Nikola Tesla is coming to town! Naturally, Kit wants to become involved with that, as does his sidekick, Jack Gigg. Why does Kit have a "sidekick," who, I'm pretty sure, we'll never see again? What the heck is going on? But before they meet Tesla, they meet Foley Walker, Scarsdale Vibe's aide, who is "to keep an eye on how the money, much of it Mr. Vibe's, was being spent" (99). This may raise questions: from chapter four, we remember that Vibe wanted to sabotage Tesla's work, and now he's funding it? Well, it's no surprise, I suppose, to see him playing both sides: plenty of corporations and rich bastards generally donate money to both Republicans and Democrats.

Anyway, we learn a little about Foley's history here: how back in the day, he was hired to fight in the Civil War in Scarsdale's place, took a bullet in the head which allowed him to see and know certain things, and came back to work for the man, using his seemingly magical knowledge to shore up his fortune. If there's any doubt about the doubling theme in the novel, note that they're referred to as "the Twin Vibes" (102). But of course, this raises a question (so many questions being raised): look, I'm just going to say it, and if you somehow are reading this without having read the book and don't want to be spoiled...too bad: many many chapters from now, Foley Walker is the one who kills Scarsdale Vibe, and the why of this is a huge question to me. These voices that he apparently hears that let him know the best investments to make--that seems somehow to be related to the book's general mysticism, but I somehow just can't wrap my head around this. Well, I'll keep a close eye on Foley whenever he shows up and try to see if I can't make some more sense of this.

But that is not the main point right now. Foley invites Kit to Yale to be part of Vibe's "Lieutenants of Industry Scholarship Program" (100). This, obviously, is going to be an extremely difficult thing for a young man of a scientific bent who doesn't have any other prospects to pass up. And yet, there are obviously going to be...issues with dad over this.

And sure enough: "You're either my boy or theirs, can't be both" (105), Webb tells him, and it's really heartbreaking, because Webb is absolutely right about this; Vibe obviously does just want to co-opt a Traverse. But goddamn, the alternative for Kit is a life of nothing but thankless, dangerous terrorism, entirely contrary to his own impulses? How to possibly square this circle? It can't be done. Webb for his part isn't a remorseless ideologue about this, although he might appear that way: maybe the saddest line here is "It was falling apart. Webb could feel himself losing this argument, losing his son" (105). He doesn't want to, but he's trapped. Everyone is trapped, in a sense, and escaping, emancipating oneself, is the ultimate goal of the characters in this book. Some will, some won't.