60 pages 2 hours read

Naomi Alderman

The Future

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Part 6

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 6: “How to Know for Sure

Part 6, Interlude 1 Summary: “Extract From Name The Day Survivalist Forum”

OneCorn/Martha posts about a prelude to Lot’s tale: After arguing, Abraham and Lot decided to go their separate ways. Lot chose the more fertile land, while Abraham accepted the rest. OneCorn chalks this decision up to Lot’s fear; he wanted to ensure that he and his family would have plenty of resources. However, as OneCorn observes, it is impossible to own anything, especially land. Lot’s wealth and stores were stolen from him. When Abraham heard of this, he decided to help Lot with the aid of his followers. He rescued Lot, even though he disapproved of Lot’s hoarding ways. Abraham believed that trusting others was far better than amassing riches.

OneCorn ends her post by suggesting that the moral of this tale is to focus on promoting trust rather than on accumulating wealth. If society does not heed such warnings, it will destroy itself.

Part 6, Chapter 1 Summary: “The Most Parsimonious Solution”

The choice to send three billionaires from the technology industry to an uninhabited island is incidental, the narrator explains. Many other wealthy and powerful individuals could have been targeted. These CEOs are simply the people to whom Martha “had access.”

The narrator also notes that murdering the executives would have been simpler than convincing them of an apocalypse and sending them away.

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By Naomi Alderman

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Naomi Alderman