Broken Dove: Chapter Four
May. 17th, 2026 06:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaThe next morning, Wren meets with the Authority for her disclosure.
Don't remind me of your piss-poor handling of the Silver Block situation in the last book, Wren. I'm still mad about how dumb you were.
Anyways, the way this is phrased makes it sound like Wren is having this revelation right now, as she starts talking to Adrienne. Which is stupid, because Wren has known about having to disclose her powers since yesterday and had her whole trip through the fucking Blacklands to decide what she wanted to say or not say. Why don't you have a plan? Why haven't you been planning?
Wren tells us that she needs to be allowed to stay with the Uprising because otherwise she'll be executed by the Command when they find her, but also says that this is finally her opportunity to make a difference, and she can't squander it. Except that Wren was an undercover Silver Elite agent in the last book, perfectly positioned, in fact she helped take out the General, and she did squander her by failing to lock the bathroom door and by having her bloodmark healed for no fucking reason.
You had a real shot, Wren. You were briefly an asset. And you did squander it.
We then get a long, boring explanation of how telepathy works as Wren is asked to demonstrate hers by linking with Fiona. Fiona is bad, because she hasn't smiled at Wren once.
This is only like a third of the explanation. We get an entire page of mixed metaphors to explain Wren linking with Fiona. And this pisses me off because this is book 2 and we have already seen Wren link many times already. The time for this explanation was in the last book; putting it here is just clogging up what should be a tense scene. Wren talks like there's a chance the Uprising will turn her out, and yeah, that's not really been validated in any way by the behavior of the Uprising, but Francis could try to create tension here.
Instead, we get Adrienne immediately asking Wren if she's always been able to do telepathy that fast. Again, crazy to waste a page on exposition here if it was supposed to be fast.
Wren shows them her veins, which don't glow. The Uprising confirm they know of two other Mods with the same ability.
Okay, another weird bit here.
Now, I'm glad to see Wren has finally remembered all those suffering Mods existed. But I don't like this construction of shielding yourself from other people's thoughts and of filtering those thoughts as being separate powers from being able to read minds. I can buy that people would have varying levels of ability at doing those things, but the book presents it as if filtering is a separate power. Which is weird.
In general I think the psychic powers in this book are always described in the most boring way possible. Really reminds of trying to slog through the Way of Kings--it all reads like the author is writing the wiki for a TTRPG or a video game.
Really? It never occurred to you? This modesty on Wren's part makes no sense--she knows her uncle wanted her to conceal the extent of her powers because he didn't want them to be used, and she also successfully resisted and incited Jayde Valence. Wren isn't usually modest about her own abilities--quite the opposite--so I don't know why Francis is bothering here. This is like the one time it would make sense for her to brag.
We learn that projection is directly tied to the optic nerve, meaning you can only project what you are looking at. Okay, that explains why exile is an effective punishment for the Uprising, since the exiled people literally wouldn't be able to project the location. Unless they were looking at a map. Whoops.
Wren then reveals she is an inciter. They ask her a lot of questions about this, unsmiling Fiona seems distrustful, and they all decide Wren can stay.
The thing is, Wren literally just admitted that out of the three times she incited two of them were accidents triggered by strong feelings, and that the one time she deliberately incited she forced a woman to shoot herself in the head. So like...I get where Adrienne is coming from. Wren probably should be kept away from society until she learns to not accidentally mind control people.
Also, earlier in this very chapter, Wren was like, I need to get them to let me stay because if I leave the Dagger I'll be caught and executed. So why is she now threatened by Adrienne literally giving her what she wants? I don't know, I still think the book is just trying to spoonfeed the reader the idea that the Uprising is secretly bad but Francis is a bad writer so they end up looking completely reasonable. LMAO.
“There’s no passing or failing here. We’re simply gauging your skills,” Kallister reassures me, and I’m reminded of my first day in Silver Block when they surprised us with a random observation quiz.
That morning, I wasn’t sure if I should stand out, blend with the group, or outright fail. Now I’m cycling through those same options, considering how much to reveal. Until it dawns on me that I can’t afford to hide anything from these people
Don't remind me of your piss-poor handling of the Silver Block situation in the last book, Wren. I'm still mad about how dumb you were.
Anyways, the way this is phrased makes it sound like Wren is having this revelation right now, as she starts talking to Adrienne. Which is stupid, because Wren has known about having to disclose her powers since yesterday and had her whole trip through the fucking Blacklands to decide what she wanted to say or not say. Why don't you have a plan? Why haven't you been planning?
Wren tells us that she needs to be allowed to stay with the Uprising because otherwise she'll be executed by the Command when they find her, but also says that this is finally her opportunity to make a difference, and she can't squander it. Except that Wren was an undercover Silver Elite agent in the last book, perfectly positioned, in fact she helped take out the General, and she did squander her by failing to lock the bathroom door and by having her bloodmark healed for no fucking reason.
You had a real shot, Wren. You were briefly an asset. And you did squander it.
We then get a long, boring explanation of how telepathy works as Wren is asked to demonstrate hers by linking with Fiona. Fiona is bad, because she hasn't smiled at Wren once.
Uncle Jim explained that Modified minds have two frequencies. He likened them to waves, one set giving off positive energy, the other negative. Mind reading relies on the latter; he told me to picture that frequency as a door. Beyond that door, black waves try to repel you, push you out. I remember how proud I was the first time I successfully squeezed through those waves and heard Jim’s thoughts.
Telepathy is the welcoming hallway off the door. The positive frequency allows you to recognize a person’s unique energy signature and link with it, and once that connection is made, you can use it to speak to each other or to project images into the other mind.
This is only like a third of the explanation. We get an entire page of mixed metaphors to explain Wren linking with Fiona. And this pisses me off because this is book 2 and we have already seen Wren link many times already. The time for this explanation was in the last book; putting it here is just clogging up what should be a tense scene. Wren talks like there's a chance the Uprising will turn her out, and yeah, that's not really been validated in any way by the behavior of the Uprising, but Francis could try to create tension here.
Instead, we get Adrienne immediately asking Wren if she's always been able to do telepathy that fast. Again, crazy to waste a page on exposition here if it was supposed to be fast.
Wren shows them her veins, which don't glow. The Uprising confirm they know of two other Mods with the same ability.
Okay, another weird bit here.
Guilt pricks my stomach at the reminder that some Mods can’t filter at all, making mind reading next to impossible for them. But at least those people can shield themselves from the noise, whereas fragmented Mods are incapable of maintaining a shield or severing links correctly. Once they’ve been in another mind, it opens a floodgate. Outside thoughts are constantly rushing back into their heads, drowning out all sense and order, until their brains become a cacophony of voices. A pure, chaotic racket.
It’s enough to drive someone insane, and eventually, it does, completely robbing you of sanity. Like the woman I saw in Ward C. Rocking on the hospital bed, whimpering, covering her ears with her hands as she repeated the same phrase over and over and over again.
Now, I'm glad to see Wren has finally remembered all those suffering Mods existed. But I don't like this construction of shielding yourself from other people's thoughts and of filtering those thoughts as being separate powers from being able to read minds. I can buy that people would have varying levels of ability at doing those things, but the book presents it as if filtering is a separate power. Which is weird.
In general I think the psychic powers in this book are always described in the most boring way possible. Really reminds of trying to slog through the Way of Kings--it all reads like the author is writing the wiki for a TTRPG or a video game.
“It happened after countless hours of training, though,” I protest, because I don’t love all the fanfare around my abilities. We haven’t even gotten to my incitement yet. It never occurred to me they’d be so impressed with my mind reading and knack for opening fast paths.
Really? It never occurred to you? This modesty on Wren's part makes no sense--she knows her uncle wanted her to conceal the extent of her powers because he didn't want them to be used, and she also successfully resisted and incited Jayde Valence. Wren isn't usually modest about her own abilities--quite the opposite--so I don't know why Francis is bothering here. This is like the one time it would make sense for her to brag.
We learn that projection is directly tied to the optic nerve, meaning you can only project what you are looking at. Okay, that explains why exile is an effective punishment for the Uprising, since the exiled people literally wouldn't be able to project the location. Unless they were looking at a map. Whoops.
Wren then reveals she is an inciter. They ask her a lot of questions about this, unsmiling Fiona seems distrustful, and they all decide Wren can stay.
“The Dagger will be your new home, Darlington. We can’t have an inciter walking around in the wards.”
And that doesn’t sound like an invitation.
It sounds like a threat.
The thing is, Wren literally just admitted that out of the three times she incited two of them were accidents triggered by strong feelings, and that the one time she deliberately incited she forced a woman to shoot herself in the head. So like...I get where Adrienne is coming from. Wren probably should be kept away from society until she learns to not accidentally mind control people.
Also, earlier in this very chapter, Wren was like, I need to get them to let me stay because if I leave the Dagger I'll be caught and executed. So why is she now threatened by Adrienne literally giving her what she wants? I don't know, I still think the book is just trying to spoonfeed the reader the idea that the Uprising is secretly bad but Francis is a bad writer so they end up looking completely reasonable. LMAO.
