The Rook Chapter 2 – The Failed Spy
In the first chapter, Myfanwy woke up surrounded by unconscious or dead bodies with no idea what was going on. As we move to chapter 2 we start to get some idea about the situation she finds herself in but with each clue comes more questions about who she was and how she got here. Here’s my look at chapter two…
Inchoate Ideas
Waking up without any memories, Myfanwy manages to survive multiple attempts on her life and leaves the first chapter of her tale knowing much more than when she started. But even with that knowledge we don’t have much clue about who she is, what she can do, or who’s out to get her. I can’t wait to find out more.
Number 3
And more is available right away as Myfanwy jumps into the 3rd letter she wrote to herself. Sure she survived the ambush at the bank but I’m wondering exactly how much control she has over her abilities. Does she need to be in pain or fearful for her life to use her powers? And is it only people with latex gloves that she needs to be worried about?
Well, the 3rd letter seems to indicate she needs to be touching someone in order to work her magic but it seems the results could vary – sometimes involuntary defecation, sometimes blindness or paralysis. Regardless, it’s time to assess the circumstances and I’m right there with her looking to relax in a safe house as I read up on what exactly is going on.
I’d need a beer
Ok so she’s in a safe house for the moment and with a chance for a breather she can check out the stuff in the other suitcase…oh, a submachine gun. Now what use would a gun be when she’s got the ability to make people crap themselves? Presumably the people who are after her are gonna have powers too so I’m not sure a gun is gonna help.
More importantly at this stage though, is information and the first suitcase is full of that…on to letter 4.
Letter 4
It turns out the safe house isn’t associated with the government organization she works for but rather she set it up herself when she started hearing prophecies that she was gonna be attacked. So now it’s time for some background…
The first time she inadvertently used her powers, how to force the initial triggering of her abilities, and how she came to be introduced to the Checquy Group.
This is pretty ominous since she was just a child of 9. I certainly could not imagine my parents willingly handing me over to a government organization – I can’t imagine things would be that much different in England but maybe it was more like the X-Men and Charles Xavier coming to offer a place for the gifted children to learn with others like themselves.
In any case Myfanwy met Lady Linda Farrier, who I’m pretty sure is the dream woman. She also met the assassin, Sir Henry Wattleman who seems nice to the young girl but I wouldn’t put it past him to be involved with the mind wipe since we’re told he has no qualms about killing people – this might be too obvious since he was introduced as an assassin though.
Oh…it turns out I was right about Lady Farrier.
Ultra Spy
So the Checquy Group tried to make a spy outta her but she turned into a super powered accountant. A good British bureaucrat who just happens to be able to seize control of someone’s body and make them do pretty much anything. That works I suppose.
Apparently the group has plenty of field agents with special abilities that have no qualms about hurting or killing people as evidenced by the fact that Myfanwy has been mind wiped.
One thing that could help her out in her current situation is that it seems the mind wipe may have expanded her ability. She’s now able to influence people without touching them, she only has to be close. That could come in handy as she tries to figure out who messed with her mind.
History Lesson
The background of the organization is interesting and the bottom line is that the Checquy Group has been protecting England for a long time and over those centuries they’ve been granted certain privileges…like the authority to take children who have powers from their parents. That seems pretty cruel and like it might not go over well in America but protecting the country IS kinda important.
Also, only 3 people have ever intentionally tried to leave the organization and none of them survived very long.
Good thing Myfanwy decided to take the Red Pill and stick around in the group but we see that her prior personality took some significant steps to make sure she would be able to get away if that was her decision.
In any case, while the Checquy Group may not be after her as an organization, one of the top 7 officers did mind wipe her and is most likely gonna try to finish the job soon.
So it’s probably time to head into the office to meet them.
Retrospective
This chapter offers a bunch more details about what’s going on. Myfanwy isn’t any closer to regaining her memories but at least she now has someone on her side…her previous self. And it turns out that knowledge is actually power since her previous self was able to set things up nicely in preparation for the mind wipe even though she couldn’t stop it.