This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set. Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published. You've been warned.
#8 Legacy is when the secrets begin to be revealed. Many fans think these later books are boring and pointless when to me, they are great. I have thought of one reason why some fans find the later books boring.
The Keeper series is for middle-grade readers and it is certainly written on that level. However, the overarching storyline is quite complex, really too complex for middle-grade. Many of the target readers are struggling to see what Shannon is doing because it's so complex. I've figured a lot out along the way, especially about the Forgotten Secrets, but I'm still completely confused about other things. This is precisely why I love this series so much; it's so much fun trying to figure it out with the obscure clues we have been given.
Page 14 "We've been playing defense for far too long," he said, clearing the thickness from his throat. "And that is never a good way to win."
Mr. Forkle knows that they need to be more aggressive.
Page 16 He turned to meet her gaze. "We're spiraling toward war. And not an isolated battle. A global conflict involving every living being."
The following passages are from the washed memory that Forkle returns to Sophie.
Page 322 They started out talking. But talking shifted to teasing. And teasing turned to taunting as the voices grew louder and louder. Angrier and angrier. Sophie couldn't make out any of the individual words. But she could feel them cutting deeper and deeper.
Page 337 "I don't know," Amy admitted after downing half the bottle. "I guess I thought..." She looked away, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Those things I said to you—" "I don't even remember them," Sophie assured her. "Seriously. In the memory it was just a bunch of noise. I couldn't separate out the words—and I don't want to know."
In my post for #7 Flashback, I included some passages pertaining to Keefe's recovered memories. The memories had been washed, or so they thought, but the memories were damaged. Tiergan explained that washed memories, if recovered, would not be damaged. The ones that were damaged had been shattered.
It's apparent that Mr. Forkle chose to spare Sophie from knowing what cruel words Amy said during their fight. He tampered with the memory so that Sophie wouldn't be able to hear what Amy had said. There's no other explanation. Sophie has a photographic memory, and Amy's words should have been in the memory. Mr. Forkle didn't tamper with the memory he returned to Amy, so Amy knew what she had said.
I want to revisit the Inflicting session from Book 3 with Bronte, Kenric, and Sophie.
From the first Book 3 post:
On page 215, Kenric gives Sophie a suggestion on how to inflict, but then he quickly adds, "At least, that's what I remember studying," as if he needs to explain how he knows so that it won't be suspicious. If Kenric is Forkle, then he does know about Inflicting, since he worked on genetic experimentation with Inflicting.
From the second Book 3 post:
The Kenric in the Inflicting session seems to cover for himself when he mentions how Inflicting works.
Page 215: "I believe the first step is to identify the emotion you want to unleash," Kenric offered quietly. "At least, that's what I remember studying."
He added that last part to cover. The surviving Forkle is the one who tested the Inflicting genes to make sure that they were safe for Sophie. This is another clue that the Kenric in the Inflicting session is the surviving Forkle.
I was getting closer. It's irrelevant which brother was in the Inflicting session since they considered themselves to be one person and shared their memories with each other. Regardless, a Forkle did inflict on Sophie years before, and he inflicted positive emotions on Sophie. He knew from past personal experience how inflicting works, no matter which brother was in the Inflicting session. He covers for himself when explaining to Sophie how inflicting works, saying that he had studied it.
We learn in Book 8 that when Sophie manifested as an Inflictor, she simultaneously manifested as an Enhancer. When Sophie inflicted on Amy, Forkle grabbed her hand and was able to inflict positive emotions into her mind in order to get her to stop. Forkle knows exactly how inflicting works, even though he doesn't have that ability.
On page 342, Mr. Forkle goes into a detailed explanation of the five unmapped stars and how each of them creates a different form of quintessence. Here is a summary:
Elementine - the most powerful, can be used to create explosive substances like frissyn
Marquiseire - abrasive, reflective, most versatile, works at a cellular level
Lucilliant - coldest, darkest, but most balanced and can be used to preserve something
Candesia - weakest, sluggish, but safest and best for slight changes
Phosforen - most vibrant, full of life and energy, used by the Black Swan for DNA tests
The stars are tied to what Lady Gisela does to Keefe in Loamnore and to stellarlune and Elysian.
Also, on page 343 Mr. Forkle finds it odd that him telling Sophie about the five types of quintessance doesn't trigger the details that he implanted into her mind years before. Mr. Forkle decides that it's because the details were hidden so well that that they aren't being triggered. What if something else is at play?
On page 151, Emery tells Team Valiant that the Council has set up a meeting with King Enki and that this is "a meeting the Black Swan would never be able to properly arrange, regardless of what they might claim." King Enki is annoyed when Bronte and Team Valiant meet with Enki a day after Granite meets with Enki.
On page 477, Mr. Forkle tells the Council that "holding secret meetings is childish." Bronte then notes that the Council's secret meeting is to discuss the fallout from the Black Swan's secret meeting with Enki on the previous day." After some discussion, Mr. Forkle realizes that he should have told the Council once the Black Swan had worked out a meeting with Enki.
Emery then says that the Council has been forthright, but Mr. Forkle reminds them that they didn't inform the Black Swan ahead of time when they decided to appoint several of the kids as Regents. Sophie is surprised to learn that the Black Swan didn't know.
Mr. Forkle and Emery realize that both sides have failed to communicate. Emery promises to update the Black Swan, and Mr. Forkle apologizes for the secret meeting with Enki. This is a pivotal point where the Black Swan and Councillors truly turn a corner in their relations.
[This next part was written before I read Book 9.5 Unraveled. I have left it as I wrote it, but I have struck through the parts that I believe are false.]
I am currently confused about Ethan Benedict Wright and his daughter. My belief is that Ethan is one of Forkle's identities. Mr. Forkle shows up with an obituary for Ethan and his daughter, which he could have faked. But then, Mr. Forkle also has a photo of Gisela from the surveillance cameras, and this leads the kids to believe that Gisela killed Ethan and his daughter. I find it hard to believe that Forkle would be that cruel to Keefe.
[Exactly. Forkle wouldn't be that cruel.]
I thought it odd that Mr. Forkle would create a fake obituary, because I don't think Ethan is/was a real person and it would be cruel for Forkle to make Keefe think his mom killed Ethan. Rather, I think Gisela faked Ethan's death.
[I believe Ethan's death was faked, but it was done to trick Gisela.]It could be that Gisela faked the obituary and the deaths. Forkle is just showing what he found. It's interesting that the deaths occurred in a gap in the Black Swan's surveillance. Mr. Forkle agrees that it's odd. But did he pick that time on purpose, or did Gisela? As I stated, I am confused at present. I think we'll learn something in Book 9.5.
[I've now read Book 9.5, and I'm even more confused. As I will mention in a future post, Shannon is a master of misdirection. She actually has already revealed some of the big secrets but has simultaneously misdirected and to a degree that has kept the secrets hidden in plain sight.
More has been revealed about Ethan and his daughter, and it appears that I am wrong about Forkle and Ethan. Perhaps I am, but perhaps what Keefe is told in Book 9.5 isn't exactly the truth. Even if what Keefe is told is true, it is obvious that he is being given only a small portion of the truth. And there's something else I realized that could mean anything is still possible. I will get more into this when I write about Book 9.5.]
All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:
Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories
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