The Keeper of the Lost Cities Echo Chamber

This post contains references to theories that could be MAJOR SPOILERS.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I published my first Keeper post, My Keeper of the Lost Cities Obsession, on April 16, 2023.  I wrote:

The series is still in progress, but I have found an anagram pointing to what I believe is the big secret.  When I ran a Google search the other day, there were no results.  How strange.  The book that has this clue was published in 2014.  I cannot possibly be the only person who has figured out the anagram. 

I posted about it on Reddit a few days ago to see what would happen.  I got some downvotes at first.  I have upvotes as well, and it appears that I've shocked some people.  

I remember how I felt after I posted on Reddit.  I was taken aback at the downvotes, and I even thought about deleting the post.  Looking back on it, the responses weren't bad at all.  They were overall receptive, even though some people didn't know what to think.  They would treat me a lot worse now.

A few months after my Kenric anagram post, I answered a poll about favorite Councillors.  I mentioned it in my post, Keeper of the Lost Cities: Oralie and Sophie:

I write my thoughts only in this blog because I have been downvoted on Reddit for the very few comments that I have made.  In one case, I answered a poll about my favorite Councillor.  The person who created the poll left off Kenric and put an unimportant Councillor who never speaks in his place.  I had to vote for Oralie.  Oralie got quite a few votes with Bronte coming in at first place.

In the comments, someone said that the people who voted for Oralie must not have read all the books.  Excuse me?  I've read them, and I won't apologize for liking Oralie.  I replied, "I've read all of the books, and I like Oralie the best of the Councillors who were included in the poll.  My favorite Councillor is actually Kenric with Oralie in second place."

I was downvoted.  They didn't approve of me liking Kenric and Oralie.  So, that's why I write my thoughts only here.  I get a low number of views and no feedback, but at least I'm not getting downvoted by fans who don't like my opinions.

I have carefully avoided the temptation to comment on the occasional Kenric-as-Forkle and Kenric-as-Sophie's-father posts that are made on Reddit.  I have wanted to comment, but I didn't want to deal with the toxicity.  For some reason, people are not allowed to voice theories about Kenric having anything to do with Project Moonlark or Forkle.  I mean... people do make posts about Kenric from time to time, but just about every response disagrees, so that effectively shuts down the posts.

Recently, someone read my blog posts and made several comments in this blog, agreeing with what I wrote about Kenric.  They explained some of their ideas, and I replied.  Hours later, I saw that they had posted on Reddit.  Their post began, "Just finished to read all the KOTLC books, and it became so clear for me that Mr Forkle is Kenric, and Kenric is a biological father of Sophie."

I knew they were in for it.  People immediately began to pile on, saying that they were wrong.  These people refuse to consider the idea that Kenric is Forkle.  They apparently believe that Forkle always tells the truth.  Forkle said that Kenric isn't Sophie's father and that Sophie's parents don't know each other.  In their minds, there's no point in discussing it.  Forkle never lies, and he says that Kenric wasn't involved, so that's it.  

Their logic perplexes me.  Sophie has said that Forkle lies.  If he lies, then we can't be sure that what he says about Kenric's lack of involvement in Project Moonlark is actually true.  If they'd let people discuss it, then they'd realize that Forkle has obscured the truth by flat-out denying it.

Since I had just interacted with the person who posted, I decided to comment, knowing that I would get ripped for it.  I mean... how dare anyone think that Kenric could be Sophie's father or Forkle.  

My first comment:

I completely agree about Forkle's identity and about who Sophie's parents are.  Shannon has hidden the truth in plain sight but has obscured it just enough that most readers don't see it.  The way she's done it is brilliant.  The crux of the problem is that readers believe that Forkle has always told the truth.

Sophie says that Forkle has lied to her.  If Forkle has ever lied, then we can't be sure about anything.  For that reason, we cannot use Forkle's denials as proof that Kenric can't be Sophie's father.  His statement about Sophie's parents not knowing each other was just to throw Sophie off.

The other thing is that many readers have failed to see the significance of the Forgotten Secrets in Stellarlune.  The Forgotten Secrets are Forkle's secrets.

There.  I said it.  I was downvoted, as expected.  The OP interacted with me.  All of my responses were downvoted.

Two people were receptive and asked for examples.  I replied:

I'm not the OP, but I've written extensively about what I've noticed in the books. This link will take you to a page that lists all of my posts.

https://series-books.blogspot.com/p/keeper-of-lost-cities-posts.html

Clues are mentioned throughout all of the posts, but start with "The Identity of Sophie's Creator" and all of the posts on the Forgotten Secrets. The posts about Unraveled cover some key thoughts. Stellarlune and Unraveled are important books because Shannon is pulling it all together and has laid the groundwork for both the Forkle and Sophie's father reveal.

Also look at the very end of each individual book post for some of the clues.

Next, someone who was a bit combative began commenting.  They listed six points to counter what the OP posted.  The points they were countering weren't mine, but I couldn't resist addressing their second point, which was that multiple characters count seconds including the kids.

I wrote:

Awhile back, I actually ran a search for the word "seconds" in all the digital texts of all the books and examined each time that word appears.  Only three characters in the entire series are ever mentioned as counting the seconds: Sophie, Kenric, and Forkle.  Nobody else is ever mentioned as counting the seconds.  

By the other person's response, it was apparent that they were taken aback.  They asked if I had searched all of the books.

Ever since I discovered the anagram in Kenric's name, I've been searching for clues.  That's why.  If Shannon would go to the trouble to design Kenric's name in such a way that it forms a revealing perfect anagram, then I figured that she placed clues through all the books.

To be clear, I have searched the texts of #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 9, and 9.5 for the word "seconds." Just three characters actually "count" the seconds, the three that I mentioned.

The penultimate paragraph was phrased so as to leave no doubt that I meant exactly what I wrote.  Yes, I really did search every book for the word "seconds" and read those passages.   
  
I then saw that they added to their response.  I was told that the theory is nonsense and that I and the OP were the same person hiding behind multiple IDs.

Nonsense?  Well, I never!  But who I am has already been revealed in my post history on Reddit, so I had nothing to hide.  I outed myself.

I replied:

No, indeed.  My name is Jennifer White, and I have a blog where I've written extensively about these books.  I don't hide behind screen names, and I don't know who the OP is.  I don't usually comment here since my comments get downvoted like what is happening today.  The OP commented in my blog in the last couple days.  I replied, and we exchanged additional comments.  When I saw their post here this morning, I continued our discussion. 

There was a reason why only two of us were conversing in the post about Kenric.  It's not because we were the same person, and it's not because we are the only people who think Kenric is Forkle.  It's because everyone who thinks Kenric is Forkle or Sophie's father has been run out of the subreddit.  

The last time someone posted about Kenric recently, they were shut down by everyone.  They deleted their post.  Kenric posts tend to get deleted.  The Reddit Keeper fans have created their own echo chamber.  

Something good has come from all of this.  I now have a distinct opinion on whether Eleanor Olivia Wright is human or an elf.  This is why I try to find people who have expressed opinions about Kenric, Forkle, Ethan, and Eleanor.  Reading well-thought-out opinions helps me figure things out.  We can find answers better when we are allowed to discuss theories without immediately being shut down. 

Several Keeper posts about Kenric, Forkle, Ethan, and Eleanor will be posted soon.

Update: 

After I wrote this post, the combative poster began to bully the same person on another theory post.  They actually told the person with the theory to "stop" and said that they would be reporting all of their similar future posts as spam. 

That was the moment I decided to take action.  I reported the comment to the moderators, not knowing if it would be addressed (the comment was removed two days later).  I felt so frustrated that bullies were dictating what would be discussed.

While I don't want to run a Keeper subreddit, I created one.  We need a place where we can freely discuss Kenric without being shut down.

https://www.reddit.com/r/KotLCTheories/

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories