Alif the Unseen

The Hand’s goal has not changed. He will code the Alf Yeom and take control of the city. Alif challenges him to read the book and explain what he will do differently to make the program work. The Hand goes almost manic as he explains the book as a framework and the stories as individual programs. When he gets to the last story, he finds it titled “The Tale of Alif the Unseen” (411). The Hand reads the story, and as he finishes, the city’s power grid comes back on.

Human protesters storm the apartment. Alif, Dina, and NewQuarter are separated in the shuffle. The rebels discover NewQuarter is a prince and are ready to kill him. Before Alif can get to NewQuarter, a fuming and nearly insane Hand finds him. He rages that Tin Sari shouldn’t work because it’s impossible to read what’s inside people’s hearts. Alif corrects the Hand, saying the program “exposes the apparent” (419): It uses what and how people type to identify them, and “you can’t hide those things behind a new name” (419). Alif manages to fight off the Hand, but he is jostled and pushed out the window.