The Spear Cuts Through Water

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, ableism, child abuse, and substance use.

The grandchild is the primary character of the frame story. The grandchild is part of a merchant family with nine brothers, a father, a grandmother whom they call Lola (lolo and lola are Filipino words for “grandfather” and “grandmother,” derived from the Spanish abuelo/a), and a great-grandfather, Lola’s father. They live in the Unified Continent (analogous to the United States), a country overseas from the Old Country, from which the family emigrated several generations ago. For all the grandchild’s life, the Unified Continent has been at war with unknown forces. The father claims that it is a revolution for freedom and uncritically repeats propaganda in favor of continued fighting.

The grandchild is a distant descendant of Shan Araya and possesses the spear that Keema delivers to Shan from her mother, Commander Uhi Araya. The spear has been passed down the generations and finally to the grandchild, who returns it to Keema in the Inverted Theater. The grandchild is dismissive of Lola’s stories of the Old Country and bitter about their father’s neglect and eventual abandonment.