How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph.Page)
Quote #4
In the shower he washed his hair and body and thought, Who is this man who could miss the shuttle not once but twice in three days? Who is this man who could again wake at 10 a.m., having no doubt missed calls to his cellphone, knocks on the door? (XVI.4.113)
Alan's experiences in Saudi Arabia bring him plenty of out-of-body moments like this one, where he questions who he is and what he's becoming. As he attempts to figure out his identity, Alan finds himself doing some seriously unexpected and bizarre things.
Quote #5
There was nothing as good as this, being there at the beginning of something. When the city was another Dubai, another Abu Dhabi or Nairobi, he could say he'd walked the foundation of the buildings, he'd laid the groundwork for all the IT in the whole damned place. (XVII.56.133)
Alan, like most people, loves the idea of being part of Something Big. He's an adventurer at heart, wanting to be part of new schemes and big gambles that may pay out in the future. When he finds the deep foundation of a new building at KAEC, he can't help but trespass and go exploring. Unfortunately, it ends with Alan ranting about all the terrible things that have happened to bring him there—not something he bargained for when he optimistically descended into the earthworks.
Quote #6
He'd owned cowries before, and probably still had five or six in a box somewhere. But he'd never found one in the water like this. It was perfect, too—he turned it over and over and found it flawless, unscratched. Its teeth were smooth, variegated. There was no reason for it to be this beautiful (XX.24.168)
We learn some pretty surprising things about Alan in this book. Here's one of them: he was somewhat of a shell expert in his youth. He'd collected and identified them, knew their value and rarity. It's a reflection of his love of wandering and his need to find reason and purpose in the world around him.