The Return
- Now that we know who the villain of this story is (kind of: Vaz), let's meet one of our heroes (again, only sort of).
- Robert Gu is an old poet and a colossal jerk. (Just check his character page if you need immediate proof of that.)
- He was on the way out (we mean he was dying), but now modern medical science has given him a second chance. (Hence the title of the chapter. Pay attention to those chapter titles.)
- His long trek back to health confuses him: he thinks his little sister Cara is around (despite the fact that he knows she died in 2006). In reality: it's his granddaughter Miri.
- He's recuperating at the home of his son, Bob, who Robert refers to as a "thug." There's a happy family situation.
- We do get to hear a bit of the situation from Lieutenant Colonel Robert Gu, Jr. and Colonel Alice Gu.
- Alice is actually a very important person with some unspecified skills. Ooh, a mystery.
- Luckily, thanks to that awesome teleconferencing equipment we saw in Barcelona, Alice can go do international work and still be around for family things. Like arguing about Robert now that he's recovering from Alzheimer's.
- We also get a hint here of how Bob feels about his dad (which is not a whole lot). After all, Robert did drive away his wife, Lena: Bob's mom. So don't look for too many family hugs here.