The Wanting Seed Part 4, Chapter 1 Summary

  • Now that he's escaped from prison, Tristram begins to journey inland towards Northern Province, hoping to find Beatrice-Joanna at Shonny and Mavis's farm.
  • As he passes through the metropolis, Tristram feels that the place is in chaos. He feels pretty chaotic himself, too.
  • Tristram clubs a man to death and steals his clothes: now he's dressed as a civilian, rather than a prison warder.
  • As he walks through the city, Tristram sees groups of people gathered around fires. He joins a large group gathered around an outdoor barbeque, and the thin man in charge tells him that it's a dining club.
  • The man in charge of the dining club takes pity on Tristram once he learns that he's just escaped from prison. He gives him some broth, and Tristram tastes meat for the first time in his life.
  • One of the members of the dining club mends Tristram's dentures for him, and the man in charge lets Tristram spend the night with him in his apartment.
  • The next morning, the members of the dining club send Tristram on his way with a sack full of cold joints of meat.