Charlie Thorne And The Last Equation

“In the seconds before he lost consciousness, Ernst Klein prayed that, by some miracle, Pandorabuchse had been in the fraction of Einstein’s work he’d been able to destroy—and that it was finally gone from the earth once and for all.”

Einstein’s medication-addled rambling in the prologue introduces the instigating element of the plot, the mysterious item called Pandorabuchse or Pandora’s Box. Though its nature is not revealed in the prologue, Ernst Klein’s anxiety over it and his hope that it is “gone from the earth” makes clear its potential danger.

“She saw them in her mind, etched onto the landscape of the earth before her. The numbers were the equations she had worked before, back on the ski lift. They told her how she needed to move, where she needed to land, what she had to do to survive. Better yet, they told her what she needed to do if she wanted to make this look awesome.”

As Charlie skis down the dangerous Deadman’s Drop, she can visualize the math in her head that will help her gracefully navigate the slope. This moment is the reader’s first introduction to both Charlie’s genius and her reckless, thrill-seeking nature. This moment is also recalled in the final chapter when Charlie must once again use the numbers to survive a dangerous drop from a snowy cliff.

“In the cockpit, Milana Moon perked up at this exchange, trying to understand Dante’s connection to Charlie Thorne. There was apparently more to it than he had let on. He obviously hadn’t learned about this kid’s existence recently. He knew her somehow.”

This passage is the first of several hints that Dante and Charlie are siblings. It also shows that Milana is observant and perceptive, able to hold her own against Charlie’s genius, and a fitting match for her similarly intelligent partner, Dante.