Mumbo Jumbo

Charlotte has made a lot of money working at the Plantation House. She sits in her decadent apartment, relaxing on her fancy green-velvet sofa. Her theatrical partner, Doctor Peter Pick, comes over. He suggests that they “turn the act around. Stand it on its head. Upside-down the Plantation” (104).

The narrative cuts to a situation report. It relays that visiting European painters have taken Jes Grew back home with them and it is now a pandemic. Jes Grew is also now only 60 miles from New York.

One of Buddy Jackson’s men arrives at Mu’tafikah headquarters. He loans them costumes and cars for their raid of the Center of Art Detention. He also tells them that there are ships waiting for them at sea.

Biff Musclewhite and Charlotte are cuddling on the sofa. She is bored by Musclewhite’s stories of his adventures in World War I. Musclewhite suddenly grabs Charlotte and aggressively kisses her. The doorbell rings, and Charlotte lets in Mu’tafikah members Berbelang, Thor, Yellow Jack, and Fuentes. They tell Musclewhite that they’re going to take him for a ride. He attacks them but is quickly subdued.