The People of Paper

Apolonio reveals the true identity of Saturn as Salvador Plascencia de Gonzales to Smiley. Antonio, the heretical monk referenced in the Prologue, has given him this information as well as the location of Saturn’s living quarters in exchange for some candles and a pistol that the monk uses to take his own life. Suitably for a fictional character, the gun shot splatters ink, not blood, from Antonio’s head.

Consequently, Smiley uses this information to begin tearing a hole in the sky. He says, “I grabbed at the edges of the hole and pulled myself into the house of Saturn” (103). He is surprised that Saturn is not expecting him and relates that Saturn has surrendered the story. Smiley overhears one side of a telephone conversation between Saturn (also known as Salvador or Sal) and Liz, his former lover. From the time Smiley identifies Saturn as Salvador, the name Saturn refers to the merged characters.

When Saturn discovers Smiley, he does not remember who Smiley is. Saturn explains, “There are many characters, plots, and devices and in the jumble of things sometimes minor characters are forgotten, even by the author” (105). As the fictional representation of Plascencia, Saturn attempts to justify why he can no longer keep track of his story.