Unwind

This chapter gives the reader a description of the unwinding camp to which Connor and Risa have been taken. “On the existence of a soul, whether unwound or unborn, people are likely to debate for hours on end, but no one questions whether an unwinding facility has a soul” (265). Each harvest camp has a great view. Each harvest camp resembles a resort. “The average stay for an Unwind is three weeks” (266). Although things at the harvest camps seem serene, the reality is very different. Spirits are high at the camp. Unwinds are excited because the Akron AWOL is coming.

“The first thing they did was to separate the three of them” (267). They tell Risa she should distance herself from Connor. Risa feels bad for Connor, who was not given orientation. “He was left to figure everything out for himself. Risa knew the point wasn’t to challenge him, or even to punish him. It was to give him every opportunity to do the wrong thing” (267). Risa is evaluated and interviewed. She tells the counselor that she knows classical piano. The woman is intrigued.