The Deep

Chapter 8 returns to the experience of the Remembrance and the collective “we.” This time, the History centers on Basha, the historian who preceded Yetu. During this time, the wajinru who are experiencing the Remembrance become critical of Zoti’s decision to protect them from the pain of their history: “Such imbalance cannot last” (127).

The chapter recounts an internal struggle among the wajinru who are confronting aggression from two-legs. A series of events suggests that the tense relationship between the two-legs and the wajinru has been growing over decades, possibly centuries, culminating in an event known as the Tidal Wars.

Basha’s memory expresses dissatisfaction with Zoti’s decision to protect the wajinru from pain and keep them ignorant of the two legs’ violence. Unlike others before him who were saddened by the burden of the rememberings, the History inspires anger in Basha. His disposition is toward action and vengeance against the two-legs who tortured and killed so many in their conquest of the Earth, including the wajinru. Rather than keep the wajinru in hiding and a state of ignorance, Basha wants to use their powers to seek justice. He is sure of his convictions: “We are not wajinru if being wajinru means distancing ourselves from pain.