Midnight at the Electric

Adri wakes before Lily and attempts to fix her car, a Theta, by printing out a circuit board on her Desk Factory. The part doesn’t work, which saddens her, as her Theta is her “most prized possession and possibly her best friend” (11). She explores the yard, tripping over the pen of a large tortoise named Galapagos.

Noticing a light inside, Adri returns to the house to meet Lily, who is friendly and talkative. Adri bluntly states she is not chatty, and Lily expresses surprise that Adri is not more “polished.” Lily tries to talk about their shared heritage and personality types, but Adri avoids the conversations, apologizing and explaining that she is grateful but not a people person.

Lily goes outside while Adri opens a package from the training center, delivered by drone. The package has some items she needs to start using and a letter notifying her that the first training session will be in eleven days.

When Lily comes in, Adri asks about Galapagos and the postcard she found. Galapagos and most of the things in the house were there when Lily’s mother moved in. Lily, who has dementia, can’t remember much about the family that lived there before, but she says there are letters from them somewhere in the house. Lily also says she found out about about Adri after taking a DNA ancestry test.

After Lily goes to bed, Adri looks for the letters but fails to find them. She considers her future, thinking about the special technology she will have access to as a Colonist, including technology that extends the human lifespan. She wonders how long she would like to live then realizes the room feels strange because she can’t hear the ocean like she could in Miami.

Adri spends her days watching TV while Lily works outside. They exchange information during meals: Lily is an only child and widow, and Adri is an orphan who grew up in a group home. Adri is annoyed by Lily’s habits, like setting the furnace high and driving a gas-powered car.

Since the Theta is broken, Adri asks Lily, whose driving scares her, for a ride to Wichita. The city is nice with newer buildings, and several federal agencies have moved there since Washington DC became a swamp.

Adri meets her fellow trainees, Alexa, Denver, Saba, D’Angelo, Shyla, and a couple of athletes. Lamont Bell, the director, goes over important information and the roles of the Colonists, which include procreating to expand the population on Mars. In two months, he will meet individually with the trainees to sign their contracts. For now, he shows them a training video. Afterward, Adri embarrasses herself when she tries to talk to the others.

On the way home, Adri drives Lily’s car, and they talk about why Adri wants to go to Mars. Lily claims it is a loving sacrifice, but Adri focuses on her desire to help humanity start over and do things right, criticizing Lily and her generation for degrading Earth. Adri agrees to keep in touch with Lily when she leaves.

Adri looks for the letters again, and she finds an envelope with Catherine Godspeed’s journal and a bunch of letters and postcards behind some books. She takes them to her room and reads through them until dawn.

The narrative switches to the contents of Catherine Godspeed’s journal, written in 1934. A dust storm hits, covering everything in dust. Catherine has found a postcard written to her mother, Beth, from a woman named Lenore, whom Beth has never mentioned. Catherine knows Beth won’t tell her about Lenore if she asks; their family has many secrets.

During church, Catherine keeps her little sister, Beezie, from misbehaving, and she imagines kissing their sleeping farmhand, Ellis, awake. Afterward, several people approach Ellis, who is charming. He, Catherine, Beth, and Beezie stop at the store on their way home. Beth talks to the owner, Jack, about the latest storm while Ellis flirts with Lyla, Jack’s daughter. Catherine and Ellis notice a poster about the coming Ragbag Fair, and Catherine is drawn to an advertisement for eternal life at the Electric, which is one of the exhibits.

Beth took on Ellis, who was orphaned, shortly after her husband died, when Catherine was seven. Catherine had wanted Beth to bring home a girl, but when they arrived at the event, Ellis was the only child available. Catherine told him they wanted a girl, and his appeasing reaction made her fall in love with him.

Catherine asks Beth about Lenore, who tells her Lenore was a friend from England, but they had drifted apart. Later that night, Catherine hears Beth crying in the pantry.

Catherine watches Galapagos and Sheepie, the family dog. Despite the family’s hardships, Beth prioritizes Galapagos’ care. The Chiltons, their neighbors, recently lost their dog in a dust storm. Mrs. Chilton does not want to leave the area, but her husband does. Catherine wants to leave to get away from the dust storms, but she doesn’t want to part from her mother or Beezie, who is sick from the dust.

Ellis helps Catherine clean the chicken coop. He says he likes the work, but Catherine thinks he is lying because his nostrils flare. Ellis jokes about Catherine’s intentions with him then changes the subject, talking about the postcard and how there might be more letters. Catherine says she wants 10 dollars but won’t say why. She tries to suppress her feelings for Ellis but is unable to.

Catherine goes to the Electric for the first time on a Sunday after three families are missing from Church. She can’t sleep that night, so she sneaks out and visits the Ragbag Fair. At midnight, a man gives a speech about overcoming death through electricity. He shows the crowd a globe filled with electric light, saying that for 10 dollars the people can touch the electricity and gain health and eternal life. Catherine wants to touch it but does not have the money.

Later in the day, Catherine writes about Beezie, who plays next to her covered in dust and is suffering a chronic cough from the mud in her lungs. Lyla comes to see Ellis, and Beezie thinks Lyla is trying to steal Ellis from Catherine.

There have been dust storms all week, and Sheepie wants to stay outside to herd Galapagos. Catherine goes to check on the Chiltons and finds they have deserted their house. When she returns home, she goes to Ellis’s bunkhouse and disturbs a private conversation between him and Lyla. Going inside, Catherine tells Beth about the Chiltons and suggests they leave to help Beezie, but Beth does not respond.

Catherine has been sneaking out and walking to the Ragbag fair every night. Ellis comes to Catherine and says that he has money for her.

Ellis gives Catherine 10 dollars while she is washing laundry but won’t tell her where he got it. Ellis asks where Catherine has been going at night, wondering if she has been meeting a boy. Catherine tells Ellis to meet her at 11 that night, and she will show him where she has been going.

Catherine wakes Ellis at 11 at night, so he can come with her to the fair. While Ellis gets dressed, it starts to rain, They run outside into the rain but go back inside because of the electricity in the air. Ellis shakes, admitting he is nervous. He touches Catherine’s arms, kisses her, then apologizes. They go back outside into the rain with Beth and Beezie, and Catherine wonders what the kiss means. They do not go to the fair.

The next day, Catherine hears a scream and rushes outside to discover that Sheepie has died, and Beth has stabbed Sheepie’s body to confirm that Sheepie died from dust accumulating in her lungs. Mud comes out of the wound, and Beezie runs to Galapagos, yelling and throwing rocks at the tortoise.

Beezie wears all black and won’t come out of her room for days after Sheepie’s death. Catherine goes to the barn to sit alone, and Ellis follows her. Catherine asks if Beezie’s lungs look like Sheepie’s, and he lies, telling her no. Then, Ellis says he made a mistake by kissing Catherine, and Catherine agrees, though she is lying. Ellis admits he loves Catherine and believes she doesn’t love him. She doesn’t say anything to contradict him, but she touches his chest and shoulders and then kisses him.

Catherine and Ellis talk between kissing. Ellis had thought Catherine did not have feelings for him because she hid them so well. Beth has been sleeping in the living room, so Catherine hasn’t been able to sneak out to the Ragbag fair at night.

Catherine gives Ellis a pebble, and he hides it in a box under the floorboard. She feels bad because his box of treasures is almost empty. She has not told him about going to the Electric.

Beth sleeps in her bedroom, and Catherine takes Beezie to the Ragbag fair in the middle of the night. They listen to Professor Spero talk about the electricity, and then Catherine takes Beezie into the tent. She pays and watches as Professor Spero helps Beezie touch the electric globe.

When they exit the tent, Beezie says she feels better, then they see Ellis standing under a clock, watching them. While walking home, Ellis is upset that Catherine has frivolously spent the money he gave her. It took him a year to save up that much. Catherine explains that she will pay him back and that the cure will work. He is angry that Catherine has dragged Beezie into the situation, and Catherine reminds him that, initially, the money wasn’t supposed to be for Beezie. Lyla had asked Ellis to save the money to buy a wedding ring. The day Catherine walked in on Ellis and Lyla talking was the day that they had ended their courtship. Ellis likes Lyla but he doesn’t love her like he does Catherine. Catherine asks if Ellis would leave Canaan with her, and he says no; he also thinks Catherine isn’t brave enough to leave.

Catherine’s family gets a letter from their neighbors, the Chiltons that says they are in San Francisco and that their youngest, Lizzie, has died from the dust in her lungs.

Beezie’s health declines, and the doctor recommends they leave the area.

Beezie still hopes that she will get better from the experience at the Electric, but her cough is getting worse.

The weather seems nice, and Beth goes for a walk, stopping to pet Galapagos on her way. Catherine notices a large flock of birds and realizes a dust storm is rapidly heading for them. She yells to Beth, but Beth is too far away and facing the other direction. Then, Catherine runs for Beezie, taking her into Ellis’s bunkhouse with Ellis’s help. They cover themselves, and the storm is so bad that it seems like the world is ending.

The dust storm is short-lived. When it ends, they go outside, finding the fences missing, the truck and porch buried under dust, and Beth struggling to walk back to the house.

Beth brings a bundle of letters from Lenore Allstock to Catherine’s room. Beth apologizes, saying that the gift will be painful and that she should have given it to Catherine sooner. After reading the bundle, Catherine goes to the bunkhouse, kisses Ellis awake, and asks him to leave with her. Ellis says no, that to leave would be a mistake. She stays until he falls asleep, then goes back to her room.