Chapter 22, Gray Smoke Summary

The Dreamreader and the Colonel discuss the deaths of so many unicorns. The Colonel explains that the beasts' salvation comes through suffering; the beasts reincarnate. Later the Dreamreader reads old dreams in the library even though his eyes are painful. The Librarian offers to have sexual intercourse with the Dreamreader but he declines. They discuss singing but she does not know what music is; he can't remember any songs. They go to a large room full of old discarded luggage and fruitlessly search for a musical instrument. The Narrator finds the suitcases and their contents decidedly anonymous.

Chapter 22, Gray Smoke Analysis

The gray smoke of the chapter title refers to the Gatekeeper's practice of burning the corpses of the unicorns; their bodies rise in columns of grey smoke throughout the winter. The room full of old suitcases appears to...