Summary

In “The City,” the Old Man takes the Strange Bird, tied up in a bag, into the city to be sold. Along the journey, the battered Strange Bird is pulled out of the sack and dangled by her legs. The Strange Bird is reminded of a swing set. She realizes this memory is from a source that was put into her at the lab. The city smells of rust, tainted water, and rotted flesh. The Strange Bird’s compass is swinging wildly. Mord, a giant flying bear, appears above. Mord, massive yet distant, is Company made and bought. The Old Man explains, “he is also ordinary, no less ordinary than that abandoned sofa over there” (46). From a trap, a little man with a bat face grabs the Old Man and pulls him into the underground tunnel. The Old Man grabs...