War (“Yellow Card Man”)
The yellow card man’s existing scenario is credited to war. Paolo Bacigalupi writes, “Yellow card people as far as the eye can see: an entire race of people, fled to the great Thai Kingdom from Malaya where they were suddenly unwelcome.” As a result of the war in Malaya, the people in Thai Kingdom took flight so that they could rescue their lives. The war played a part in annihilation of lives and properties that encompassed the Yellow Card Man’s prosperous business in Malaya. Due to the war, the refugees are exposed to inhumane treatment in the host country.
Genetic engineering (“Yellow Card Man”)
Genetic engineering can be hazardous as it can result in “invasiveSpecies/”. The genetic engineering is spearheaded by “ilk of AgriGen andPurCal with their monopolies on U-Tex rice and Total NutrientWheat; the blood-brothers of the bio-engineers who engineered devil cats from storybook inspiration and set them loose in the world to breed and breed and breed.” The genetic engineering was fronted by cartels that were engrossed in taking full advantage of profits not considering the long term repercussions of the invasive species. The ubiquitous presence of the ‘devil cats’ in Bangkok makes it evident that stamping out the invasive species, which the devil cats characterize, is insurmountable.
Exploitation, Opportunism, and Materialism (“The Fluted Girl”)
Belari is an opportunist who takes advantage of Nia and Lidia’s parents by taking their twin daughters away and converting them into brittle objects for amusing her guests. Paolo Bacigalupi writes, “Lidia's parents had come for patronage, but Belari's evaluating eye had not fallen on their artistry. Instead, she selected the biological accident of their twin daughters: delicate and blond with cornflower eyes that watched the world blinkless as they absorbed the fief's mountain wonders. Their trade flourished now thanks to the donation of their children.” Belari exploited the parents’ craving for success ( which would come through her patronage) to take away their daughters. On the other hand, the parents exhibited a covetous attitude when they swapped their children for material success. For them, their daughters’ well being is not essential as long as their trade would do well. Accordingly, the conduct of the parents and Belari depict the convergence of greed, unscrupulousness and avariciousness.
Objectification of Girls (“The Fluted Girl”)
Belari objectifies Lidia and Nia so that they can take forward her materialistic desires. Paolo Bacigalupi observes, “More treatments had followed: pigment drugs drained color from their skins, leaving them Kabuki pale, ethereal shadows of their former mountain sun-blushed selves, and then the surgeries began.” According to this account, the treatments which Belari subjects the twin girls are so punishing and crippling. The girls are robbed off their childhoods and bodies which means that they cannot play and grow like other normal children. Belari conducts herself like a god based on how she reworks the girls’ natural bodies.
