Controlling Irony
The entire narrative is dependent upon an age-old irony. As far back as the third season of The Simpsons, the irony of the cop just two days away from retirement being killed on his last case was ripe for satire. Alas, all these many years later, that very same sort of ironic situation remains ripe for dramatic conflict: the storyline of this novel is dependent upon a time-traveler on what he has decided will be his very last mission finally and for the first time breaks the foundational rule of this cosmic ability.
Chronmen Cons
The protagonist who has decided to break the unbreakable rule his self-chosen last time on the job is part of a group collectively called Chronmen. Chronmen is the title given to those who are charged with traveling through time. Are these people well-trained, highly disciplined scientists fully equipped with the theoretical understanding of messing around with the time space-time continuum? Of course, not: they are convicted criminals stolen for the singular mission of traveling through time: theft.
Ironic Thoughts
Thoughts expressed by characters—either silently to themselves or spoken out loud to themselves—often indulges irony as the central mode of that expression. For instance, Elise Kim is portrayed throughout as an idealistic adventurer unafraid of taking chances and eager to explore the world around her. Thus, is it with a heavy dose of irony that at one point she muses about herself:
“I should have picked gymnastics or gotten a puppy as a hobby instead."
Grace Priestly’s Introduction
A major character is introduced right at the beginning, in the opening pages of Chapter One. The first description of her is noted as one who is more often than not bored by watching most human begins because of their low mental acuity. It is quickly determined that Grace is deserving of equal amounts of fear and respect by all the men around her. Although exhibiting a cold indifference to what seems to be a major operations failure aboard a spaceship, Grace is also amused by the reactions of these men while at the same concerned she somehow let a complete imbecile slip past her personal detection system. She also is fondling a “human pet” who, it is made clear, basically exists for the purpose of sex. Everything points to Grace Priestly being a dynamic young woman equipped with a brain as big as her face is beautiful. And then the ironic wrecking ball is unleashed at full swing:
“She moved well for a ninety-three-year-old.”
Technological Progress
Another fundamental foundational irony of the story is why criminals instead of scientists are the Chronmen chosen to travel through time. The story takes place in a dystopian distant future in which technological innovation has failed to provide ways to maintain necessary resources to keep society going. Ironically, this requires going back in time and pilfering from less advanced stages of society for the raw materials necessary for future society to survive.
