The narrative, such as it is, is interrupted by the "copy of a letter inserted into the manuscript at the date of this writing." Gris is writing to the Chief Judiciary, thanking him for reading this far and assuring him that he's getting plenty of food and water. Gris also writes that yes, he knows there's a warrant for Jettero Heller's arrest, but no, he doesn't know where he is. If he did, Gris assures his audience, he'd try to kill Heller himself.
I'm not quite certain why this letter is necessary - we already know this whole story is a flashback of sorts and that Gris is antagonistic towards Heller, nor is there a timeskip or anything between Part Three and Four for the letter to help smooth over. I don't remember any similar letters later in this book. It just kind of appears, tells us things we already know, and is gone. Like a redundantly-informative speed bump.
Anyway. After his harrowing meeting with his boss, Gris rushes down to the Countess Krak's training rooms and encounters the unfamiliar smell of soap and military-grade cleaning agents. Krak's entire work force - who have all taken baths! - are scrubbing away centuries' worth of filth, replacing lightbulbs, and bringing in new furniture. The Countess herself shows signs of shampooing as she orders a minion to forgo the traditional muting of her training subjects - she refuses to work with people who've had their tongues cut out, and will instead preserve Spiteos security through hypnotic suggestion.
More than that, though, she's terrifying Gris and her underlings by how she's smiling and humming as she helps tidy up the place. When she sees the new arrival, she dismisses her work crew, praising them for their efforts and letting them go home early, causing them to flee the room in terror. There's an almost reassuring moment when Krak stalks towards Gris, training hook in head and eyes a-blazing, but all she does is yank him upright and towel off where he'd been sitting, explaining that he was in Heller's chair.
This reminds the Countess that Gris is to be Heller's handler during Mission Earth, and she abruptly declares that she needs to do a quick "accent check." So he's stuck in one of the training chairs with the hypno-helmets, and when Gris comes to it's half an hour later. She has Gris read some Voltarian aphorisms about obedience and fear in authentic Virginian and New England accents, but then the lesson is interrupted when a guard walks in with a package for "a dazzling star," from "Jet." It's a trio of skin-tight, fashionable dresses that the Countess goes ga-ga over, and she clutches Heller's note to her breast as she dances around the room. When Gris points out that Heller's scheduled training session is overdue, she rushes out of the room to bathe and change clothes, demanding twenty minutes to prepare.
This is all supposed to be a dramatic reversal and change in character, but here's the problem - a Heel Face Turn, or the defection of a bad guy to the side of good, is only as meaningful as the villain's previous career allows. Darth Vader going good at the end of Return of the Jedi? Very dramatic, very awesome moment, because we'd seen him spend two and a half films being an unstoppable, inhuman embodiment of the Dark Side. A spoileriffic reveal about a certain Harry Potter character in Deathly Hallows? Even more powerful, something that turned peoples' perceptions about the character on their head and made them view the entire series in a new light.
Countess Krak, in contrast, has appeared in all of two chapters before going gooey at the sight of Heller. We've had exactly one scene of quasi-evilness as she whipped the bejesus out of some rude mechanicals, and one or two descriptions of her criminal personal history. And now, just by meeting Jettero Heller, she's discovered personal hygiene and the power of positive reinforcement over corporeal punishment.
It's not character development so much as it is a character being suddenly and inexplicably rewritten, all to ensure that Heller will have a suitable love interest, as well as reinforce his status as a purifying agent in the dark, sinful world of the Apparatus.
Oh yes - there was a fairly major plot point in this chapter, something that will lead to death and carnage later. See if you can spot it.
Back to Part Three, Chapter Eight
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