Bewilderment

Theo and Robin pilot an inflatable boat and watch the wildlife in the water and on the riverbanks. As they float on the water, Robin asks about the day that Theo and Alyssa took part in Currier’s experiment. He remembers their behavior that day, as though they “both had a big secret” (108). Robin seems to remember more about the day than should be possible; he even asks a question about his mother’s tattoo. Though Theo is certain that Robin never knew about Alyssa’s tattoo, he seems to have “Aly’s ghost planted right into his brain” (108).

Theo describes to Robin the imaginary planet of Tedia, which has given rise to life many times. Each time, however, a terrible event kills all life on the planet. Whenever intelligent life comes into being on the planet, the society learns about the constant apocalypses of the past and tears itself apart.

Contaminated water, disease, and heat waves affect millions of people. Crops fail, and bands of self-armed militias patrol the streets of American cities, motivated by outlandish conspiracy theories. The President declares another national emergency and mobilizes the National Guard to deal with the “threat” of illegal immigration. Robin continues to change through his interactions with Alyssa’s brain scan, and Theo doesn’t know how to react. One night, Robin asks to camp out in the backyard to listen to the sounds of nature. While Robin is outside, Theo sneaks a look inside his son’s notebooks. Rather than private confessions or fears, the notebooks contain descriptions, questions, and speculations about nature. Theo feels ashamed for spying on his son’s private writings.

Robin invites Theo on an adventurous walk around their neighborhood. Theo is surprised when Robin chats to passersby. He excitedly tells his father about birdcalls; his knowledge of the different birds’ songs eerily echoes Alyssa’s expertise, and Theo admits to himself that Robin’s behavior is “spooking” (112) him. Robin seems so different from the boy he was just a few months earlier. Finally, Theo asks Robin whether, during the training, he feels like his mother is with him. Robin doesn’t have a cohesive answer but references Currier’s suggestion that his training allows him to feel whatever his mother was feeling during the experiment. Theo remembers that Alyssa’s brain scan was of her feeling of ecstasy.

While still walking around the neighborhood, Robin suggests that he and Theo watch a group of local boys who are trying to vandalize a stop sign. Theo is surprised by his son’s confidence and willingness to socialize. Robin’s sincerity disarms the sneering boys; he offers to show them an owl that lives nearby, and they follow him. The giant owl amazes the boys, as it flies away while they watch. Theo and Robin return home.

In mid-August, Robin announces to Theo that he’s “done with school” (116). He wants to try homeschooling instead and thinks that he can learn by himself. Robin uses Alyssa’s worn-out field guide to the birds of the US as an example of his ability to self-teach, which shocks Theo. Robin argues that school is meant to prepare him for the world of 10 years from now, but no one knows what that world will look like. Theo can’t think of any counterarguments. He agrees with Robin’s request.

Theo files the paperwork to homeschool Robin. He then struggles to find the right balance between work and teaching Robin. Stryker dissolves their partnership after too many missed deadlines, and Theo publishes nothing for an entire year. However, the pace at which Robin learns astonishes Theo.

Robin tells Theo about an idea. He suggests that Currier scan the brain of an animal and use the results to teach people to have empathy for nature.

When Robin smashes a glass bowl and cuts his heel, Theo compliments him on his reaction. He’s impressed that Robin not only keeps calm but also cleans up and apologizes.

When Theo takes Robin for his last session of the summer, everyone in Currier’s lab is “in awe of him” (121). They praise his attitude and his contagious enthusiasm for life. By now, Robin has become incredibly skilled at making the machine do whatever he wants. Watching Robin in action reminds Theo of a memory of his son and his wife completing a jigsaw puzzle together. Currier hesitantly asks Theo for a favor: He wants to use Robin’s extraordinary success as a proof of concept to secure funding for his research. Theo asks for some time to think. He mentions his desire to try the experiment, though Currier politely declines due to the lack of funding. When Theo mentions how much Robin is coming to resemble his mother, he begins to suspect that Currier knew Alyssa better than Theo ever realized.

Theo has created his index of imaginary planets by imagining the Earth as though it were an alien world. Now, astronomers around the world are gathering information from the universe and comparing them to all the planets in Theo’s index, which they refer to as the Byrne Alien Field Guide. Theo is desperate to know that life exists somewhere in the universe, though his research can never really prove this. He joins an online meeting of likeminded scientists to argue to the government that funding for the search for extraterrestrial life should continue. They worry that the President is threatening to cut funding to appeal to his xenophobic, isolationist voters. Theo turns away from the meeting for a moment, overcome by memories of Alyssa. He wants to ask her so many questions, including whether he’s Robin’s real father. Robin interrupts his reflections by announcing his shock that “half of Americans think we’ve already been visited by beings from other worlds” (126). Someone in the meeting jokes that Robin should lobby for them in Washington.

One evening, Robin sits outside and stares at a tree. Theo joins him and mentions Currier’s request to use videos of Robin’s sessions to secure funding. Robin thinks about the question and gives his consent, as the video of his sessions “probably belongs to everybody” (128). Theo wonders whether Currier’s work might help make the world more empathetic.

Theo informs Currier of Robin’s consent. Afterward, he reflects on the way in which modern society turns everything into a commodity. By October, Theo notices news articles referencing Currier’s experiments. For the first time, Theo sees video clips that show Robin before and after a year’s worth of sessions with Currier. The difference shocks him, as Robin is “barely the same species” (130) let alone the same person.

Robin requests that Theo remove the child restrictions on his tablet computer to complete a homework assignment. However, Robin’s research into the declining state of the environment only makes him depressed. Theo struggles to explain why people do nothing about ecological disasters. Robin becomes optimistic, suggesting that the Earth will figure it out if people can’t.

Theo describes the imaginary planet of Mios, whose inhabitants learn about interstellar travel and set out on a billion years of exploration. Each time they find a new planet, their ships and their crew replicate themselves and set off again. Eventually, their tiny ships reach Earth. Theo imagines how the aliens might react, but Robin interjects. He suggests that they would tell all the other ships from Mios to stop replicating and exploring because the flowers and plants on Earth are “going somewhere, and the ships weren’t” (134).

Robin studies on his own while Theo works on campus. Theo’s graduate students enjoy tutoring Robin whenever they can, especially because his abstract way of thinking about nature makes them see the universe in a new light. One day, as Theo and Robin stand beside the lake, a woman approaches them. She introduces herself as Dee Ramey, a producer for an internet television channel. Theo is angry that she has tracked down the “anonymous” subject of Currier’s research. Robin begins to realize that the producers of the internet show he watches now want to make a short video about him.

Robin is tempted by Ramey’s video proposal, but Theo doesn’t want to turn his son into a “public spectacle” (137). When he refuses to grant Dee Ramey permission, she reveals that her company plans to make the video with or without Robin’s involvement. Theo eventually relents—but only if he can have some control over the final video.

Theo watches a rough cut of the video, in which Robin’s name is instead Jay. Ramey interviews Robin and, when she asks whether the sessions feel as though he’s with his mother, he reaches out for a tree branch. He tells Ramey that his mother is “here right now” (138).

Theo continues to watch the interview between Ramey and Robin. In the clip, Robin explains that he’s no longer hurt or angry with the world. Theo watches Robin teach Ramey lessons that Alyssa once taught Theo but that he doesn’t remember ever teaching Robin.