VLVL (6) Working for the Man

[jbor]

on 2/10/03 2:40 AM, Terrance wrote:

> Obvious to those of us reading the book. However, I'm not sure we can
> say that Frenesi has a life after Zoyd or that he has a life after her.
> (see Flash/Zoyd at the Picnic) They are connected by a daughter and a
> contract. That contract is an independent contract. And, as Buster
> reminds Zoyd, at any moment it can be deleted from the  government
> computer.  

Yes, p. 8.3-4. And Zoyd's very aware of his own similarly precarious status
as an "independent contractor" working for the State, too: "Man could crush
him with just a short tap dance over the computer keys. ... " (27.14-5)

The connection between the category of "virgins to the act of murder" and
Zoyd is this one:

    ... and so far -- technically -- Zoyd had hung on to his
    virginity. (12.32)

That insertion of "technically", whether by the narrator or as the assertion
is filtered through Zoyd's pov and conscience, throws the claim to
"virginity" into question. It's a technicality, a loophole, a cheat clause.
And we are shown just how meaningless the claim is via the flashback to when
Zoyd's complicity in the snitch culture actually began (pp. 21-5).

Zoyd's certainly a "check bouncer", and he can take some solace from the
fact that he's a "virgin to the act of murder", though not much else. Of
course, Frenesi can't even make that claim.

best


> "We're all in it together, kid."