CoL49 Chapter 4

[J K Van Nort]

Summary:

Chapter 4 begins with Oepdipa feeling that revelations pile on each other, each connecting more with the Tristero. She rereads Pierce's testament,trying to unify his life's work into meaning. She attends a Yoyodyne stockholders meeting in a pink quonset building, sitting among old men who all look alike. Black men set up a buffet lunch. The order of business is followed by hymn singing for an hour, two songs are given: the first uses Cornell's alma mater song, and the second uses Aura Lee (the melody for Elvis' "Love Me Tender"). The lyrics of the first proclaim their undying loyalty to Yoyodyne, while the second complains about competitors getting all the best government contracts. The songs are led by the CEO, "Bloody" Chiclitz. In military fashion they are placed into platoons and marched on a tour of the facility. Oedipa gets separated and finds Stanley Koteks, a disgruntled employee who is drawing a muted horn of the Tristero. Intrigued, Oedipa, feigning coquettish ignorance, tries to glean information about Tristero and W.A.S.T.E. He complains about patent clauses in his contract and then describes an invention by John Nefastis, a machine which uses 'sensitives' to run the machine with telepathy, violating the 2nd law of thermodynamics. She suggests that she might be a sensitive and asks to get in touch with Nefastis but mispronounces W.A.S.T.E as a word rather than an acronym so Koteks is spooked and proceeds to ignore her. 

Back at the Scope, Fallopian acknowledges that it may be an alternative underground network. He and Metzger argue over whether opposing the patent waiver clause made Fallopian a Marxist. Oedipa thinks about how mail is delivered and a bronze historical marker that described a battle between Wells Fargo riders and mysterious, black-clad masked marauders who massacred them. The only identification being a cross or a 'T'. She goes to Zapf's bookstore where Zapf helps her find a copy of the "Jacobean Revenge Plays" paperback, hinting that there have been others showing interest in the book.

Questions:

Why does Oedipa connect understanding Tristero to finding Meaning in Pierce's testament? 
Why does the Yoyodyne stockholder meeting and location have so much mundane military terminology? (quonset, gunboats, platoons, etc.)
Does Stanley Koteks name have any more significance or is it just another of Pynchon's more sophomoric names?
How does the Metzger/Fallopian argument about patent waivers impact the story?

Very rushed question development, so if you have others, please share.

In solidarity,
James

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