Still holed up in the danky motel room, Alice and Bella have a brief discussion about how one transforms a person into a Vampire. Way back in this book Edward spoke of Carlisle's history and Bella noted that there was something in his turning that he was leaving out.* I posited that it was sex for two reasons: first because it was funny and I could easily reference a horrible movie that I rented**. The second was that it made sense for Edward to repress the memory and skip over it. What else could be so traumatic, unless it was a shared blood drinking action like Ann Rice used in Interview With A Vampire (the movie, I never read the book)?
Alice explains that her kind are infused with a superfluous weapon--venom. They bite a human and the venom is carried on in the bloodstream, then after a little bit they are transformed into vampires. Apparently this is so traumatic that Edward can't just explain that this is all it takes. I have the feeling that our author wanted a bit more but then couldn't come up with anything that would be original but non-sexual. So this is kind of a let down.
What isn't a let down is what Alice is doing right now. Alice is furtively sketching the room from her vision. This is good, it makes a lot of sense. They need to see the room, and by illustrating it they can move forward to solving the mystery. James is in the room but other than that we only know that it is populated by a gold rim around the walls and there is a wooden table and a television. Without the table it sounds like he is on a private jet or in a limo, either would make sense since Carlisle followed him to Vancouver where he boarded a plane but then there is that table. Bella looks at the drawing and recognizes it as her mother's house.
Alice is on the phone immediately and declares that, "Edward is coming to get you."
Right, my question is to ask how that helps anyone? Alice had the vision yesterday,** so we don't know when it is coming true. Since it involves a Vampire we do know that it is going to be more accurate than otherwise. We have been shown that her visions are pretty damn good too so Edward's presence will only serve to get Bella away from the situation. I suppose that is a good thing but it is only marginally good. None of these people have even considered laying a trap yet. Which is really odd considering that they know exactly what James is after. Just carelessly clue him in and then waylay him on the way there. For being super-predators they really don't think like one at all.
"But my mother...he came here for my mother, Alice." No you idiot, he's after you. Your mother's house is merely a means to an end. However James isn't the sharpest tool in the shed not considering that there could be a trap for him.
Then there's a phone call which Alice hands to Bella mouthing to Bella that it is her mother. Bella begins to calm her mother down, because we must remember that she's emotionally unstable, when a male voice begins talking. It's James and he's right where Alice thought he would be but didn't do anything about it. This ploy of James is a cliche, but well apt for the situation and level of intelligence we are used to reading about, as he gets Bella to answer in one word terse sentences until she's out of ear shot.
Even then, he's aware of the super hearing of the Vampires and continues the charade. Good thing he knows he's called a cell. He's also smart, "Why don't you walk another room now so you're face doesn't ruin everything?"
Good move, score 1 for James. How many movies does this not happen in? The person has to suck up their facial expressions while the cops listening in pretend not to notice and then never act on their observations. Basically every mystery in an episode of CSI involving hostages revolves around the double cross and no one seeing it coming.
James, for all his cunning on the phone, is a complete idiot. His plan, on the Dark Knight Joker Scale of Over-Complication (patent pending), is about a 6. It's needlessly complicated which gives it an original scale of 8, but since it only relies on one other person we can knock it down to a 6. He wants Bella to ditch the super sensitive vampires and go to her mother's house. The very same house that Alice and Jasper have just said they were going to keep an eye on. That's not such of a problem since Bella plans on escaping them at the airport, but James can't know that. What he can know is that there is only one reason they would be in Phoenix to begin with. He's being careful but not careful enough, the phone call is probably too risky. Extended conversation with your intended victim and giving her a location to call him from? No possibility that information could be used against you. Good thing he's up against Bella and the Cullens because there are two possibilities that the Cullens sans Bella are ignoring: that James is either at Bella's mother's house or on his way there. In either case the Cullens' quarry is at a place known to them, or on his way. This is the, and I mean THE, perfect opportunity to get him. After all didn't Carlisle and Edward seek to lure him away for just this purpose? Maybe Alice and Jasper aren't equipped to handle James but they can certainly keep tabs on him.
And Bella is being just as stupid in keeping this quiet. She should just confess what James has told her and the three can wait for Edward and Carlisle and make a plan. While her plan on the DKJSOC is a 0, she just isn't thinking it through. Getting away from a person in an airport, especially post 9/11, is pretty easy. Yet Bella has to outwit the future seeing Pythian of Alice. Alice, who in the meantime is deep in thought on the bed, we know what this means--she's seeing the future.
She breaks from this to reassure Bella that "We'll make sure she's (her mother) fine, Bella, don't worry." Curious that Alice can't see that James already has her, which leads me to believe that Alice is playing Bella right now and already knows what is going on. I hope so because to assume otherwise would mean that Alice's prescience comes and goes for the plot's sake.
__________________________
*I covered it in September 28th's post. http://reading-twilight.blogspot.com/2010/09/mysterious-case-of-dr-carlisle-pg-329.html
**Modern Vampires if you are curious, but don't actually see it.
**Which, by the way, it is getting harder and harder to remember what day it is...my best guess is that it is Thursday.
Alice explains that her kind are infused with a superfluous weapon--venom. They bite a human and the venom is carried on in the bloodstream, then after a little bit they are transformed into vampires. Apparently this is so traumatic that Edward can't just explain that this is all it takes. I have the feeling that our author wanted a bit more but then couldn't come up with anything that would be original but non-sexual. So this is kind of a let down.
What isn't a let down is what Alice is doing right now. Alice is furtively sketching the room from her vision. This is good, it makes a lot of sense. They need to see the room, and by illustrating it they can move forward to solving the mystery. James is in the room but other than that we only know that it is populated by a gold rim around the walls and there is a wooden table and a television. Without the table it sounds like he is on a private jet or in a limo, either would make sense since Carlisle followed him to Vancouver where he boarded a plane but then there is that table. Bella looks at the drawing and recognizes it as her mother's house.
Alice is on the phone immediately and declares that, "Edward is coming to get you."
Right, my question is to ask how that helps anyone? Alice had the vision yesterday,** so we don't know when it is coming true. Since it involves a Vampire we do know that it is going to be more accurate than otherwise. We have been shown that her visions are pretty damn good too so Edward's presence will only serve to get Bella away from the situation. I suppose that is a good thing but it is only marginally good. None of these people have even considered laying a trap yet. Which is really odd considering that they know exactly what James is after. Just carelessly clue him in and then waylay him on the way there. For being super-predators they really don't think like one at all.
"But my mother...he came here for my mother, Alice." No you idiot, he's after you. Your mother's house is merely a means to an end. However James isn't the sharpest tool in the shed not considering that there could be a trap for him.
Then there's a phone call which Alice hands to Bella mouthing to Bella that it is her mother. Bella begins to calm her mother down, because we must remember that she's emotionally unstable, when a male voice begins talking. It's James and he's right where Alice thought he would be but didn't do anything about it. This ploy of James is a cliche, but well apt for the situation and level of intelligence we are used to reading about, as he gets Bella to answer in one word terse sentences until she's out of ear shot.
Even then, he's aware of the super hearing of the Vampires and continues the charade. Good thing he knows he's called a cell. He's also smart, "Why don't you walk another room now so you're face doesn't ruin everything?"
Good move, score 1 for James. How many movies does this not happen in? The person has to suck up their facial expressions while the cops listening in pretend not to notice and then never act on their observations. Basically every mystery in an episode of CSI involving hostages revolves around the double cross and no one seeing it coming.
James, for all his cunning on the phone, is a complete idiot. His plan, on the Dark Knight Joker Scale of Over-Complication (patent pending), is about a 6. It's needlessly complicated which gives it an original scale of 8, but since it only relies on one other person we can knock it down to a 6. He wants Bella to ditch the super sensitive vampires and go to her mother's house. The very same house that Alice and Jasper have just said they were going to keep an eye on. That's not such of a problem since Bella plans on escaping them at the airport, but James can't know that. What he can know is that there is only one reason they would be in Phoenix to begin with. He's being careful but not careful enough, the phone call is probably too risky. Extended conversation with your intended victim and giving her a location to call him from? No possibility that information could be used against you. Good thing he's up against Bella and the Cullens because there are two possibilities that the Cullens sans Bella are ignoring: that James is either at Bella's mother's house or on his way there. In either case the Cullens' quarry is at a place known to them, or on his way. This is the, and I mean THE, perfect opportunity to get him. After all didn't Carlisle and Edward seek to lure him away for just this purpose? Maybe Alice and Jasper aren't equipped to handle James but they can certainly keep tabs on him.
And Bella is being just as stupid in keeping this quiet. She should just confess what James has told her and the three can wait for Edward and Carlisle and make a plan. While her plan on the DKJSOC is a 0, she just isn't thinking it through. Getting away from a person in an airport, especially post 9/11, is pretty easy. Yet Bella has to outwit the future seeing Pythian of Alice. Alice, who in the meantime is deep in thought on the bed, we know what this means--she's seeing the future.
She breaks from this to reassure Bella that "We'll make sure she's (her mother) fine, Bella, don't worry." Curious that Alice can't see that James already has her, which leads me to believe that Alice is playing Bella right now and already knows what is going on. I hope so because to assume otherwise would mean that Alice's prescience comes and goes for the plot's sake.
__________________________
*I covered it in September 28th's post. http://reading-twilight.blogspot.com/2010/09/mysterious-case-of-dr-carlisle-pg-329.html
**Modern Vampires if you are curious, but don't actually see it.
**Which, by the way, it is getting harder and harder to remember what day it is...my best guess is that it is Thursday.
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