The City & the City

by

China Miéville

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The City & the City makes teaching easy.

The City & the City: Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Borlú is in total darkness, but can hear sounds. Then he wakes up, and initially feels as if no time has passed between being tackled by Breach after shooting the man and waking up inside a grey, very plain room. Borlú is sitting on a bed. There is also a window, a desk, and two chairs. He is wearing clean, plain clothes. He is told to “sit.” He turns to face three figures, two men and one woman, all his age or older. Borlú introduces himself with his full name, and in response the people identify themselves only as “Breach.” One of the men speaks to Borlú in Besź with an undetectable, “flat” accent. He says that Borlú committed an extreme, violent breach, killing a man by shooting from Ul Qoma into Besźel.
Finally, this passage reveals what happens when people commit breach (the crime) and are seized by Breach (the authority). In some ways, the truth is a little anticlimactic: Borlú appears to be in some kind of prison crossed with an office. Everything about the surroundings is perfectly, eerily flat and neutral. Breach can be the ultimate arbiter of violations between Besźel and Ul Qoma because it is so profoundly neutral.
Themes
Borders and Doubles Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
The man continues that now Borlú is in “the Breach.” He says that man Borlú shot was named Yorjavic, and asks if he remembers him. The man says that they will decide how long Borlú remains in the Breach, and if he will ever return to the outside world at all. Borlú suddenly manages to remember that he saw Yorjavic at the house of the True Citizens; he thinks it was Yorjavic who called Gosz. The man explains that Yorjavic is a former soldier. Suddenly, Borlú frantically asks after Dhatt and Yolanda; the man replies that Dhatt has lost the functionality of his right arm but is otherwise fine, and Yolanda is dead. Borlú tries to point out that he was just trying to stop Yolanda’s killer, but the man replies it doesn’t matter; Yorjavic didn’t breach, and Borlú did.  
Although it is not an overtly brutal or sadistic place of punishment, there is still something distinctly nightmarish about the Breach. This nightmarishness emerges through Borlú’s inability to reason with the people who call themselves Breach. Indeed, the fact that these people are totally without individual identities is similarly horrifying and surreal. The effect is that Borlú seems stuck in some kind of void or maze. 
Themes
Borders and Doubles Theme Icon
Seeing vs. Unseeing Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Quotes
Borlú is brought food. After eating, he tries to pry open the door to his room, but cannot. At a certain point, Breach come back and add that Yorjavic did breach after having been shot—“Victims of breach always breach.” This is how they have information about him. They remind Borlú that his fate is up to them, and that he can think of this as his “trial.” They encourage him to explain what exactly he did and why, which will then allow them to make a decision. They ask that he tell them about Yolanda, Mahalia, and Orciny, which they refer to as a “fool’s conspiracy” that has returned after a long time. 
Again, Breach might not be brutal, but the opaque blankness of their operation is extremely sinister. The fact that one of them tells Borlú to consider this his “trial” seems almost like a cruel joke—a reassertion that Breach have total, unimpeachable power, and are answerable to no one. 
Themes
Borders and Doubles Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Borlú tells them everything, but they continue to interrogate him. He tries to run at them, but they knock him out. When he comes to, one of the men explains, “You’re beyond law now; this is where decision lives, and we are it.” Borlú says that Yolanda thought that Breach were Orciny, but Breach reply that Orciny doesn’t exist. Breach observe that Borlú is afraid of whatever it is he’s been trying to find. Two of the figures bring in a projector, where they play footage of Bowden being interrogated by the militsya. Bowden insists that Orciny doesn’t exist.
The strange way in which Breach speaks here helps elucidate their unique, sinister approach to justice. Using the terms “law” and “decision” without definite articles makes them seem almost like places. Indeed, as these words indicate, the Breach is a manifestation of “decision.” It is not a country, institution, or organization—just pure power and control over people’s fates.
Themes
Borders and Doubles Theme Icon
Seeing vs. Unseeing Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Illicit Knowledge Theme Icon
Get the entire The City & the City LitChart as a printable PDF.
The City & the City PDF
The footage then switches to Aikam, who sits silently crying, then to Dhatt, who angrily protests that he doesn’t know what any of this is about. He claims that “Orciny’s a pile of shit.” Breach turn off the footage and ask Borlú about Orciny. Borlú reflects that the Breach is essentially “nothing,” just a “void full of angry police.” When Breach ask about Orciny, Borlú attempts to bargain with them, indicating that he’ll help them if they give him something in return. They ask again if Borlú thinks Orciny killed Mahalia and Yolanda, and Borlú points out that Yolanda believed that Mahalia had discovered some kind of truth. He suggests that they take a look at Mahalia’s notebooks.
The description of Borlú’s interrogation by Breach leaves it ambiguous whether Breach want to know more about Orciny because they actually need the information, or because they are deciding how to sentence Borlú. They have claimed very confidently that Orciny doesn’t exist, yet their style of questioning suggests a desire to know more about the conspiracy.
Themes
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Illicit Knowledge Theme Icon
Quotes