The City & the City

by

China Miéville

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The City & the City: Chapter 26 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Borlú begs to be allowed to contact Corwi and Dhatt, but Ashil will not let him. Borlú then says that they need to focus on Yorjavic and figure out if he has an alibi for all the evenings when Mahalia locked up at Bol Ye’an. Borlú again asks to speak to Corwi and Dhatt, but Ashil sternly reminds him that he is in Breach, and thus doesn’t “get to demand things.” The next morning, Ashil returns to Borlú’s room and hands him coffee and a pill. After discussing Borlú’s hypothesis about Yorjavic, Ashil leaves and returns with the information that Yorjavic was under policzai surveillance most of the nights when Mahalia locked up the site.
Ashil’s insistence that Borlú doesn’t “get to demand things” because he is in Breach actually contradicts much of how Borlú has been treated thus far. For example, just moments ago, when Borlú wanted to get online, he was immediately escorted to the computer room. This seeming inconsistency is explained by the fact that Borlú is allowed to do anything as long as it advances his “trial”—something he can manipulate to solve the case. 
Themes
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Borlú asks about Syedr, and Ashil says he was also accounted for, attending events with the Chamber of Commerce. Stunned, Borlú suddenly realizes that their focus has been all wrong. He points out that it’s a strange coincidence that these trade events would be happening on the exact nights Mahalia locked up the site. Borlú becomes increasingly frustrated with having to tell Ashil how to investigate the case and demands to be let out so he can do his job. However, Ashil reminds him, “You’re a breacher […] It's you we’re investigating.” Borlú asks who else was at the trade events, looking through a list of companies. One company in particular stands out: Sear and Core. The CEO was in attendance at the trade events every night Mahalia had the keys to Bol Ye’an.
This is the point at which everything begins to come together, revealing some secrets and surprises along the way. Most significantly, the villain is not revealed to be political dissidents or a magical, evil force (Orciny), but rather a company, Sear and Core. Indeed, the very name “Sear and Core” evokes a malicious, violent, and extractive mode of being.
Themes
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Borlú notes that there are rumors that the artefacts at Bol Ye’an have “special properties.” Sear and Core wanted them, and persuaded Mahalia to hand them over by pretending to be Orciny. Confused, Ashil asks why anyone would “put money into superstitious nonsense.” But Borlú points out that it won’t have cost too much, and would be a sound investment just in case the artefacts did turn out to have special powers. They discuss the plausibility of Borlú’s new hypothesis, and Ashil agrees to investigate. However, he admits his powers are limited: as foreigners, Sear and Core do not have the same natural terror of Breach as citizens of Ul Qoma and Besźel.
Depending on the reader’s perspective, the conclusion of the novel may be something of an anticlimax. While the gradually building suspense might have led readers to expect a twisted, subversive, and surprising motivation behind the central crime, the truth is rather mundane and depressing. Sear and Core wanted the artefacts simply due to corporate greed. 
Themes
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It is clear that in order to successfully intimidate Sear and Core, Breach will have to show up in huge numbers. However, assembling people is not easy; Breach are spread all around the city, and many are resistant to the idea of congregating for this single mission. Then, Ashil gets a phone call that clearly rocks him in some way. He tells Borlú that two buses have collided and breached. Both buses were taking refugees to camps, and now the refugees are wandering around the city, injured, confused, and “breaching everywhere.” Citizens will be reluctant to help them in case doing so means breaching. Ashil says that the cities have been placed on “complete lockdown,” and all of Breach will be attending to the incident until it is resolved. 
Just as all the information to solve the crime is finally available, an event occurs that prevents Breach from actually taking action on it. While Breach usually attends to minor, individual breaches, the bus collision is exactly the kind of event that Breach wants to stop from ever happening. An individual case of breach, even if not punished, will have no real effect on the cities. However, an incident like this bus crash threatens to unravel everything.
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Quotes
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Borlú is surprised by the severity of this reaction, but Ashil then explains that the bus crash was intentional, Besź and Ul Qoman unifications planned it together. This is the unificationist “insurrection,” a dramatic attempt to fuse the cities. Borlú stresses that it can’t be a coincidence that this has happened now. He reminds Ashil that the unificationists are a little pathetic; organizing something like this is clearly beyond their capacity. He asks if planes are grounded, including private jets. Ashil says that they are, but it’s possible private planes could get away. Borlú says they have to go to the Sear and Core building immediately—the bus crash is clearly a decoy.
One recurring motif in the book is decoys and other ways in which people use others toward their own ends. This happened when the murderer stole Khurusch’s car, for example, or right now, when Borlú is manipulating his Breach “trial” in order to solve his own case. In a politically fraught world in which everyone has their own particular agendas, people are constantly using one another for their own ends.
Themes
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Seeing vs. Unseeing Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Illicit Knowledge Theme Icon