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Yolanda Rodriguez
Ashil is a Breach avatar who watches over Borlú after he is brought into the Breach. Ashil is not his real name, but just a name he asks Borlú to use to refer to him when they are walking through the cities. Like other Breach avatars, Ashil is strangely devoid of emotion, although he frequently offers philosophical reflections and insights.
Ashil Quotes in The City & the City
The The City & the City quotes below are all either spoken by Ashil or refer to Ashil. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 26 Quotes
I could imagine the panic of bystanders and passersby, let alone those innocent motorists of Besźel and Ul Qoma, having swerved desperately out of the path of the careening vehicles, of necessity in and out of the topolganger city, trying hard to regain control and pull their vehicles back to where they dwelt. Faced then with scores of afraid, injured intruders, without intent to transgress but without choice, without language to ask for help, stumbling out of the ruined buses, weeping children in their arms and bleeding across borders. Approaching people they saw, not attuned to the nuances of nationality—clothes, colours, hair, posture—oscillating back and forth between countries.
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Chapter 27 Quotes
Smuggling’s not my department; take what you want. I’m not a political man—I don’t care if you mess with Ul Qoma. I’m here because you’re a murderer.
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Coda: Chapter 29 Quotes
It’s not just us keeping them apart. It’s everyone in Besźel and everyone in Ul Qoma. Every minute, every day. We’re only the last ditch: it’s everyone in the cities who does most of the work. It works because you don’t blink. That’s why unseeing and unsensing are so vital. No one can admit it doesn’t work.
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Ashil Character Timeline in The City & the City
The timeline below shows where the character Ashil appears in The City & the City. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 24
...and that it is morning. The man he is with asks him to call him Ashil, and says he will address Borlú as Tye. Both these names could be either Besź...
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...to a tram in Besźel. They go to the Ul Qoma University library, and when Ashil shows his Breach accreditation, the security guard leaps to his feet, terrified. They walk in...
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Chapter 25
Back in the Breach headquarters, Ashil brings Borlú photocopies of every page of Mahalia’s copy of Between the City and the...
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The next morning, Ashil comes to get Borlú again, this time bringing him to a meeting with 12 or...
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...them in a specific place for someone in Besźel to pick up and smuggle out. Ashil asks Borlú if he feels watched, and Borlú replies that he doesn’t know. They search...
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When Borlú and Ashil get back to headquarters, Breach are “bickering and voting.” It is announced that the frequency...
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Suddenly, Borlú begins shouting, calling for Ashil, saying he needs to get online. Ashil takes him to the computer room where he...
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Chapter 26
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...
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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...
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...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...
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...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...
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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...
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Chapter 27
...the group is swarmed by Breach avatars moving so quickly they could hardly be seen. Ashil manages to open a parked car that does not belong to him. Judging from the...
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...into the building anyway. A Besź security guard tries to stop them from entering, but Ashil tells him to back down, reminding him that the whole city is currently in Breach....
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...a “liberal sellout” like himself would be hanging around nationalists. Buric replies, “We’re all patriots.” Ashil attempts to arrest Buric, but the suited man intervenes, introducing himself as “Ian Croft, regional...
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...but Buric raises his gun at Borlú. There is the sudden sound of a gunshot; Ashil has shot Buric, who now falls, bleeding from the chest.
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The nationalists, meanwhile, fire at Ashil, and Borlú shouts that they are under arrest. He attends to Ashil, telling the nationalists...
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Coda: Chapter 29
...13 in Besźel, in addition to the refugees who died in the crash. Borlú asks Ashil if anyone from Breach has ever “broken ranks,” and Ashil says they have, but doing...
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Borlú asks about Bowden’s fate, but Ashil only gives a vague answer. Borlú points out that despite all the violations Bowden did...
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...He wants to be able to say goodbye to people from the outside world, but Ashil says it’s not possible. Ashil explains that Breach were happy when Borlú breached, because they...
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