Chapters 13-15 Summary

The Meduse bring Binti food and water. Okwu asks her why she looks different from the other humans it has seen. It also calls Binti’s hair “okuoko”—the word the Meduse use for their tentacles. Binti explains that there are different kinds of humans and that “[her] people don’t normally leave [her] planet.” The way Okwu talks reminds Binti of her younger brother, Bena. Bena hates the Khoush and calls them evil, even though he has never “traveled to a Khoush country or known a Khoush.”

Okwu reveals that the Meduse are planning to retrieve the venomous stinger that the university stole from the chief, the Meduse’s leader. Binti tells Okwu their mission is suicidal, but Okwu says it would be an honorable death. Desperate to avoid bloodshed, Binti tells Okwu she can help the chief get its stinger back peacefully and begs Okwu to take her to the chief. Binti explains that as a harmonizer she has the ability to negotiate for the chief’s stinger. The Meduse decide Binti must put down her edan to prove her trustworthiness. Binti wrenches her hands away from the edan and blacks out.

Chapters 13-15 Analysis

Despite their mutual enmity, Binti and Okwu draw closer together as a seed of empathy begins to grow in each character. Past conflict between humans and the Meduse has caused Okwu to develop an oversimplified idea of humanity and helped perpetuate the violence between the two species.

Still, Binti doesn’t find it easy to forgive the Meduse for the heinous crime they committed. Critic Mahvesh Murad makes a link between Binti’s struggle for empathy for the Meduse and her earlier experience with her group leader. Murad points out that although Binti begins to understand the Meduse’s motivation, like the familiarity of the group leader’s racism, it is also true that “just because something isn’t surprising doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with.”

Okorafor draws a parallel between Okwu and Binti’s brother to illustrate the theme of racial bias and intolerance. The conflict between the Meduse and the Khoush mirrors the conflict between Binti’s people and the Khoush. Both conflicts stem from a self-perpetuating cycle of hatred whose source has been forgotten. It is easy for Binti to see the parallel between the Meduse and the Khoush; however, real empathy requires her to draw the connection between the Meduse and her own people, because real empathy requires the sacrifice of one’s personal biases.