The Sixth Faction, Part 1: "Stiff" (CH 1-8)

Note:  This post includes spoilers only for the first part of The Sixth Faction:  "Stiff" or Chapters 1-8.  Please do no spoil any later part of the book in the comments. 

My hardcover arrived today and I just enjoyed a reading of the first part, "Stiff," comprising Chapters 1-8.  While my entire being is telling me to proceed to the next part, I thought it better to record my thoughts now. 

This wasn't exactly what I had expected.  I was expecting the exact same Divergent world I fell in love with back in 2012 or so, with the only changes being the "tragedy" at Tris's Choosing Ceremony, which leads to her making a different Faction.

Instead, there are multiple changes from the original series, starting from the initial haircut scene, where Beatrice asks to take the scissors from her mother and trim her locks herself. This version of Abnegation apparently considers private home occupancy excessively selfish, resulting in the Priors sharing with Robert and Susan Black's family. 

The widower Marcus Eaton, the Council Leader whose son left Abnegation two years earlier (Beatrice can't remember where he went) apparently comes to dinner at the Prior/Black home once a week.  This time, their meal is interrupted by an Erudite news bulletin:

Last week, a report issued by this office brought to light a concerning pattern of Dauntless wall guards suffering memory lapses. In each incident, these lapses were preceded b'y a visit to the Abnegation Memory Vault. For several years, members of each faction have been called upon to store memories in the vault as part of an initiative by Abnegation leadership to "improve city record-keeping." as Couci member Andrew Prior claimed at the time of proposing it. But when asked about the connection of the concerning cognitive symptoms experienced by Dauntless officers and the visits to the Memory Vault, Council leader Marcus Eaton--notably the only person in the city with full access to the Memory Vault's systems-- dismissed the allegations as "nonsense," saying that the report was "a flagrant attempt by Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews to deteriorate the public's confidence in their leadership."

When Marcus wonders aloud where the Erudite are getting their information, Beatrice gets in trouble by asking too many questions about the story's truthfulness. 

The aptitude test is quite different as well' instead of choosing between things like knives or cheese, Tris has to escape a fire while navigating a maze and saving a child. Beatrice's (she's not Tris yet) Divergent-immunity to sera is present from the beginning; her awareness during the testing process is as much a Hallmark of Divergence as the choices she makes. 

Another interesting alteration:  the Choosers are lined up by age instead of reverse alphabetical order. 

Tris has all-but-decided to choose Dauntless in her ceremony, but before the first cut can be made, the ceremony is interrupted by a band of terrorists, who cut down the banners while shouting "Death to the Factions" while raising one of their own:  not the empty circle of Allegiant but a green banner with a circle containing white flowers.  Hmmmm....

And, of course, a mysterious Dauntless with dark blue eyes assists Tris to the emergency exit in the chaotic aftermath of the attack.  Once outside, Tris catches a glimpse of a gun-toting woman who she recognizes as Evelyn Eaton; Marcus's wife who is supposed to have died of complications of her second pregnancy years ago. 

Given what Caleb became in the original series, I was expecting (and even hoping) he would die in the attack; instead, the victim was Robert Black, apparently shot by a Factionless who had stolen a gun. . We get to see a very interesting Abnegation funeral the next day (in which the ashes of the deceased are molded into a clay rock, to later be used for building); then, rather than gather again for a full ceremony, the city decides to hold individual Choosings for each faction.  The Abnegation teens are taken to their Faction headquarters, and Caleb again shocks his sister by choosing Erudite. Unable to bear to leave her parents alone in light of the recent tragedy, Tris chooses Abnegation, but realizes it was a mistake as soon as her blood hits the stones in the cauldron.  

The Abnegation initiates are taken for a better-than-average meal prior to starting their month of service for their initiation. But, their leader Marcus first takes them to "introduce themselves" to the Memory Vault. As Beatrice presses her hands against it, the memory of getting her Divergent results from Tori re-emerges, but she manages to squelch it before she says the D-word.  

One point that jumped out at me that may mean something or may simply be an error.  At the original Choosing, their were around 90 teens total, with twelve of them from Abnegation. Robert dies, and Caleb and one other, a girl named Felicity, transfer to Erudite. That makes nine, and we are told there are no transfers into Abnegation this year. Yet, when they kneel around the Memory Vault, Beatrice notices "There are only eight of us, total."  Where is the missing Abnegation? 

I'll be back with more as I continue my reading. Please comment, and remember, no spoilers beyond Part 1. 

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