Death of the Author

Msizi suggests that he and Zelu should get married to improve his chances of moving to the US. Zelu is unsure because she doesn’t believe in marriage. She eventually agrees, even if she doesn’t know why.

Zelu gets another email from Jack Preston, expressing his support for her after her experience in Nigeria. He reextends his invitation to join his next space mission. Zelu politely declines, citing her need to be with Msizi at the moment. 

That same day, she and Msizi decide to get married at the courthouse. They initially plan to keep the event private, but Msizi surprises Zelu with a small gathering of family members, including her siblings and Msizi’s cousin iNdonsa. They are married by a sangoma from Durban.

Zelu realizes that she isn’t marrying Msizi because she believes in marriage but because she loves him, and it feels completely right. She realizes that she isn’t mad at him for gathering their family against her wishes. Instead, she feels loved and respected, and their terms, like the institution of a prenuptial agreement and the decision to call each other “partners,” are honored.

Life goes on, but Zelu remains haunted by her experiences in Nigeria. She doesn’t know if she can ever be brave again.

Thinking of the way people treated her as something pitiable in the wake of her kidnapping attempt, Zelu decides to visit a shooting range in Chicago. The range is owned by a Black woman named Mona. Zelu assumes a fake name, Nicole Simmons, when signing up for lessons.

Zelu arrives early for her first lesson and immediately deflects Mona’s questions about her exos. Mona teaches her firearm basics and brings Zelu into the gun range. Zelu becomes nervous about what her family would think if they saw her using a gun. The only other person at the gun range is a Black man named Odell, whose cold behavior intimidates Zelu. Mona explains that Odell is one of the city’s best lawyers and comes to the gun range to relax.

Zelu struggles to fire her gun for the first time, haunted by flashbacks of her kidnapping attempt. Mona reassures her. She admits that she knows who Zelu is but assures her that her gun range is a safe space for Black people. This momentarily causes Zelu to weep. Afterward, she succeeds in firing a pistol, hitting the target’s bullseye on her first shot. 

Zelu becomes a regular at the shooting range, eventually learning how to use a shotgun and a tactical rifle. This lessens the frequency and intensity of her kidnapping flashbacks. She feels braver and more powerful than she did on the night of the kidnapping. She starts writing again but makes little progress on the sequel to Rusted Robots. She never tells Msizi about “Nicole Simmons.”

In the novel, Oga Chukwu formally declares war on the Ghosts of Lagos. Similar conflicts break out between Humes and Ghosts across the planet. Ankara and Ijele remain nervous about being discovered by their respective sides, but they also respect each other’s private data banks. Their interactions begin to feel like a reprieve from strategic planning and reconnaissance missions. 

Ankara is assigned a unit of soldiers who build electromagnetic weapons to disrupt the Ghost networks. The weapons are designed by a Hume named Koro Koro, who was formerly a Nigerian anti-nuclear defense program. The weapons are planted around Cross River City to defend it from Ghosts who have taken on physical forms.

Ankara continues to argue the urgency of the Tripper threat, but Oga Chukwu dismisses her warnings, choosing to focus on the Ghosts instead. At one point, Koro Koro senses that Ankara is infected. To maintain the Humes’ trust, Ankara agrees to have a tracking application installed in her system while Ijele isn’t there. 

The Humes fail to detect any past trace of Ijele. However, when Ijele returns to Ankara, she becomes panicked because Ijele risks triggering the tracking alarm if she leaves Ankara again. Ijele agrees to stay and remain discreet.

Ankara builds a hood for her eyes to prevent her from being detected as an infected Hume. She worries that following the extinction of humanity, robots may die next.

Under pressure from both her fans and her publishers, Zelu is unsure how to start writing the sequel to Rusted Robots. She yearns to escape to a place where the noise won’t affect her, which reminds her of Jack Preston’s offer to visit space. After reading some fanfiction that draws more from the film adaptation than from the novel, she contacts Jack, who wants to put her on his company’s next space mission. 

Zelu is interested out of curiosity, even if the rational part of her says that it would be a bad idea. Jack promises that astronaut training will help her overcome her apprehensions. Zelu wonders if she might find the book inspiration she is looking for in outer space.

Msizi is upset to hear Zelu’s intention to travel to space. He blames her impulsiveness for her kidnapping attempt, implying that he doesn’t think she belonged in Nigeria. Zelu tries to reassure him that she will only be in space for three days, but this worsens his reaction. 

Though Msizi walks away from their fight, Zelu assures herself that he will keep loving her even if she goes to space. They reconcile later that afternoon. Zelu insists on her decision, and Msizi acknowledges that he can’t stop her even if it hurts his feelings. Zelu briefly expresses her fear of dying in space but doesn’t explain why she wants to go anyway.

That night, Zelu gets up to watch a thunderstorm.

In an interview, Msizi credits his cousin iNdonsa for helping him see Zelu for who she is. Msizi grew up admiring pioneers in the digital space and leaders in society, fashion, and style. When he was in business school, he dated several women, though none of the relationships felt sustainable because the women weren’t interested in Yebo, the app he was developing. 

Before Zelu, Msizi dated a girl named Spice. Spice had a nihilistic perspective of life, and after two years, Msizi ended their relationship on bitter terms. The following evening, he was contacted by iNdonsa, who came out to him as a trans woman. Msizi was initially confused by iNdonsa’s transition, but she visited Msizi to keep him company in the wake of his breakup. Msizi was impressed by iNdonsa’s bold demand for acceptance. She went on to become one of Durban’s top DJs.

Before Jackie and Amarachi’s wedding, iNdonsa told Msizi that he didn’t know his “type” in girls. She encouraged him to be open to someone who could appeal to his mind, not just his sense of style. When he got to the wedding, he saw Zelu and felt a “shine” around her. Msizi eventually introduced Zelu to iNdonsa, who was impressed by her complexity. Because of iNdonsa’s influence, Msizi acknowledged that Zelu must go down whatever path she chooses for herself.

In the novel, Ankara and Ijele brace themselves for the Hume-Ghost War. Having failed to plead with CB, Ijele urges Ankara to flee Cross River City and find someone else who can help them deal with the Trippers. Ankara refuses, desiring to protect the remaining Humes. She initiates a secret plan that horrifies Ijele.

Ankara puts a unit of soldiers on aquatic robots called RoBoats and takes them to Victoria Island, the site of three Ghost servers. Ankara plans to use a passing storm to reach the servers, bypassing Ghost detection since the Ghosts do not look at lightning storms. Against Ijele’s wishes, Ankara detonates electromagnetic pulses to destroy the servers. In retaliation, Ijele leaves Ankara, triggering her system’s tracking application. When she returns to Cross River City, Koro Koro orders her disassembly.

The other Humes are hesitant to carry out the order, having witnessed the impact of Ankara’s strategy firsthand. Just before the Humes disassemble Ankara, Udide arrives in Cross River City. The spider informs the Hume leaders that the Trippers are scheduled to arrive in 10 days. Ankara realizes that the countdown accelerated while she focused on the war. Udide condemns the Humes for their pettiness. Koro Koro rescinds the disassembly order, asking Ankara to help deal with the Tripper crisis.

Days before she is announced as part of the next #Adventure mission, Zelu decides to tell her family the news. She begins with her mother, who immediately panics, believing that Zelu has a “death wish.” She accuses Zelu of resenting their protection, but Zelu points out that their protection made her what she is today. 

She argues that the kidnapping attempt wasn’t her fault because she had only gone to visit Secret’s grave and reconnect with her roots. She adds that going to space is the opportunity of a lifetime and that it would be foolish to decline it. Omoshalewa concedes that Secret would have taken that opportunity, too.

Zelu then shares the news with her siblings, detailing the extent of her training. Chinyere concedes that she will never understand how Zelu’s mind works. Zelu realizes that apart from her father, no one will understand what motivates her. She decides not to fight against her family’s lack of understanding anymore. Chinyere applauds Zelu, which encourages their siblings to do the same. They all affirm the fulfillment of her childhood dream. 

That night, Zelu gets home and senses something different. Weeks later, she learns that she is pregnant. She chooses not to tell anyone, knowing that it will affect her mission plans. On the day of the launch, Zelu braces Msizi for the possibility that she might die in space. This is difficult for him to accept.

In the novel, with only three days left before the Trippers’ arrival, Oga Chukwu enters into a conference with CB and Ahab, leader of the RoBoats. They agree to a truce, working together to defeat the Trippers. Udide builds spaceships for the robots to intercept the Trippers in orbit. The ships launch but are defeated by a solar wind. Ijele returns to Ankara, reporting that the Ghosts apprehended and nearly deleted her. She only escaped because of the solar wind.

Ankara recalls Udide’s story about Oji, the Charger who became a Tripper. She and Ijele seek Udide out and ask them to share their truth with her so that she can write a story. Udide is skeptical of Ankara’s plan, but Ijele convinces them that the end of the world is the best time to try telling a new story.

Udide retells their memories of Oji, ending with his transformation into a Tripper. Ankara and Ijele suggest that Udide should appeal to Oji, using Ankara’s story to remind him that humanity was known for its ability to love. Ankara completes a story about Ngozi with only an hour to spare. Udide compliments Ankara’s book. Ankara credits Ijele for helping her understand Ngozi’s full story. 

Udide sends Ankara’s consciousness into an abstract library, where they can meet with Oji. Oji continues to sing the song of destruction. Following Ankara’s instruction, Udide weaves a story about a woman who was nearly killed by her husband on a cruise ship, the story Udide was reading when they met Oji. Udide goes on to share their memories of friendship with Oji, successfully weakening the Tripper’s song of destruction. When Oji snaps out of the song, Udide sends Ankara’s novel to him. Oji is satisfied by the story and discovers empathy. Udide encourages him to send the novel to the other Trippers so that they can feel the way he feels.

The Trippers read Ankara’s novel and undo their attempts to destroy the world. They are excited by the notion that a robot has produced a story on its own for the first time. Ijele, now exiled, fears that the war between the Ghosts and the Humes will continue. Ankara reminds her that they will be together, but she also understands how lonely Ijele must feel as an exile.

Ankara takes Ijele to the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, where they ask for the custodian Osun’s help in placing Ijele in an abandoned robot body. Ankara appeals to Osun by referring to Ijele as her friend, which surprises Osun. Osun agrees to find Ijele a body. Ijele is afraid of doing things wrong as a robot with a body, but Ankara encourages her by telling her that she can be whatever she wants to be.

After leaving the grove, Ijele decides to part ways with Ankara. She wants to learn who she really is, which she cannot do among the warring factions of robots. Ankara offers to travel with her, but Ijele declines. Ankara holds out hope that they will meet again. Ijele disagrees and leaves.

Hours before the launch, Zelu tells Jack about her pregnancy. She regrets not being transparent and fears that she has ruined the mission. Jack offers to give her an “organic augmentation,” an experimental treatment designed to help people withstand long-term space exploration. The treatment will help shield Zelu’s pregnancy from cosmic radiation. Zelu’s baby will have a natural advantage when living in space if that’s what they want to do.

The launch is successful, and despite the tremendous g-force that Zelu experiences, she submits herself to the moment. Entering space, she decides to name her child Ngozi, which means “blessing.” Through closed eyes, she sees a burst of color that makes her think of the Ijele spirit, whose arrival signals the start of great things.

Up in orbit, Zelu finds calm and sudden inspiration for her next novel. Despite the Earth’s demands for her next story, she decides not to give them that story, “[keeping] it to herself” (431).

In the novel, Ankara writes a novel based on Ngozi’s stories. Ankara finds that her process does not work if she tries to piece together parts from different novels she has read. She learns how to trust her voice, even if she feels unsure of it. She comes up with the title Death of the Author to signify the end of humanity but the survival of the robots as their stories. This title also resonates with Ngozi’s death, as she helped create the novel by bringing Ankara and Ijele together.

Ankara’s novel centers around Zelunjo Onyenezi-Onyedele, whose name is taken from Ngozi’s great-grandmother, a famous astronaut. The novel describes Zelu’s narrative, including her family tensions and her work with two white men. Ankara sends her novel to CB, who shares the novel with various NoBodies, signaling its enjoyment of her story. The novel resonates with the NoBodies’ goal to transcend physical humanity.

Ankara leaves Cross River City, unsure of her next destination. She wants to find Ijele and share her novel with her.