Cinder

by

Marissa Meyer

Letumosis Term Analysis

Letumosis is a deadly airborne disease that has killed millions of Earthens. The disease has four stages: the first stage is an incubation period, and the second is characterized by large bruise-like patches on the skin. In the third stage, the patients become very weak and has a fever. In the fourth and final stage, their skin becomes yellowed and pasty, and the patches envelop the patient’s body. Patients usually die shortly after reaching the fourth stage. Letumosis was likely carried to Earth by Lunar shells.

Letumosis Quotes in Cinder

The Cinder quotes below are all either spoken by Letumosis or refer to Letumosis. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

The cyborg draft had been started by some royal research team a year ago. Every morning, a new ID number was drawn from the pool of so many thousand cyborgs who resided in the Eastern Commonwealth. Subjects had been carted in from provinces as far-reaching as Mumbai and Singapore to act as guinea pigs for the antidote testing. It was made out to be some sort of honor, giving your life for the good of humanity, but it was really just a reminder that cyborgs were not like everyone else. Many of them had been given a second chance at life by the generous hand of scientists and therefore owed their very existence to those who had created them. They were lucky to have lived this long, many thought. It’s only right that they should be the first to give up their lives in search for the cure.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Pearl, Emperor Rikan
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

“No, we’re talking about her daughter. Kai, the entire bloodline, every last one of them has been greedy, violent, corrupted by their own power. It’s in their blood. Believe me when I say that Princess Selene, even if she were alive, would be no better.”

Kai realized his arms were aching from squeezing them so hard, his skin gone white around his fingertips. “She can’t very well be worse,” he said. “And who knows? If the rumors are right, and she has been on Earth all this time, maybe she would be different. Maybe she would be sympathetic to us.”

Related Characters: Prince Kai (speaker), Konn Torin (speaker), Cinder/Princess Selene, Queen Levana, Emperor Rikan
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

And maybe she’d been right to do it. Maybe it was Cinder’s duty as a cyborg to sacrifice herself so all the normal humans could be cured. Maybe it did make sense to use the ones who had already been tampered with. But Cinder knew she would never forgive Adri for it. The woman was supposed to be the one to protect her, to help her. If Adri and Pearl were her only family left, she would be better off alone.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Adri, Peony
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

Levana folded her hands in her lap. “That vial is your gift. I hope you will find it helpful, young prince. I believe it is in both of our interests to rid your planet of this disease. My scientists could have thousands of dosages prepared by month’s end. However, such an undertaking, coupled with six years’ worth of work and resources, has put quite a strain on my own country, and so I’m sure you’ll understand the need for compensation. That will require further negotiations.”

Kai’s lungs constricted. “You would withhold this? When so many are dying?” It was a stupid question. She’d already withheld it long enough—what was it to her if more Earthens suffered in the meantime?

Related Characters: Prince Kai (speaker), Queen Levana (speaker), Emperor Rikan
Page Number: 207
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

Instead of kissing her, he whispered, “Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. It would completely ruin your life. What would. you do?”

The warm air enclosed her. So close, she could catch a faint soapy smell coming from him.

His eyes bored into hers, waiting, a tinge desperate.

Cinder wet her mouth. “Ruin my life to save a million others? It’s not much of a choice.”

His lips parted—she had no choice but to look at them and then immediately back into his eyes. She could almost count the black lashes around them. But then a sadness filtered into his gaze.

“You’re right. There’s no real choice.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Prince Kai (speaker), Queen Levana, Dr. Erland, Peony, Nainsi
Page Number: 223
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

Squinting, she jutted a finger at the doctor. “You did use your mind control on me. When we met. You…you brainwashed me, just like the queen. You made me trust you.”

“Be fair. You were attacking me with a wrench.”

Her anger wavered.

Dr. Erland opened his palms to her, “I assure you, Miss Linh, in the twelve years that I have been on Earth, I have not abused the gift once, and I am paying the price for that decision every day. My mental stability, my psychological health, my very senses are failing me because l refuse to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of those around me. Not all Lunars can be trusted—I know that as well as anyone—but you can trust me.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Dr. Erland (speaker), Prince Kai, Queen Levana
Page Number: 241-242
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Cinder LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cinder PDF

Letumosis Term Timeline in Cinder

The timeline below shows where the term Letumosis appears in Cinder. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...the netscreen: Prince Kai is giving a speech, explaining that research on a vaccine for letumosis is a top priority. The disease appeared a dozen years ago, and hundreds of thousands... (full context)
Chapter 4
Resourcefulness, Kindness, and Perseverance Theme Icon
...spot on Peony’s collarbone. Holding her breath and examining the bruise, Cinder realizes Peony has letumosis. (full context)
Chapter 5
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Realizing that she has letumosis, Peony begins to scream, telling Cinder to back away so that Cinder doesn’t get the... (full context)
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...and tests her blood, but after a minute it informs Cinder that she doesn’t have letumosis. Cinder is relieved that she isn’t going to die, but she’s overcome with dread as... (full context)
Chapter 6
Power, Greed, and Evil Theme Icon
Stereotypes and Discrimination Theme Icon
...arrives home, med-droids are already there, and Adri and Pearl have already tested negative for letumosis. After Adri instructs Iko to dispose of all of Peony’s things, she tells Cinder that... (full context)
Chapter 7
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...He decides to give one older man who has a son a placebo rather than letumosis. His assistant, Fateen, asks why he’s been turning away so many candidates. Another assistant, Li,... (full context)
Chapter 8
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...as surgeons attach her prostheses. But this time, in her dream, she is surrounded by letumosis victims who are all in agony—including Peony. Then, suddenly, she can open her eyes, and... (full context)
Stereotypes and Discrimination Theme Icon
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...tells her that a med-droid is going to inject her with a diluted solution of letumosis, against which they will test the most recent batch of antibodies that they’ve developed. Cinder... (full context)
Chapter 9
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...into her nervous system. As they look at it, they start to notice that the letumosis microbes they injected into Cinder are disappearing. Dr. Erland is astonished, and he tells Fateen... (full context)
Chapter 11
Stereotypes and Discrimination Theme Icon
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
Dr. Erland shows Cinder what is unusual about her biometrics: the letumosis microbes have disappeared. He tells her that she doesn’t have the plague, that she’s not... (full context)
Chapter 17
Resourcefulness, Kindness, and Perseverance Theme Icon
...she receives a notification on her interface that Peony has entered the third stage of letumosis. Immediately, she calls a hover for the first time in her life and travels to... (full context)
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...Adri are healthy and informs Peony that she (Cinder) is immune. She’s working with the letumosis researchers to find a cure, and Peony will be the first to get the antidote... (full context)
Chapter 19
Stereotypes and Discrimination Theme Icon
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...those children can be killed. This also explains Cinder’s immunity, because Lunars are immune to letumosis—they were the original carriers of the disease to Earth. (full context)
Chapter 23
Power, Greed, and Evil Theme Icon
...presents him with a vial, explaining that she’s been dedicating a research team to studying letumosis for some years now. Her scientists have finally discovered an antidote: the vial contains a... (full context)
Chapter 24
Stereotypes and Discrimination Theme Icon
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...avoid Queen Levana. Cinder tries a final protest, explaining that her little stepsister Peony has letumosis, and she can’t go without her. Cinder then tells him about Peony and asks Kai... (full context)
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...forward and whispers in her ear, asking her to imagine that there’s a cure for letumosis, but it would ruin her life. She says that that’s not much of a choice.... (full context)
Chapter 25
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
Cinder then asks Dr. Erland if he’s immune to letumosis, and he says yes—that this is how he’s been developing the antidotes so far. Cinder... (full context)
Chapter 26
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...then informs the other officials that Queen Levana claims to have found a cure for letumosis—his research team is investigating a dose she brought. At this, the officials start to consider... (full context)
Chapter 28
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Power, Greed, and Evil Theme Icon
Secrecy and Manipulation Theme Icon
...escaped. The girl also spoke with a young boy, Sunto, who is now recovering from letumosis. (full context)
Chapter 30
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...real feelings for her, but he will have to marry Queen Levana to get the letumosis antidote and to maintain peace. (full context)
Chapter 31
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
...wants to serve the people over his tenure. He promises to find a cure for letumosis and to return the country to its former glory. He also addresses the strained relationship... (full context)