The City & the City: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

To those who don’t know much about them, Illitan and Besź seem very different; they sound different, and where Besź is written in a Cyrillic-like script, Illitan is in Roman script. Illitan used to have its own script, but it was erased overnight in 1923 by a leader named Ya Ilsa, who served as inspiration for Atatürk. Besź and Illitan are actually not very different because “they share a common ancestor,” but it would be provocative to even admit this aloud. Besźel was founded around 1700-2000 years ago in the “curl of coastline” where it still sits today. Another city was founded at the same time. It is not known if the two cities began as one and were later split. Even those who study “the Cleavage” do not actually know. 

Corwi calls Borlú and says, “Boss you are on fire.” She asks him to meet her on BudapestStrász in a northern industrial suburb of the city. She explains that she followed Borlú’s tip, trying to intimidate people, and eventually found out that 68 BudapestStrász is a “unificationist HQ.” Like other political groups, unificationists are divided along many different issues. Some target newcomers to Besźel, aiming to “weaponize [the] urban uncertainty” of those who don’t yet know how to see and unsee the right things. Other unificationists criticize this tactic. There are also squabbles over what the unified city would be like, what its name and language and laws would be.

BudapestStrász is crosshatched. The Besź side has grown desolate in recent years thanks to the death of the river industry, but the Ul Qoman part is becoming busier as the neighborhood becomes more prosperous. Borlú has the ability to selectively mute Ul Qoman conversations such that they register only as a vague hum. Now, Corwi introduces him to a unificationist named Pall Drodin, and to both Corwi and Drodin’s shock, Borlú brings up breach. After a brief conversation, Corwi asks in an angry whisper why Borlú is bringing up “that spooky shit.” They go inside.

The unificationist group here is called the Besźqoma Solidarity Front. On the wall, there are maps of Besźel and Ul Qoma. The borders are there, but are faded to a faint grey. Corwi points out that they could easily be deemed illegal. She gets out the photo of Fulana, and Drodin explains that he knew her as Byela Mar, although this was evidently a fake name. Drodin says that she came to the headquarters around three years ago. She spoke in a foreign accent, American or English, and wanted to use the library. When Corwi suggests they take a look, Drodin protests that they don’t have any Class One banned books, and the Class Twos are all ones that are also available online.

“Byela” would talk to Drodin about the history of the cities, the unification efforts, and the unificationists imprisoned for their political beliefs in both Besźel and Ul Qoma. Drodin says that he eventually got into a fight with Byela after she began winding up his comrades. He concludes that she was “dangerous,” and would bring up “the kookiest underground bollocks,” myths and rumors that he thinks she was too smart to actually believe. Eventually, Drodin admits that she was “obsessed” with Orciny, the mythical third city between the other two. According to legend, Orciny is in the dissensi, the “disputed zones” that are neither Besźel nor Ul Qoma. Drodin explains: “Orciny’s the secret city. It runs things.” 

Borlú explains that all historical evidence from the time before the founding of the two cities has been corrupted, buried, or destroyed. The myth of Orciny adds to the confusion; Borlú describes it as “a community of imaginary overlords, exiles perhaps,” and he jokes that the Illuminati lives there. Orciny used to be confined to children’s stories, and Borlú thus now asks Drodin if he means that Byela was researching “folklore.” Drodin simply replies that they have information about Orciny, which Borlú doesn’t find surprising, because “Like any dissidents they were neurotic archivists.”

Drodin repeats that Byela was dangerous, because, as unificationists, he and his comrades are subject to disproportionate scrutiny by Breach. While ordinary citizens are granted some leeway when it comes to looking at the other city, unificationists can be taken even for committing a brief, instinctive, “somatic breach,” such as jumping at the sound of a misfiring Ul Qoman car. Drodin says that before she died, Byela said she was getting ready to leave Besźel and “officially” go to Ul Qoma. When she disappeared, he heard that it was because she had successfully completed the trip. He repeats that Byela freaked him out, and that although he’s sorry she’s dead, he’s “not surprised.”

As they are driving away, both Borlú and Corwi feel “watched.” Provocatively, Borlú decides they should go to lunch in Ul Qomatown. The buildings here resemble a “parody” of Ul Qoman buildings more than the real thing; they are painted in Besźel Blue, a color that is actually illegal in Ul Qoma. However, the area nonetheless serves as a home for the Ul Qoman expat community in Besźel. The establishments there serve traditional Ul Qoman food, and it is hard to overcome the instinct to “unsmell” the smells of this cooking. From time to time, someone lost in Ul Qoma will approach someone in Ul Qomatown and ask them for directions in Illitan, but Breach is usually forgiving of such incidents.  

Once they are at a café, Corwi asks Borlú, “Why the fuck are we here?” Borlú replies that the Ul Qoman atmosphere will help them with the case. After thinking for a while, Corwi reluctantly admits that it seems the case involves breach, and Borlú agrees. Borlú says they will have to take the case to the Oversight Committee, but will first need to gather some more evidence. When Borlú gets back to the office, Taskin tells him that he’ll have to wait a while before he brings the case to the committee. She explains that the committee is currently occupied with the issue of refugees, people who had been trying to get to Ul Qoma and, against their will, ended up in Besźel. The next day, Corwi shows Borlú a file faxed over from Ul Qoma: Fulana’s real identity.