Plot Summary Sirens of Titan

Between Timid and Timbuktu Analysis

Vonnegut begins the book with a rather long chapter that provides a great deal of information about the upcoming story. Indeed, Rumfoord reveals nearly the entire plot to Constant in the form of a prediction. Vonnegut sets up a central theme of irony that will run through the entire book by indicating that the characters of Beatrice and Constant will be trying hard to avoid living out the plot that Rumfoord has revealed to them. They will, of course, eventually have the exact experience s that Rumfoord describes.

Vonnegut refers to the traditional meaning of Constant's first name, Malachi. The name means "faithful messenger", and it is suggested that Constant will fulfill this namesake in some way. When he mentions his name's meaning to Rumfoord, Rumfoord is astonished to hear him refer to a message and quizzes him on it briefly. Rumfoord is undoubtedly thinking of the message carried by Salo, the extraterrestrial introduced later in the story. Constant's destiny and indeed the history and destiny of all humans are related to this message.

Vonnegut also includes a caricature of organized evangelical religion in the first chapter. Later, Rumfoord will exploit the society's hunger for such religions to manipulate (or fulfill) Constant's destiny.

Cheers in the Wirehouse Summary

Constant rushes away from the crowd in the limousine to a helicopter. On the way, he recounts to himself the predictions that Rumfoord made. The entire experience, which had seemed like a dream, now hits home and he breaks out in a sweat. To this point, Constant had always held a vague belief that his tremendous luck in growing exceedingly wealthy had been because somebody "up there" was watching out for him. He now begins to actually wonder if his life is being watched and actually controlled by some unseen force.

Fifty-nine days later, Rumfoord and Kazak materialize at the Rumfoord estate again. In the meantime, Beatrice and Constant have done everything they can think of to avoid the outcome predicted by Rumfoord at his previous visit. Constant has sold all his interest in the company that owns The Whale spacecraft and purchased a company called MoonMist Tobacco instead. Beatrice, on the other hand, made a large investment in the company that owns The Whale so that she might have control over its use.

Constant begins sending crude, offensive letters to Beatrice meant to forestall any romantic involvement. Beatrice takes to carrying a cyanide capsule should she ever find herself in close proximity to Constant. The stock market has crashed since Rumfoord's last materialization, wiping out Beatrice's fortune. Constant, a few days after returning to his home in Hollywood following his meeting with Rumfoord, threw an enormous party that is only now ending, over fifty days later.

A man named Koradubian has written a book claiming that he has spoken with Rumfoord and learned the secrets of the future out to the year Ten Million A.D. Rumfoord amused by the hoax book as he reads it in his study at the Rumfoord Estate during his present materialization. Beatrice is with him, and she is furious.

Meanwhile, in California, Constant awakes from a drunken sleep to the sound of a persistently ringing telephone. He sits up and listens as a woman he does not recognize answers the phone. She tells Constant that the caller is Ransom K. Fern, the president of his company, Magnum Opus. Constant tells her to say he will call Fern back, but the woman relays that Fern says he is quitting because Constant is broke.

In Newport, Beatrice is outraged that Rumfoord did not warn her of her impending financial disaster. Rumfoord explains that his not telling her was as much of the fabric of history as the event itself. He does not control the future, he says, he can only see it. It is like a roller coaster that he knows the shape of, but cannot get off. He confirms to her that Constant is part of her destiny.

Beatrice insists on knowing how they will come to be sent to Mars together, hoping to avoid it if possible. Rumfoord tells her that the President of the United States will shortly announce a new age of space exploration. Beatrice and Constant will both be present at a re-christening of The Whale, which will be fired off mistakenly with them aboard. The narrator interjects at this point to say that Rumfoord is lying. Part of what he says is true, however. The President does announce a new age of space exploration. Part of his speech is inserted in the text.

Constant hangs up the phone with Fern and turns to the woman at his home. He does not recognize her. He asks where everyone has gone. He has no recollection of the past several days.

The woman tells him he threw everyone out after a long crying fit during which he had bemoaned his unhappy childhood. He gave every woman at the party an oil well, the woman tells him, then threw everyone out but her. Then they flew to Mexico, got married, and returned home. The woman is alarmed to learn that Constant is now broke, and threatens to have her boyfriend kill him if he doesn't take care of her.

Back in Newport, Beatrice is indignant. She tells Rumfoord she refuses to ride the "roller coaster" he describes. Rumfoord tries to comfort her by telling her that despite her distaste for his predictions, she will actually be quite happy in the end. As he speaks to here, he begins to dematerialize. He asks her to imagine the kind of roller coaster he himself is on, and promises to explain to her on Titan how he has been used and why. Kazak comes running into the house, and as he tries to run across the smooth floor, both he and Rumfoord disappear.

Cheers in the Wirehouse Analysis

Vonnegut's small joke on the reader begins in this chapter as Beatrice and Constant try to outwit their destiny by moving in what they imagine is the opposite direction. Of course their "destiny" is controlled entirely by the author, so the characters truly are, in a way, struggling against an unseen force that controls their fictional lives. The mechanics of Beatrice and Constant's downfalls are set in motion as well, which will ultimately lead to their coming together on their way to Mars.

The events in this chapter take place simultaneously, which Vonnegut indicates using a back-and-forth technique of interspersing the action. Dealing as it does with the nature of time, space, and the connection of seemingly disparate events, that the crucial turns for the characters in the story occur at the same moment in time appear significant. As the story plays out, it becomes clear that the lives of not only Beatrice and Constant are being controlled, but the entirety of humankind is being controlled toward a definite purpose. Rumfoord hints at the existence of this purpose in his final words to Beatrice before disappearing. He also suggests that the purpose is "disgustingly paltry" (p. 64).