Involvement Meter

***"Empire" Spoiler Alert***

It's a sure sign of...something...when I find myself talking to a book. Such is the case with "Empire." These people who have been staying alive from sheer paranoia are suddenly not asking questions anymore, even after one of their own gets taken down by refusing to accept the possibility of someone not being trustworthy. They should be questioning everything they hear from everyone. I keep telling them this, and they do not listen.

When I left off one character was finally starting to ask some questions, and it's about time. It's as if everyone just suddenly forgot that the guy who got killed was getting orders from someone in the White House, and that person is still out there.

I'm going to have to hold off on the "Whose side is Professor Advisor Vice-President Torrent on" question. It's obvious he's on his own side. And while what clues we have all point to his wanting to become the First Emperor of the United States, it's also obvious that he has been carefully crafting the image he wants people to see, so Card's obviously trying to keep that secret in the bag as long as he can. And events are in motion that, depending on the outcome, will reveal one or the other. (My money's on Cole & Company's mission to Washington being a trap, just for the record.)

In regards to Torrent, though, one name from a text common and beloved to both Card and I keeps coming to mind and refuses to go away: Amalickiah.