The Ministry of Time

In 1847, Graham Gore thinks about the men on his crew who are sick with scurvy and tortured by their symptoms. An old wound on his palm has reopened, and he’s reminded of how he got it when a gun exploded in his hand in Australia. The heat had felt unbearable then, but now he misses it. He misses a lot about life before the expedition but doesn’t dwell on missing his family in New South Wales. Gore tells himself he’ll be more successful on tomorrow’s hunt because he’s an excellent marksman: He’s “very good at killing things” (68).

The narrator keeps Graham’s sketch of the projection device, filing it away because meticulously documenting things has always given her a sense of control. When she shows it to Quentin, he becomes quite agitated, crumples the sketch, and says the Ministry offices are bugged. The narrator chalks it up to paranoia from the stress of his work. She continues to note Graham’s interests and dislikes regarding modern life: He has no interest in films, as the other expats do, but loves the endless access to classical and Motown music via streaming services.