Discussion Themes 1. Though he has never spoken to her, he admires her noble spirit as well as her beauty. Alfred's response to his shocking disillusionment is to write a poem. The drones praise the Great Drone in the Sky, a divine figure very much like themselves, and they establish a religion in worship of him. Mo and Alfred urge Thora to be free, to choose not to live only within the role she has been born into.
Several characters consider their destiny, the purpose and meaning of their existence.
One truth or the other explained everything. The meaning of existence. Lally lives in Donegal, Ireland. She has published numerous short stories, plays, and articles in newspapers and journals on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Irish Press and the Atlantic Monthly. She is the recipient of the Hennessy Literary Award.