Binti

The first chapter of the novella echoes the beginning of Binti. Binti is unable to get her transporter working as she heads towards the launch port to head back to Earth. On the way, Binti sees Haifa, and she helps Binti bring her pod to the shuttle station. Haifa is extremely athletic and can easily pick up Binti’s pod and sprint to the station. Haifa does back flips and a person comments: “Humans. Always performing” (111). Binti says goodbye to Haifa and meets Okwu in Weapons City. Together they head towards the launch port. Binti discovers that Okwu has met with its professor and that they have begun to get along.

Binti recalls how the therapist diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder after the massacre on board Third Fish. Binti meets with a therapist named Saidia Nwanyi and is initially skeptical of therapy. However, when she hears Dr. Nwanyi humming an old Himba song, Binti begins to cry. They speak for a long time about Binti’s family, the expectations placed upon her, and the traditions she believes she must follow. Binti spends months speaking with Dr. Nwanyi, learning about why insomnia and panic attacks have plagued her after the incident. Before Binti leaves for home, Dr. Nwanyi reminds her to breathe.

The second chapter begins with Binti and Okwu at the Oomza University launch port. They discover that they will be on Third Fish, the same ship that first brought them both to Oomza University. Although Binti receives premium quarters, she wishes to reside in the same room she arrived in. Binti then receives the same room, but it is in a different location because Third Fish is pregnant and has had to shift rooms around to make space for the baby. Third Fish will be travelling faster than usual, eager to make it to Earth to deliver her child. Anxiety overcomes Binti when she boards the ship, but she manages to push past it. When Binti gets to her room, she remembers Heru and all the other people who perished because of the Meduse. Binti has a panic attack, and her astrolabe orders her to begin treeing. Binti can calm down with her astrolabe’s help; she meditates and is finally able to fight off the panic attack.

Binti remembers how during the first few months at Oomza University, Okwu had walked with her for miles during the middle of the night when she suffered from insomnia. After many days on Third Fish, Binti finally goes to Okwu to speak to it. Okwu is pleased to be in space again, and Binti feels the same; she is happy to be heading home.

Binti and Okwu are forced to wait two hours after Third Fish lands before exiting the ship: “It had been over a hundred years since a Meduse had come to Khoush lands, and never had one arrived in peace” (127). In the time Binti and Okwu spend waiting, she covers a few of Okwu’s tentacles in otjize, knowing this will please her family. When Binti finally exits the ship, her family greets her; it is a joyous occasion until Okwu emerges behind her. The Khoush soldiers immediately begin firing upon it. Binti is aware that Okwu will kill everyone if she does not do something right away. Binti places herself between Okwu and the Khoush soldiers and tells them to stop. Her okuoko is writhing on the top of her head, and the Khoush journalists begin mocking her for it. Binti tells Okwu to put its stinger away and it does so.

Binti speaks to the Khoush soldiers, and they put away their weapons. The Khoush mayor hurries forward and takes both Binti and Okwu into a whirlwind of press meetings and photo ops. After, Binti and Okwu head towards the desert where the Himba live. Binti tells Okwu about the pink lake in the middle of their lands, and Okwu wants to see it. As a Meduse, Okwu worships water, even though it has never been in a lake before.

Chapter 4 begins with Binti’s detailed history of her home, otherwise known as “the Root” (136). One of the first homes in the Himba village of Osemba, the Root is made of stone and covered in bioluminescent plants. The Root is built on a tree and is entirely self-sufficient, with solar power and its own electrical grid. The house was passed down through the women in Binti’s family before her mother inherited it. Binti’s family members, especially her father, welcome Okwu into their home. Binti’s father has built a dome for Okwu outside of the Root, filled entirely with its gasses. While Okwu enjoys the dome, Binti’s father calls Okwu a “monster,” but insists that he is proud of Binti for being a “true master harmonizer” (137).

Binti wears a sky-blue dress to her family gathering, a color that Himba do not usually adorn. Binti immediately regrets her decision to do so as she is clearly the topic of conversation amongst all her extended family members. Binti speaks to her mother about going on her pilgrimage. Before giving Binti her blessing to do so, Binti’s mother examines her okuoko with her mathematical sight. Instead of being angry that Binti has changed, her mother tells her that the women leave for their pilgrimage the next day. Binti’s mother has already prepared a pilgrimage dress for her.

Binti meets with her nine siblings at the family gathering. Binti’s older sister, Vera, is furious at her for her “irresponsibly selfish choice” (141) to leave Earth. Although Vera initially tries to make peace with Binti, both sisters are at odds with one another. Chief Kapika speaks, and Binti is extremely uncomfortable; she has told no one that she will be leaving for Oomza University again in two months. While they are enjoying their meal, Binti’s father loses his balance and falls. Vera and Binti’s other siblings immediately turn on Binti and blame their father’s declining health on her departure. Vera berates Binti for leaving, telling her that she has been polluted, and that no man will want to marry her.

Binti is finally unable to contain her rage. Binti spits at Vera, her okuoko writhing in the air. Her outburst scares everyone gathered at the Root, causing people scurry away from her. Binti’s father is disappointed, asking: “What has happened to my harmonizing daughter?” (145). Binti is furious and returns to her bedroom. Later, Binti receives a call from Dele. He tells her that Binti has made it more difficult for the girls in Binti's family to marry. Binti realizes that she and Dele can't reconcile their conflicting beliefs.