The Children of Men

Theo visits his history teacher and mentor, Jasper Palmer-Smith, who has often tried to convince Theo that Omega has a silver lining, ending “the intrusive barbarism of the young, their noise, their pounding, repetitive, computer-produced so-called music, their violence, their egotism disguised as idealism” (52). Jasper says he may return to Oxford, which surprises Theo until he remembers that Xan has announced plans to centralize people; Jasper and others in the country will no longer be guaranteed power or supply lines. Jasper wants to move in with Theo since he has extra space.

Jasper asks Theo about a ceremony called the “Quietus, the mass suicide of the old” (54). Theo remembers a news segment showing elderly people boarding a ship; their survivors receive a pension. Theo says Jasper should hire “Sojourners” (55) to help with upkeep. Sojourners are immigrants to the UK, who receive low wages, substandard treatment, and then mandatory repatriation late in their lives, when they have outlived their usefulness to England.

On the way back to Oxford, Theo sees a large line of people outside the “Examination Schools” (56): An evangelist named Rosie McClure is visiting that evening. She is a TV personality who preaches salvation, along with new evangelists like Roaring Roger and his sidekick, Soapy Sam.