# data[].attributes.body
Red - Personal Insights/Answers
White - Evidence
Green - Chosen Piece
Blue - Main Question
Purple - Answer
Yellow - Further Explanation

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This statement from Peter is the one that stuck with Mike and caused him to develop

Previously, he detached himself from his feelings and buried anything

Presumably has not made many relationships after his wife left him

After hearing Peter and seeing how he was about to die soon, he chose to pursue Marisol

Seeing Marisol ignited feelings in him that he  chose to forget or bury

what could be his motive?

This sentence also reminds the reader that global issues can play a role in an individual's choices

Because of the starvation plaguing the world and how everyone is more or less destined to die, Peter told Mike not to be alone when it all ends

Personal Insight: The context of the world can be a big influence in one's choices, even if the personal conflict is unrelated to the global issue

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“All that can be done is for the drug companies to manufacture as much of the inhibitor as possible, dump it into water supplies and hope it can delay the inevitable. The scientists can find ways to boost its efficacy, but not by much. At most, the planet has seven years before all its water supplies are wholly contaminated, either by the enzyme itself or by the inhibitor.” (Par 13, Page 3)

“At the conference, all the faces Mike sees are grim. About a third of the people in the room are in the final stages: emaciated, eyes bulging out of sunken sockets, bellies distended, clothes hanging off their bodies. They move slowly and with great difficulty, some hooked up to parenteral nutrition drips.” (Par 3, Page 3)

“The cities of his youth — Manila, where he was born, New York, Tokyo — were bustling, noisy, claustrophobic with their masses of people. Even Boston, where he stayed while in graduate school, teemed in the daytime. That’s all just a memory now. The world’s biggest cities, and its smallest, its poorest and wealthiest, all are in the same boat…” (Par 8, Page 2)

“It had all started in North America, and it should have stayed there. But there was money to be made, and Europe soon followed suit.” (Par 8, Page 3)

“Many in the region had clamored to have their water treated, citing rising rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes. Truthfully, vanity was just as great a motivator.” (Par 9, Page 3)

“Mike enters the room sideways, sucking in his gut. It is an old habit; even though he has shed more than a hundred and forty pounds, he still feels like a fat man. Sometimes he catches himself doing it; when he does, he backs out of the door and comes in again like a normal person.” (Par 1, Page 1)

““You don’t like it when people look too closely at you.” It’s a statement of fact, not a question. “It’s a fat person thing. You would know.”” (Par 3-4, Page 6)

“But he soon grew used to the cutting refrain from even the most well-meaning relatives: “You’d be so handsome if only …”.” (Par 9, Page 1)

"There was a man once. I suppose you could call it a mercy fuck. He whipped out a calculator after sex, tried to figure out my BMI. Said I would be so pretty if …“If only you lost weight,”” (Par 45-46, Page 5)

“This, too, he took like a man, shrugging off the sympathy of family, friends, colleagues, going about his work with the same implacable precision, the same clinical detachment.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“He finds the bed in the dark, lies down, breathes slowly and deeply; but the feeling will not go away.” (Par 16, Page 2)

“He recognizes it finally as something he has tried not to think about in years, buried far below the surface of his hectic yet well-ordered life.” (Par 17, Page 2)

“For years now, he has denied his loneliness, has refused to even think about it.” (Par 5, Page 5)

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Their characteristics are noted through Mike's observations

They give the reader an insight into the world context and situation

How the world is dealing with the enzyme, what are the effects of the starvation

They are briefly mentioned throughout the story

ex. other people at the conference, the couple eating at the hotel, Peter

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A protagonist seen through the main protagonist's eyes

The only other character Mike intimately interacts with and gets to know

An important factor in Mike's overcoming of personal issues

He moves to make a relationship with her despite his past efforts to detach himself

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He is the protagonist we are following throughout the whole story

His thoughts are the ones we read (3rd POV, limited)

Gives insight into his personal issues, life history, and observations about the situation

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“Now, at the ripe old age of 47, he is the man he has always wanted to be: muscled and trim, save for some residual fat around the belly and love handles, and under the arms.” (Par 11, Page 1)

““You don’t like it when people look too closely at you.” It’s a statement of fact, not a question. “It’s a fat person thing. You would know.”” (Par 3-4, Page 6)

“She has been dead several years now: one of the first to go.” (Par 11, Page 1)

“He used to be married, but she left him when his sperm count dwindled and he broke the 300-pound mark. This, too, he took like a man, shrugging off the sympathy of family, friends, colleagues, going about his work with the same implacable precision, the same clinical detachment.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“Mike enters the room sideways, sucking in his gut. It is an old habit; even though he has shed more than a hundred and forty pounds, he still feels like a fat man. Sometimes he catches himself doing it; when he does, he backs out of the door and comes in again like a normal person.” (Par 1, Page 1)

"“Good morning. I’m Michael Tejada and I’m a field investigator for the World Health Organization.”" (Par 6, Page 3)

“This, too, he took like a man, shrugging off the sympathy of family, friends, colleagues, going about his work with the same implacable precision, the same clinical detachment.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“He recognizes it finally as something he has tried not to think about in years, buried far below the surface of his hectic yet well-ordered life.” (Par 17, Page 2)

“For years now, he has denied his loneliness, has refused to even think about it.” (Par 5, Page 5)

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“...half their populations decimated, the other half just waiting” (Par 8, Page 2)

“At the conference, all the faces Mike sees are grim. About a third of the people in the room are in the final stages: emaciated, eyes bulging out of sunken sockets, bellies distended, clothes hanging off their bodies. They move slowly and with great difficulty, some hooked up to parenteral nutrition drips.” (Par 3, Page 3)

“Mike is supposed to be part of the solution. But as one of the lead investigators [..] he knows there is none.” (Par 13, Page 3)

“He’s already thinking in the past tense.” (Par 19, Page 4)

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"Even from behind, Mike notes that her body, bathed in the dim amber light from the bedroom, is in very good shape. It does not have the usual sag and droop that afflict fat people who lose vast amounts of weight. He decides she must be relatively young, her skin still elastic." (Par 10, Page 2)

“There was a man once. I suppose you could call it a mercy fuck. He whipped out a calculator after sex, tried to figure out my BMI. Said I would be so pretty if …“If only you lost weight,”” (Par 45-46, Page 5)

"“I’m covering it for my agency. I caught your report. You’ve been busy.”" (Par 31, Page 5)

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“Everywhere he goes, he always finds the same damn thing. It’s in the water, in the rain, in the rivers and lakes; it cannot be dammed up, it cannot be stopped.” (Par 3, Page 2)

“It had all started in North America, and it should have stayed there. But there was money to be made, and Europe soon followed suit.” (Par 8, Page 3)

“Children and the elderly are always the first to go. Pregnant women pass the enzyme on to their unborn babies, and they begin starving in the womb. If by some miracle a child is born alive, its DNA is already hardwired for starvation.” (Par 10, Page 3)

“This, too, he took like a man, shrugging off the sympathy of family, friends, colleagues, going about his work with the same implacable precision, the same clinical detachment.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“For years now, he has denied his loneliness, has refused to even think about it.” (Par 5, Page 5)

"He takes a deep breath, bows his head and closes his eyes. In his mind he runs through half a dozen responses. He thinks about Peter’s advice, about what’s key, about how everything else is just noise." (Par 20, Page 6)

"“There’s time enough to teach you how to blow smoke rings,” she whispers." (Par 23, Page 6

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The door of his hotel room is open; the porter has stowed his bags and is now hanging up the contents of his suit bag in the closet. Mike enters the room sideways, sucking in his gut. It is an old habit; even though he has shed more than a hundred and forty pounds, he still feels like a fat man. Sometimes he catches himself doing it; when he does, he backs out of the door and comes in again like a normal person.

The porter closes the closet door, stands aside with a deferential smile. Just like him, falling into old habits. Mike takes his wallet out of his pocket, fishes out a large bill, slides it into the other man's palm. The porter is briefly stunned, then flashes him a broad smile. "Thank you, sir."

Mike nods, says nothing. The door closes behind him and he is alone.

He is bone-tired - six countries in seventeen days - but there's still work to be done. He unlaces his shoes, sets them aside in one corner of the closet and pads around the carpeted room in his socks. He finds his laptop bag, plugs the machine into an outlet, begins undressing as it boots up.

Having lost all that weight, Mike tends to take better care of his clothes - mainly because he now has better clothes to take care of. Although his job has always paid well, he never bothered much about his clothing or appearance until the weight started coming off a little over three years ago. He had started losing it later than most, but then again he had so much more to lose. These days he always dresses well; even after long-haul flights, he arrives at meetings immaculately turned out, as though making up for decades of self-neglect. On site - where weather, ground and even social conditions can be unpleasant at best and downright treacherous at worst - he takes great pains to dress appropriately, to remain as clean as humanly possible.

He hangs up his jacket, shirt and trousers carefully; he'll have them dry-cleaned tomorrow morning. He strips off his socks, roots around in the closet for a laundry bag and puts the socks inside. He'll take a shower and brush his teeth before buckling down to business.

In his bare feet, the transition from carpet to the chilly marble tile of the bathroom is a bit jarring. He doesn't particularly care for the paper slippers that hotels provide - there is something silly and ineffectual about them. So he takes the cold floor like a man, without complaint or fuss.

In the mirror above the capacious sink, he sees a stranger.

For the better part of nearly five decades, the man in the mirror was always overweight, ballooning to some 340 pounds around seven years ago. He was tall - well over six feet - and he had a nice enough face. But he soon grew used to the cutting refrain from even the most well-meaning relatives: "You'd be so handsome if only ...".

He used to be married, but she left him when his sperm count dwindled and he broke the 300-pound mark. This, too, he took like a man, shrugging off the sympathy of family, friends, colleagues, going about his work with the same implacable precision, the same clinical detachment. In private, he ate his way into numbness, a lumbering giant laced with deep and invisible scars.

Now, at the ripe old age of 47, he is the man he has always wanted to be: muscled and trim, save for some residual fat around the belly and love handles, and under the arms. With his looming physical presence, intelligent eyes and silver hair, he looks distinguished, attractive, if a bit icy. If his wife were here, he reflects, if they had just met, she would be all over him; he is now the exact physical type she would have found irresistible. She has been dead several years now: one of the first to go.

He studies his image for a long time, not out of vanity, but with mild amusement and a healthy sense of irony.

He might as well remember himself like this. It will not last long.

***

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by F.H. Batacan The door of his hotel room is open; the porter has stowed his bags and is now hanging up the contents of his suit bag in the closet. Mike enters the room sideways, sucking in his gut.

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It resonated with me because some of the discussed issues are similar to what I am going through at the moment

Personal Experience: I've had issues with my body image and weight since I was a child (11-12 years old), and the actions that Mike did and the thoughts he had made me reminisce about my experiences when I was younger

Reminisce because I'm in therapy and getting better

It also made me connect a lot with Mike and see my younger self in him, which made the story have more impact

When he talked about his detachment, I really felt for his character and it made me root for his happiness

I feel like his detachment is a coping mechanism commonly seen among my friends and generation

It could be a trauma response; his way of protecting himself against possible harm

Because he is detaching under the guise of preventing pain, he misses out on different experiences where you have to gamble on whether you are going to get hurt or not (ex. relationships)

Personal Experience: Death is something I am intimately familiar with, so seeing it presented in a way that was inevitable, forth-coming, and hopeless, was interesting

Interesting because I was able to connect some of my past ideas about Death to how it was represented in the story

The people in the story seemed like they accepted the inevitable, including Mike, and thus deemed life useless

Life seemed boring and useless to me before as well, especially whenever I experienced great losses in my life

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I really enjoyed and liked the story because:

It was a mirror of our current reality

Health Crisis -> COVID19

Personal Experience: Though I'm not as hopeless or sick as the people in the story, I know that there are places in the world that are like that and have little help from other countries to fight the virus

Eating disorders and body dysmorphia are very pressing issues now

Personal Experience: During the 2020 lockdown, everyone was using this time to "focus" on themselves and become healthier, but a lot of the eating and workout trends caused people (myself included) to develop EDs or issues with their body image

Personal Experience: Social media makes it really easy to compare yourself to other people,  so whenever I saw people who were fit or skinny, I felt bad about myself

It made me think a lot about the characters, their personalities and motives, and what might have happened after the story ended

Though it is a short story, there were enough world-building and character descriptions that made me understand the context of the setting and the motives behind the actions of the protagonists

The health crisis was well-described and creatively introduced, and I was able to get to know Mike and Marisol through their actions and thoughts

The characters are easy for me to relate to, so I was wholeheartedly rooting for their happiness in the end

It made the story more impactful, especially since the ending is open for interpretation

Since the ending is kind of ambiguous but hopeful, it makes me think of the next steps Mike and Marisol might have taken in their relationship and current situation

Did they spend more time together?

How soon will they get infected by the enzyme?

Does Mike learn to blow smoke rings?

Despite it being around 15 years old, it can be read now (and in the future) and still be very relevant to the world

I appreciate timeless pieces

It is something I can go back to and keep finding more connections and insights, which I did throughout this MA#1

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What are your personal thoughts, comments, and reactions to the short story/poem/essay you chose? In what ways does your chosen text resonate with you?

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What are your personal thoughts, comments, and reactions to the short story/poem/essay you chose? In what ways does your chosen text resonate with you?

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Tells us of/Reflects our actions, possible repercussions, and what we can do moving forward

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Tells us of/Reflects our actions, possible repercussions, and what we can do moving forward

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It is a warning about what our world could become in the future

In the story, there is no cure for the enzyme; In our world, there are cures and preventions for COVID19

I think it tells us that the story's presentation of death and how it affects the characters can become our reality if:

COVID19 isn't regarded as something very real, important, and different per country's context

Countries and professionals don't help out one another in curbing the effects (infection rates, mortality rates) of COVID19 by sharing information and providing vaccination and health support

Individuals continue to treat COVID19 as a "joke" or a "conspiracy theory"

Selfishness, greed, and vanity prevail over the (arguably more important) effects of making, spreading, or selling something

In the story, greed and vanity overtook logic, causing the downfall of everyone in the world; In our world, greed and vanity are very prevalent issues (ex. exploitation, corruption)

It is a commentary on our actions and coping mechanisms for the issues presented in the story, and the possible repercussions of these

Actions

Commenting on others' weight and body (ex. saying they would look better if they lost weight)

Mike's relatives, wife, and Marisol's hook-up made comments on their weight

Repercussion: Causing an individual to have a negative relationship with food, their body, and weight, which can affect their life forever

Having old habits linked to trauma, which still continue even if the cause of the aforementioned habits is gone

Mike does not want people to look at you because of his weight

Repercussion: Feeling like you can never escape the trauma and getting caught in a cycle of negative feelings

Coping Mechanisms

Detaching oneself from own emotions to protect against possible, future pain

Repercussion: Not experiencing certain things because one is scared to get hurt, thus, possibly isolating themselves from others

Surrendering to despair and hopelessness

Repercussion: Negative emotions prevail in one's life, preventing happier, lighter emotions and experiences from impacting you

Making and maintaining relationships to curb the loneliness

Repercussion: Isolating oneself and feeling all alone in one's experiences and general life

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What do you think the short story/poem/essay tells us about the world? How is our world reflected in and by this short story/poem/essay?

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What do you think the short story/poem/essay tells us about the world? How is our world reflected in and by this short story/poem/essay?

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Was able to capture a unique, human experience amidst a global health crisis

Mike's and Marisol's stories were not just about the enzyme, but about their own struggles with weight, and how this struggle was related to their being alive at that moment

Their weight helped them survive the starvation up to that moment in the story despite it bringing them a lot of anguish and pain before (and even up to now)

It's very relevant to the world today because while there may be global or international issues, it doesn't mean that that is the whole life of many individuals

Often, people have both international crises and their own issues to worry about, and there are times when these overlap and affect each other

Personal Example: My fear of death of my close family is closely related to COVID19 and how it was so unknown in early 2020

Made me very nervous to leave the house and have anxiety about it

Relevant to our actual global situation

Starving Enzyme -> COVID19

Similarities

Was spread globally because of a lack of preparation, information about the consequences, and greed

Starving Enzyme was spread because people wanted to use it to curb their obesity and because of vanity, but no one was aware of how infectious and deadly it was

COVID19 was spread initially because there was a lack of information being mainstreamed to the different countries about its actual existence

Talks about contemporary and worldwide issues

Health crisis, body dysmorphia/image issues, weight issues, and insecurity

These issues, both in the story and in our reality, were not specific to one culture or type of person

This makes it relevant to the wider audience of the world, as the context can be understood by any and all individuals

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Do you think that your chosen text is relevant to the world today? Why or why not?

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Do you think that your chosen text is relevant to the world today? Why or why not?

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“Don’t be alone when the end comes. That’s key. Everything else is just noise.” (Par 30, Page 4)

"He takes a deep breath, bows his head and closes his eyes. In his mind he runs through half a dozen responses. He thinks about Peter’s advice, about what’s key, about how everything else is just noise." (Par 20, Page 6)

"In the end, he settles on the simplest, the most truthful answer. “There’s little time left.”" (Par 21, Page 6)

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“Don’t be alone when the end comes” - Peter Darrow

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“Don’t be alone when the end comes” - Peter Darrow

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My interpretation: Relationships can help reassure even when all hope is lost

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Is applicable to many issues in the world

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Is applicable to many issues in the world

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Health

In the story, the enzyme was spread because of the need to make money and the "vanity" present in the mindset of people

The enzyme would cause starvation

Presumably, no one was aware of the full implications of the enzyme and that it would be the harbinger of death to the human race

In relation to COVID19, it was so easily spread in 2020 because of the lack of adequate information released about the virus

Though the story was released in 2007 and could not be talking about COVID19, it still can be applied to our situation

The reality of "Keeping Time" could be our reality if we don't take measures to prevent, cure, and educate the human race

Greed (Big Pharma) - how this can lead to catastrophic effects worldwide

This was predominantly seen when Mike mentioned that the creators of the enzyme shipped it worldwide because of the "money to be made"

The "greed" present in "Keeping Time" is not a new concept in our world

This can be applied to capitalism and how manufacturers and companies exploit the situation of others for their own benefit

Ex. exploitation of child laborers when creating garments in sweatshops

Weight/body image issues - how this can affect one’s psyche before, during, and after weight loss/gain

This is mainly seen in Mike and his past experiences and habits

His family and wife made comments about his weight

His wife left him because of his appearance

His family said he would be more handsome if he lost weight

Because of the pain he experienced, he became detached from his feelings

In the beginning, he "took it like a man" and ate to forget

After losing weight, he still chose to bury his feelings

He also sustained habits from his overweight days that he can't seem to break out off

Sucking in and going sideways when he enters a room

Not wanting to be looked at

Mike's experiences are not unusual; many who experience body dysmorphia, eating disorders, or general body insecurity have similar feelings and habits

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“ If his wife were here, he reflects, if they had just met, she would be all over him; he is now the exact physical type she would have found irresistible.” (Par 11, Page 1)

“There was a man once. I suppose you could call it a mercy fuck. He whipped out a calculator after sex, tried to figure out my BMI. Said I would be so pretty if …“If only you lost weight,”” (Par 45-46, Page 5)

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reflection of other's views on weight and body image

shaped the detachment of Mike and experiences of Marisol

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Mike’s ex-wife/Marisol’s one night stand

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Mike’s ex-wife/Marisol’s one night stand

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Made comments on weight of respective individual

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Waiting for death

Lacks hope

All are or will be affected by the enzyme or inhibitor

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Attractive

Lost weight recently (previously obese/overweight)

Reporter

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Lost a lot of weight (was previously obese/overweight)

Has issues with weight

Lonely because wife left him (is now dead)

Feels weird/off in his situation (not fat anymore)

47 years old

Works at WHO (field investigator)

Values his work

Responsible

Detaches himself from his feelings

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“The inhibitor only slows it down, but its spread and its effects are largely irreversible.” (Par 2, Page 2)

“Mike is supposed to be part of the solution. But as one of the lead investigators [..] he knows there is none.” (Par 13, Page 3)

“All that can be done is for the drug companies to manufacture as much of the inhibitor as possible, dump it into water supplies and hope it can delay the inevitable. The scientists can find ways to boost its efficacy, but not by much. At most, the planet has seven years before all its water supplies are wholly contaminated, either by the enzyme itself or by the inhibitor.” (Par 13, Page 3)

“The cities of his youth — Manila, where he was born, New York, Tokyo — were bustling, noisy, claustrophobic with their masses of people. Even Boston, where he stayed while in graduate school, teemed in the daytime. That’s all just a memory now. The world’s biggest cities, and its smallest, its poorest and wealthiest, all are in the same boat…” (Par 8, Page 2)

“He’s already thinking in the past tense.” (Par 19, Page 4)

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Everyone is waiting for death, no one is hopeful anymore

No solution, inevitable is just being delayed

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“The eyes that look upon him take in how normal — how good — he looks. There is envy, and there is also a certain mild derision: you must have been so fat. He has learned not to let this get to him.” (Par 4, Page 3)

“He said: ‘The fat shall inherit the earth’.” (Par 50, Page 5)

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Common knowledge that those who are obese/overweight will be the last to go because they have more fat/mass to burn

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“Children and the elderly are always the first to go. Pregnant women pass the enzyme on to their unborn babies, and they begin starving in the womb. If by some miracle a child is born alive, its DNA is already hardwired for starvation.” (Par 10, Page 3)

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Human race is dying because of the water contamination issue that makes everyone starve

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"On the drive to Makati, where Peter lives [..]" (Par 11, Page 4)

Suggests that the setting (conference, hotel) is in the Philippines because of the presence of Makati and how Mike can easily go there

“Everywhere he goes, he always finds the same damn thing. It’s in the water, in the rain, in the rivers and lakes; it cannot be dammed up, it cannot be stopped.” (Par 3, Page 2)

“Always a different country, always the same story.” (Par 4, Page 2)

“Given the demand, some governments had secretly tested the enzyme on domestic water supplies, only to find they could not contain it. The problem spread, tainting supplies like a ferocious algal bloom.” (Par 9, Page 3)

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WHO Conference is in the Philippines

Enzyme affects the whole world

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Philippines

Worldwide

In the future

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“Even in this, Big Pharma continues to make Big Money.” (Par 14, Page 3)

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“It had all started in North America, and it should have stayed there. But there was money to be made, and Europe soon followed suit.” (Par 8, Page 3)

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Big Pharma is still capitalizing on the situation

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Enzyme was spread because of the greed to make money

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“The cities of his youth — Manila, where he was born, New York, Tokyo — were bustling, noisy, claustrophobic with their masses of people. Even Boston, where he stayed while in graduate school, teemed in the daytime. That’s all just a memory now. The world’s biggest cities, and its smallest, its poorest and wealthiest, all are in the same boat…” (Par 8, Page 2)

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Cities look so barren and apocalyptic

Can be a manifestation of the peoples' thoughts on the enzyme and their future, or lack thereof (man vs self)

Because of the enzyme (man vs nature)

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“...half their populations decimated, the other half just waiting” (Par 8, Page 2)

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Half of the world is gone, the other half is getting there

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“There are fewer and fewer people left at work now, and his workload seems to have grown exponentially over the past four or five years.” (Par 1, Page 2)

“At the conference, all the faces Mike sees are grim. About a third of the people in the room are in the final stages: emaciated, eyes bulging out of sunken sockets, bellies distended, clothes hanging off their bodies. They move slowly and with great difficulty, some hooked up to parenteral nutrition drips.” (Par 3, Page 3)

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Everyone is slowly dying because of the enzyme (starvation)

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“Children and the elderly are always the first to go. Pregnant women pass the enzyme on to their unborn babies, and they begin starving in the womb. If by some miracle a child is born alive, its DNA is already hardwired for starvation.” (Par 10, Page 3)

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The enzyme causes people to starve to death

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“It had all started in North America, and it should have stayed there. But there was money to be made, and Europe soon followed suit.” (Par 8, Page 3)

”Total contamination of water supplies will take about seven years, but most of us would have starved to death by then.” (Par 10, Page 6)

"Given the demand, some governments had secretly tested the enzyme on domestic water supplies, only to find they could not contain it. The problem spread, tainting supplies like a ferocious algal bloom." (Par 9, Page 3)

“All that can be done is for the drug companies to manufacture as much of the inhibitor as possible, dump it into water supplies and hope it can delay the inevitable. The scientists can find ways to boost its efficacy, but not by much. At most, the planet has seven years before all its water supplies are wholly contaminated, either by the enzyme itself or by the inhibitor. (Par 13, Page 3)

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The enzyme was caused by Big Pharma, and while governments tried to contain it and while scientists are trying to find preventions, all the water has been contaminated and it will only slow the inevitable for about 7 years

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“He used to be married, but she left him when his sperm count dwindled and he broke the 300-pound mark.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“This, too, he took like a man, shrugging off the sympathy of family, friends, colleagues, going about his work with the same implacable precision, the same clinical detachment.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“He finds the bed in the dark, lies down, breathes slowly and deeply; but the feeling will not go away.” (Par 16, Page 2)

“He recognizes it finally as something he has tried not to think about in years, buried far below the surface of his hectic yet well-ordered life.” (Par 17, Page 2)

“For years now, he has denied his loneliness, has refused to even think about it.” (Par 5, Page 5)

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Mike’s wife left him because of his weight and was one of the first to die because of the enzyme. Now, even if Mike is conventionally attractive, he can’t seem to find it in himself to form relationships because of his detachment issues and the way the world had become.

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“Many in the region had clamored to have their water treated, citing rising rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes. Truthfully, vanity was just as great a motivator.” (Par 9, Page 3)

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Enzyme spread because of vanity with weight

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“Mike enters the room sideways, sucking in his gut. It is an old habit; even though he has shed more than a hundred and forty pounds, he still feels like a fat man. Sometimes he catches himself doing it; when he does, he backs out of the door and comes in again like a normal person.” (Par 1, Page 1)

“In private, he ate his way into numbness, a lumbering giant laced with deep and invisible scars.” (Par 10, Page 1)

“Now, at the ripe old age of 47, he is the man he has always wanted to be: muscled and trim, save for some residual fat around the belly and love handles, and under the arms.” (Par 11, Page 1)

““You don’t like it when people look too closely at you.” It’s a statement of fact, not a question. “It’s a fat person thing. You would know.”” (Par 3-4, Page 6)

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Mike still grapples with habits from when he was overweight and the self-esteem issues from that

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“But he soon grew used to the cutting refrain from even the most well-meaning relatives: “You’d be so handsome if only …”.” (Par 9, Page 1)

“There was a man once. I suppose you could call it a mercy fuck. He whipped out a calculator after sex, tried to figure out my BMI. Said I would be so pretty if …“If only you lost weight,”” (Par 45-46, Page 5)

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Others told Mike and Marisol that they would be so pretty/handsome if they just lost weight

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“Keeping Time” tells the story of Michael “Mike” Tejada, a field investigator of the World Health Organization, and how he, along with the rest of the world, is coping with a deadly disease. This disease was brought about by an enzyme that contaminated the world’s waters, causing everyone to slowly starve to death. The literature also tells the story of the possible relationship between Mike and a woman in the hotel room next door, and how Mike overcomes personal struggles to form a connection with her.