Some curious things in Summer Knight

[morriswalters]

Things are in Chicago because the book is centered in Chicago.  So the frequency of anything tied to Chicago is related to Jim choice to site the series there.  It doesn't tell you anything in and of itself.

[BrainFireBob]

A few thoughts.
 
Chicago in general- it is a multi-layered crossroads. A freshwater port on an inland lake that connects to the ocean- twice. A major international airport hub. A railroad hub, a freeway hub. Located in the middle-ish of two mountain ranges, the Great Lakes, and the Great Plains, at the border of two nations. An old Celtic concept is that the more between something is, the greater the overlap with the Otherworld. Also, it’s a city in the sky- from a certain point of view. The entire city was lifted to solve a drainage problem in the 19th century; it’s on stilts. Canada is “cold”, the Great Plains are “hot”, and Chicago swings from one extreme to the other- it’s a good magical Law of Similarity for the “border” between Summer and Winter as well.
Venice would be your closest comparison, but is pretty definitely in Summer territory.
 
From a supernatural nations point of view; Europe is the primary stomping grounds of the White Council. South America was Red Court; one assumes China is Jade Court with a smattering of “they don’t do anything so White Council is there too.” Black Court was active in south-eastern Europe but was aggressively expansionistic; White Court appears to be Mediterranean originally (they speak Etruscan and favor the use of ghouls as muscle; ghouls speak Sumerian as a native tongue). Africa and Australia are unknown.
The White Council has been moving into North America, yet it seems that an effort to “recruit” in North America is new, like Ramirez-generation new. Let me suggest the following.
 
North America was *White Court* territory. This was a point of friction for New World wizards- McCoy, Liberty, Listens-to-Wind- and created a political block as a result in the White Council. Bianca was moving in to this territory specifically to assert a Red Court presence. Her success- right down to running a brothel, recalling that that would be what one would expect as a White Court thing- is why she’s promoted later.
 
The White Court previously published Stoker’s Dracula when the Black Court was threatening their territory in Europe (southeastern Europe).
 
Harry Dresden, walking magical boomstick, meanders into Chicago on his own, possibly originally for easy access to the Ways. He’s persona non grata in the Council and doesn’t interact with them.
 
Initially, he wanders into a turf Cold War between Bianca and Marcone. As a side effect, Bianca develops a personal hatred.
 
In Fool Moon, he embarrasses Madrigal Raith in front of the supernatural community (he was offering to auction Harry, recall).
 
Later, as a personal coup, Bianca attempts to kill him. Instead of directly violating the Accords, he releases his power to allow her dead victims to kill her and her  ... scourge? This is the pretext for the Red Court to declare war, but this does not void the standing of the White Council, making it an internal matter between the two. Winner: White Court. The incursion on their territory is neutered.
 
Paolo Ortega then challenges Harry to a duel. He loses.
 
Blood Rites- the White King is embarrassed by the White Council. His newest daughter is lost to the White Court and the Raith family. One assumes this is internally considered . . .an embarrassment. The Black Court has also established a presence in Chicago in this book; moving in to the “empty” territory?
 
Sidenote: Dead beat, Death Masks - the White Court is inert/embarassed, the Red Court lost their local powerbase in Chicago, the Black Court has abandoned moving in. Harry and the White Council aren’t flexing their muscle; making this an ideal magical Casablanca, explaining the Denarian and necromancer use of it. One assumes that the “dark ley lines” of Demonreach are part of their intended use of Chicago. Vastly powerful ley lines and no major supernatural nation providing oversight?
 
Main argument: Proven Guilty- this is targeted at Dresden, so it’s incidentally in Chicago. Dresden again embarrasses Madrigal Raith.
 
White Night- the White King is facing an internal coup. Malvora and Skavis are killing the next generation of the White Council before birth to show that “the wizards are vulnerable.” This is an insult that implies that the White King is seen as being in retreat/afraid of the White Council. This is “saved” for Lara by Harry showing up to eliminate the champions of Malvora and Skavis, making him appear as her cat’s paw when combined with their previous interactions. Instead, it appears Lara set up the other two Houses. The “power vacuum” in Chicago that Harry didn’t realize he’d created is filled by John Marcone. Lara Raith discovers that Harry is still protected by True Love from Susan, presumably when she attempted to use her power on him at the end of the book. He was an unanticipated threat at that point, being immune.
 
Small Favor- the Denarians make a play for Marcone or the Archive. And Anastasia Luccio seduces Dresden, out of the blue, removing his Lara Raith protection. Again, this can be seen as a territorial dispute revolving around Chicago.
 
Turn Coat- again, personal to Dresden. Chicago is incidental.
 
Changes, Ghost Story- Personal to Dresden. Red Court is eliminated. In the aftermath, we see Marcone and Lara fending off the Fomor.
 
Cold Days-  is really about Demonreach, which happens to be outside of Chicago.
 
Skin Game- Is personal. Mab has collaborated with Marcone for a vault with access to Hades’s vault to be located near the physical location of her Winter Knight.
 
 
Point is, what’s happening in Chicago is that Harry blundered into a turf war between two vampire courts; and his grandfather, being the Blackstaff, had enough White Council political clout to ensure that Harry was an actual full member of the White Council, with all rights and privileges applying thereof. Butcher tells us outright the White Court uses cat’s paws multiple times.
 
Returning to the OP:
 
1)      When one court moves, the other must respond. Both ladies being in proximity makes sense, regardless of Nemfection. I suspect it has to do with their purpose. At a *guess*, the Winter Lady’s job is to entice Changelings to Choose Fae, as part of a broader portfolio to supply soldiers for the Reality War. The Summer Lady may have the same job for summer Fae, or may exist to ensure that the Changelings have Choice. The Winter Lady’s seductress act would fit this portfolio nicely.
2)      The Summer Knight may have been in Chicago as a reaction to the budding turf war between Vampire Courts.
3)      Nice catch, I missed this. And Lea is one of the nastiest Winter Fae, yes? Kemmler was allied with “most of the wicked Faeries.” Probably includes the Erlking, too- goblins aren’t exactly nice. WAG: Harry is following a mirror Kemmler path, and this will be story important at some point. From the outside, he certainly looks a lot like Kemmler from the initial brief description we get. Speaking terms with nasties, keeps coming up with power-ups.
4)      I disagree here. I think it’s that the Knights aren’t bound by their power. A Fae not only lacks free will, but I imagine they can’t abrogate your free will either. Example: A musician told Maeve he’d give his life to play at a certain level. Maeve killed him by making him play himself to death, but *inspired* playing. If he hadn’t made that bargain, I don’t think she could have touched him. A Knight has the same freedom as any other mortal to frag anyone, even using their power. You irritate Mab but you don’t actually give her legal grounds to kill you? She can waste her time in elaborate vengeance, or just tell her Knight “That guy offends me. Deal with him.” No pretext, no cause- if Mab decided blondes were irritating, the Knight could go on a killing spree for her, as long as he could actually pull off the hit (Kincaid wouldn’t go down soft, nor would most of the Valkyries).
 
Additional note: One of my pet theories is that Harry isn’t the Winter Knight. Id-Harry is the Winter Knight, but Harry-Harry controls Id-Harry until he’s ready to make things go BOOM. This is part of what’s so attractive to Mab- a Knight who is master of the mantle, able to call on it, give it its head, or even tell it “stop that” depending on the situation. That would be why Id-Harry has the badge but Slate was branded.
 
I also have a super WAG that Harry’s not Harry, Id-Harry is Harry; Harry’s a fine thrall personality created so Id-Harry would be a controllable enforcer for DuMorne (immune/resistant to black magic backlash); but that Harry-Harry has existed long enough to “grow” his own soul, analogous to Lash-Lasciel. In fact, he would have been Harry-Harry for longer than he was Id-Harry.
 
Of course, my other WAG is that Harry is the 4th KOTC (Uriel’s Knight); and that’s why Mab is forced to accept Uriel’s intermittent interference. Since the other three are Faith (Gabriel), Hope (Michael), and Love (Raphael); my wife and I enjoy discussing what he might be the Knight of, my wife likes “Acts/Actions” and I favor “Judgment” or “Vengeance.” Puts a completely different spin on that scene with Cassius, when he claims to “repent” and Michael says, emphasis mine, “We can’t do anything to him”- and then the other three Knights process to let the 4th Knight break his kneecaps for information. HE can do something to Cassius. Faith in God, Hope in God, Love of God, Judgment of God.
 
The infusion with Soulfire would be analogous to Butter’s Lightsaber- it appeared when Harry went running into a Denarian ambush to save a little girl. His first use was a hand that literally smacked Thorned Namshiel around. Or maybe the Lance of Longinus is the 4th Nail. Or both.

[Arjan]

Can't be true unless Mab lied or was mistaken, both of which are highly unlikely. She explicitly says it was the knife that was the vector of infection to Lea, implying Lea infected Maeve.

So: Knife => Lea => Maeve Is what you get from Mab. From her nothing about when Maeve was infected but it is suspicious that Maeve talked about Lea to Harry the way she did in Summer Knight.

Maeve was unlikely to have been infected in Summer Knight as she actually helps Harry get to Aurora and stop her, and is not working with Aurora.

I won't call that help. She obstructed Harry and only did the bare minimum not to get suspected by Mab.

Aurora was short term and served as a good distraction for Maeve.

It was Actually Elaine who helped Harry at the decisive moment at the end so Harry could confront Aurora. She could have dropped the thorns on Harry and everything would have been over.

If they did (like Maeve and Lily in Cold Days) they really could have upset everything, and been a much more difficult issue. Also why would Lea infect Maeve and have her infect Aurora?

Lea would have easy access to Maeve. Aurora would have been totally different for her. And Maeve was the real long term asset. Aurora was sacrificed for an immediate stab.

Maeve could have played Aurora's role in Summer Knight just as easily but in reverse (in fact she would have relished killing Slate). Occam's razor - she wasn't infected yet.

Why? she had Aurora for that and could stay hidden.

[Bad Alias]

But that's another weird thing. Why on earth was the last Die Lied Der Erlking in Chicago??! Surely there would have been more in Europe or other such places? I get the reason was so that Harry could be involved, but what if it had been London or Prague? Would Cowl have become a new god then? Would the book have been destroyed? Would anyone have noticed until it was too late and the White Council had been wiped out?

Cowl had been going around destroying them already. Why go to the end of the line first? There probably would have been more in Europe, so, if efficiency was necessary, starting in Europe would make more sense. (But Ways, so take that explanation with a grain of salt).

In Fool MoonProven Guilty, he embarrasses Madrigal Raith in front of the supernatural community (he was offering to auction Harry, recall).

Not everything important happens in Chicago. The war with the Reds was pretty global. A Senior Council member is murdered in Archangel, Russia. The shroud is stolen in Italy. It only comes to Chicago because of Marcone. Ortega is assassinated in Honduras. The Wardens are basically wiped out in Italy and Africa. There is a major battle with the Red Court where Morgan nearly kills the Red King. At the same time, Luccio's training camp is attacked with Michael in proximity. The events of White Night happen all over America, or at least their lead up. Another Senior Council member is assassinated, this time in Edinburgh. The major events of Changes happen in Mexico. I don't recall when it happened, but there was that situation with the Rakshasa. The Fomor is a global situation.

I'm sure there is other stuff going on, but we know more about what happens in proximity to Harry. I do think it would be fun if Jim takes advantage of Margaret's knowledge of the Ways to really broaden the story, and I think shelving that knowledge seems like something that would happen in those other stories about a wizard named Harry. On the other hand, I don't really care too much about where the story takes place.

[Yuillegan]

Morris- I am aware of the reason that Jim uses as an author...but as I said earlier, I would prefer a better narrative reason. What I am saying really is that I believe the book has outgrown the Chicago setting. Jim doesn't need to stick to the "cookie-cutter" rules as he calls them as much anymore. He can afford to take risks and leave Chicago every now and then, and make it a more interconnected book. Even if he stays within America. Which isn't to say he doesn't sometimes jump around, but it is few and far between.

BFB -
Okay, interesting points on the Chicago take. Best I have heard so far.

I like your thoughts on the divvying up of the place, although one imagines it is more populous and complicated. The Fae seem to be everywhere, as do the Fomor. Not to mention there isn't much discussion about smaller parts of the world, and what supernatural events/territories are happening there (like Africa).

1) I agree with what your saying, but it doesn't really examine properly why they were there around the time the Red Court war kicks off. It is too big of a coincidence imho.
2) Possibly, but it is sort of implied he lives there. He has an apartment where Fix, Meryl, Lily, and Ace took refuge from Lloyd Slate.
3) Thanks, it was buried well until recently. Yeah I forgot that Kemmler had links to "the nastier Faeries". We never have really explored which Faeries they would be...Lea would be a highly likely candidate. Mab seemed to know him, the Erlking does seem oddly connected to him, the Red Cap would be a fit. But who else? Harry does seem to parallel him in many ways...I wonder if Kemmler was a starborn himself?
4) I see what you're getting at. Except it is only the QUEENS that cannot kill (i.e. abrogate mortal Free Will). All the other Fae can do as they wish in that regard. So why can't the Queens just use any of their normal monsters to kill humans then? Well they can, and often do. The Knights have a more specific, more complex and unique purpose. Bob explained them as the wetworks guys of the Courts. But it is more about WHOM specifically they can, and are meant to kill. And probably about whatever other functions they perform for the Queens. They also seem to be a failsafe and an enforcer of the Queens' will. But mostly it is the combination of universal elemental power with mortal free will - and to be a mere hatchet man seems like a huge waste.

Your super WAG is very interesting. And has precedent (Lash-Lasciel, Bob-Evil Bob, etc). If Harry were in fact merely the "good" version and his evil or Id nature had been held at bay for years, what might happen if the barriers were taken off? Like the fairly bad X-men 3 movie, Jean Grey's alternate personality "Phoenix".

I don't see him as the Fourth Knight of the Cross. For a start, Heaven seems to be pretty big on Free Will. I think they couldn't sign you on without actually asking you...and afaik Harry never was offered or agreed to such a role. Uriel isn't like a Fae; he isn't trying to entrap people. Also pretty sure God is the only Judge in the Christian Faith, his other agents merely carry out his will. The Soulfire angle is intriguing I admit though...but I think Soulfire isn't a nail. Nor is the Lance of Longinus. So it would be hard to be a Knight of the Cross without a connection to the Cross (i.e. a nail).

Arjan -
Considering it was the first time we meet Maeve, it is hard to judge what her "normal" behaviour is. It would have been good to have a story set when Maeve was clearly Maeve, and no doubt could be cast on her behaviour (from being nemfected) to use as a control against later scenes. I admit it is possible that she was nemfected, as the timing is close enough. But still very unlikely to me, for reasons previously outlined.

How doesn't she help Harry? She literally saves him from certain death in the battle of Chicago-over-Chicago, and clears his path to Aurora and the Stone Table (who had not yet raised the Thorn Barrier).

What do you mean by "Aurora being short term" and how is she a distraction for Maeve? As I said, if they had worked together the plan would have succeeded. Why wait? Who was Maeve distracting? Harry? If they had unbalanced the Courts it would have aided Nemesis' plans. I believe Elaine was rebelling in her own small way - helping Harry the best she could without overtly stopping Aurora. Always to maintain her cover.

I think you're argument is that Aurora was a quick and dirty opportunity, sacrificed to test the defences etc. Whilst Maeve was always meant to be a more successful asset. Like Nicodemus with the Fake Shroud (playing Apocalypse lottery) versus whatever his long term plan is.

Except there isn't any real evidence to say that Aurora was meant to be a short term asset. We have NO IDEA when she got infected. If Elaine did it it could have been even 10 years before Summer Knight. Her plan was well thought out and planned, and didn't rely on a window that had opened up. She kicked off her play by killing Reuel (the former Summer Knight) which set the pace from there.

Why? she had Aurora for that and could stay hidden.

Because together they could have succeeded, and why did she need to stay hidden? The simplest answer is that she wasn't nemfected. If they were both nemfected why weren't they working together, even in secret? What was staying hidden for? What was Maeve and/or Nemesis waiting for? What is your theory there?

Bad Alias -
But was Chicago the end of the line? He could have started in Chicago and kept going around to destroy the others? But if there were others in America as well why not start there? In fact, he may well have been lying when he said he was destroying them. The implication is that the Reds made a deal with Cowl that they would distract the White Council enough so that he could become a God and in return eliminate the Senior Council for them. Harry pretty much says that at the end of Dead Beat. So even if he was destroying the book (presumably to stop the competition) the real reason Chicago makes sense for that book is because Bob was there. But how the hell would Cowl know that? Because Cowl is Justin. He knew Harry took Bob and knows he still has him. That was his ace-in-the-hole.

But Dead Beat doesn't make sense if Cowl didn't intend to be a God at all. The attack on the White Council, the arrival on Halloween of all nights, the summoning of the Wild Hunt. These were not coincidences.

I agree not everything happens there, but it seems like a disproportionate amount of important stuff happens there. As I said to Morris, I think the story has outgrown Chicago and Jim can afford to take the series into other parts of the world. Lol I agree, some writers just give off interesting information which they never use again.   

[Arjan]

The goal in summer knight is to destabilize the sidhe courts but the end goal is always to open the gates and destabilization is not enough without a force in place to make use of it because in the end the courts will find a new equilibrium.

Maeve would have been in the right place to make use of the destabilization.

I think it is shown the infection can work in several ways. It can completely take over as we have seen with cat Sith and Lea or it can change the hosts nature to make it more compatible with its aims. but every infection is unique in its interaction between the host and nemesis.

And some infections or maybe all need careful management. It could be that during Summer Knight most of Nemesis attention was focused on Aurora, which gave Lea the idea that she could fight it alone, and that Maeve was not aware of the infection yet and could only be carefully influenced or taken over completely. Her deal with Nemesis was yet to come.

Maeve was kept in reserve for the final blow when the Sidhe courts were in total chaos.

[Bad Alias]

1) I agree with what your saying, but it doesn't really examine properly why they were there around the time the Red Court war kicks off. It is too big of a coincidence imho.

If by they, you mean the Faerie Courts, they moved in just after the RCW kicked off. Harry suspects it's because of the weakening of the border to the Nevernever that Bianca did. Which may have been the point of whoever is pulling the strings.

Chicago would be the end of the line because that's where the Word of Kemmler was. That's why they were in Chicago.

Maeve was playing Lily and gloating a lot. All very Maeve. Aurora was "helping." They were acting in character but against their natures. Maybe nemfection is like mind magic in that it can only bend someone so far before they break. That would explain why they wouldn't have worked together if both were infected, but I do agree it's simpler if Maeve isn't infected yet, or the infection hadn't yet taken root.

[Arjan]

Nemfection has to work a bit like mind magic and a bit like possession depending on the amount of influence and control Nemesis wants. Mind magic for long term and possession for immediate concerns.

For the infection to kept hidden and the hosts somewhat functional the hosts nature must not be changed too much and the host will function mostly on autopilot as it did before.

So an infected person can sometimes do something against Nemesis in line with their original nature if Nemesis is distracted but not at crucial moments.

We see that later Maeve still acts based on her mommy issues. Nemesis works with what is available just like mind magic.

[Mira]

For the infection to kept hidden and the hosts somewhat functional the hosts nature must not be changed too much and the host will function mostly on autopilot as it did before.

Yes, Aurora appeared almost normal, Harry bought into her compassion as soon as he met her.  Maeve on the other hand had her issues so until things got out of hand nothing seemed all that unusual about her.

[Yuillegan]

Yeah but Harry had no idea Maeve had issues when he met her for the first time, nor Aurora...he didn't even know they existed! How Harry perceived them in their first encounters respectively is really irrelevant to whether they were or were not infected.

Arjan - It's a interesting take, but it is just speculation. You don't know how Nemesis work functionally within a host. You are guessing. Perhaps it works like mind magic, perhaps like Denarian influence, perhaps like ghost/demon possession. But we don't KNOW because there is no text evidence or WOJ to prove it. You are just assuming how it works. We only know that it is sentient, and that it likes to keep some assets covert and seemingly unaware (although we haven't seen the thoughts from the inside). But we have seen it can take full control of an asset if necessary, and we have seen that it can cause beings to violate their fundamental nature.

You might be right about the goals, but we didn't see enough of the big picture in Summer Knight to know what was going on. The fact Rashid shows up tells me that he probably wasn't needed at the Outer Gates, so their likely wasn't a major assault. But he did take a keen interests in events, and push them in Harry's favour so he likely was doing some part of his job. If Aurora had destabilised the Courts, it would have meant the mortal world was less able to stop the agents of the Outsiders from opening the gates etc. Winter winning against Summer would only have made them lose overall. That was the real play, even if Aurora couldn't see it. Mothers Summer and Winter pretty much say this "the boy can see what she cannot" to paraphrase.

But what evidence do you have from the books, or WOJ, that Maeve was kept in reserve? It isn't even implied as far as I can tell.

Bad Alias -
I meant the Ladies, specifically. But excellent reminder, the Heirs of Kemmler had to be in Chicago as it was Bone Tony who found the Word at a WWII auction locker and was selling it, drawing them in. Although Bob being the back up was awfully convenient. Still.

I am sure that if they were both infected, Nemesis could have made them work together. If it couldn't, it really isn't the threat everyone says it is.

[morriswalters]

IMO everything that happens in the run up to Cold Days involving the Fae Courts is part of the attack on Mab and the attempt to breach the Gates.  Aurora is part of that.  Remember what Mother Summer tells you about Titania's purpose.  With Summer weakened and the Courts out of balance the brakes would be off. But it would be a distraction, giving events a chance to play out. The vampire wars, and the ascendance of Cowl.

The narrative reason that the events happen in Chicago is that Harry is there.  He is the Nexus, not the place. This is pounded out in the text over and over. Everything that happens has to be looked at through that particular lens.  The reason that Demonreach exists there is part of that.  It almost certainly has to be.  Merlin had to foresee this in whatever fashion. And as such it had to guide his choice.

[Arjan]

We have seen it taking direct control of Cat Sith in cold days.

[Mira]

We have seen it taking direct control of Cat Sith in cold days.

Indeed,  the question is at what point did he become infected?   It has been a while but didn't Mab assign him to assist Harry?  I seem to remember something to that effect.  Anyway Harry didn't immediately perceive that Cat Sith was infected.  The reason for that could be until he met with Titania that he then became more vigilant..  So was it that, or did Maeve or someone else infect Cat Sith mid-book?

[Bad Alias]

Nemfection may vary from mild to severe and build over time. We've seen with Lea that it can be overcome. We've seen with Cat Sith that it can be fought. We've also seen with Cat Sith that if it is fought, and the fight is lost, it's obvious that the victim isn't in control. From this, I conclude that it is exceedingly likely that Nemesis can only push the host so far from their natures, desires, or whatever it is that would make them want to fight.

@Yuillegan: We have a theory expressed in text that the Ladies are in Chicago because of the events of Grave Peril generally. It was my mistaken recollection that it was more precisely because of the weakening of the barrier.

"The Cold Lady came to Undertown. Her court is in Undertown."
"What?" I sputtered. "Since when?"
Toot whirled around in impatient loops in the air. "Since the last autumn!"
I scratched at my hair. It made sense, I supposed. Last autumn, a vengeful vampire and her allies had stirred up all srts of supernatural mischief, creating turbulence in the border between the real world and the Nevernever, the world of spirit. Shortly after, the war between the wizards and the vampires had begun.
Those events had probably attracted the attention of all sorts of things.

There's also a mention in one of the books about the supernatural being drawn to places like Chicago. I think the explanation had to do with ley lines, but I'm not sure.

With major events happening early on drawing in important supernatural parties, certain fixed features of Chicago (ley line, Ways, and mortal nexus, Demonreach, and probably more), and Harry's ability to make thinks spin out of control and be/end up in the center of things, it's not surprising that more and more activity happens in Chicago. These things snowball.

I do like the theory that Harry isn't immune to whatever draws all these things to Chicago in the first place. I mean, what are the chances anyone ends up in Van Buren, Missouri, or anything important happens there?

Also, we have the problem of perspective. We only see what Harry sees in the worst week of his year, whatever happens in short stories, and whatever happens to get mentioned in that worst week.

All that said, I totally agree that Jim has the opportunity to broaden the geographic scope of the story. I'm not sure if the story would benefit or suffer from that. I imagine it takes a lot of research to get the scenery right, and it's easy to make mistakes. I know when authors get things I know well wrong, it pulls me out of the story.

[Yuillegan]

We have seen it taking direct control of Cat Sith in cold days.

Yep...what's your point?

Mira - Harry believes that Cat Sith was taken and infected when covering the exit for Harry, during the meeting with Maeve and Lily. Sharkface was watching and captured him, and infected him. It's a plausible theory because Sharkface had just shown up and Cat Sith only goes missing right after the meeting at the Botanic Gardens. Harry could be wrong of course...but it has the credibility of simplicity. Maeve wouldn't have done it openly and risk blowing her cover with Lily and her entourage, and she was busy at that point. No one else was yet infected that we know of (so an unknown is less likely than a known party).

Morris - I think a theory along those lines has been mentioned before, and it is an interesting one. Cold Days is a serious book after all. But to me it feels more like each step aids the previous step but each step is also important in its own right, but considering to the Outsiders time would be something of a strange concept, whether events were building towards something or every event is meant to succeed is debatable. Outsiders live Outside (as in outside the universe, perhaps outside Creation altogether - definitely that is hinted at). They would only be aware of 4D space-time as it relates to them upon entering the horizon of Reality. Cause and effect, living forever or not, would be somewhat moot points. The circle of eternity closed from the outside would look much stranger than from within. For example, it could be that while 10,000 years pass on Earth but Outside the universe that event also appears to be happening as the same attack in Cold Days and the inevitable Grand Finale in the BAT. Time is relative in the universe, and it is a very mortal and human thing to experience it linearly.

And I hope you are right, that Merlin and Angels and all the rest planned out Chicago as the site of everything based on this one Wizard called Dresden. But I just would like Jim to address it. Because as you point out, Demonreach is in Chicago. I don't know if it has occured to anyone, but Merlin was a British Wizard. Why on earth would he build it in America (which during his time was not even necessarily known to exist)?! The sheer convenience of Chicago in some ways is more unbelievable than the rest of the world combined! Don't get me wrong, I love the setting. But it is starting to break my immersion.