Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life.
When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her-but was gifted with a mysterious power. Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. The implication seems to be that creativity and the ability to create new myths and stories are needed for African Americans to be made whole after the trauma of slavery.An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here and here. Thus, Hiram’s ability to use his power is only as strong as his ability to use his imagination. Storytelling is an important means of transmitting history and values, particularly in oral cultures such as the African cultures. The other symbolic element of Conduction is the role of storytelling. Hiram’s lack of control is analogous to the person who fails to live authentically because he or she lacks knowledge of his or her true history. Because he lacks true comprehension of the significance of the visions he sees, Hiram does not exercise control over Conduction at this point. While Hiram is unaware that water, memories, and feelings are needed to control Conduction, he is aware that his vision of a woman water-dancing is powerful and overwhelming. Conduction appears in the first chapter of the novel with the accident that kills Maynard.
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