The philosophical 10th-edition Cookbook author — a lonely hive-being whose 'we are a hive' essay stirs Carl's conscience.
York is the author of the 10th edition of The-Dungeon-Anarchists-Cookbook, who filled pages with rambling philosophical essays Carl can barely parse but can't stop thinking about. A hive-being ('surrounded by my hive, yet... alone'), York's final entry before he died or lost the book frames the Cookbook itself as an attempt to forge 'a hive of those who will never cross paths, except in these pages' — and argues there is no shame in wanting to belong, nor in wanting to protect one's brethren, even strangers, 'for they are yours, and they are being taken.' 'It is us or it is them. There is consolation in dying in the pursuit of justice.' Reading it as the train lines collapse and crawlers strand across the tracks, Carl — though unsure he agrees with the last part — feels resolved that there's 'something more to be done' for those trapped, even without knowing what.
A hive-being of unspecified alien race; not physically described.
A philosophical Cookbook author whose words nudge Carl toward saving strangers.