Momo's Encounters with the Gray Men

Momo

This flow traces the Gray Men's attempts to influence, frighten, and bargain with Momo, and her growing resistance.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Doll as Bait The Doll as Bait from "Momo". The Doll as Bait A Manufactured Desire The Gray Men leave Lola, the Living Doll, where Momo will find her.

The Doll as Bait A Manufactured Desire The Gray Men leave Lola, the Living Doll, where Momo will find her. The doll repeats a handful of phrases but cannot respond to imaginative play, and a Gray Man arrives with a vast collection of accessories. The display encourages consumption as an endless cure for boredom. It is designed to isolate Momo from friends by replacing conversation with an expanding stock of possessions.

Momo Names the Emptiness Momo Names the Emptiness from "Momo". Momo Names the Emptiness Love Against Possession The Gray Man argues that Momo harms her friends by distracting them from success.

Momo Names the Emptiness from "Momo". Momo Names the Emptiness Love Against Possession The Gray Man argues that Momo harms her friends by distracting them from success.

Momo Names the Emptiness Love Against Possession The Gray Man argues that Momo harms her friends by distracting them from success. Momo answers that she loves them and doubts anyone could love the doll itself. Her response unsettles the agent because it exposes the emptiness behind the sales pitch. She judges the offer by the quality of relationship it permits, not by the quantity of things it supplies.

A Secret Slips Out A Secret Slips Out from "Momo". A Secret Slips Out Listening Breaks the Mask As Momo tries to understand the Gray Man, he blurts out that his kind must remain unnoticed and that they drain…

A Secret Slips Out from "Momo". A Secret Slips Out Listening Breaks the Mask As Momo tries to understand the Gray Man, he blurts out that his kind must remain unnoticed and that they drain…

A Secret Slips Out Listening Breaks the Mask As Momo tries to understand the Gray Man, he blurts out that his kind must remain unnoticed and that they drain people's saved time. He reveals their dependence on stolen human life before regaining control of himself. Momo has not interrogated him by force. Her exceptional attention makes the agent's practiced disguise fail, leaving him frightened and exposed.

The Gray Man Flees The Gray Man Flees from "Momo". The Gray Man Flees Fear Replaces Persuasion The agent demands that Momo forget him and shakes her, but she is too shocked to answer.

The Gray Man Flees from "Momo". The Gray Man Flees Fear Replaces Persuasion The agent demands that Momo forget him and shakes her, but she is too shocked to answer.

The Gray Man Flees Fear Replaces Persuasion The agent demands that Momo forget him and shakes her, but she is too shocked to answer. The dolls and their accessories fly back into his car, which speeds away. A discarded cigar smolders as Momo recalls what she has heard. The encounter turns an abstract suspicion into a personal conflict, while leaving her aware that the Gray Men can retaliate.

A Bargain Refused A Bargain Refused from "Momo". A Bargain Refused Friends as Leverage The Gray Men surround Momo and truthfully offer to return her friends if she leads them to Professor Hora.

A Bargain Refused from "Momo". A Bargain Refused Friends as Leverage The Gray Men surround Momo and truthfully offer to return her friends if she leads them to Professor Hora.

A Bargain Refused Friends as Leverage The Gray Men surround Momo and truthfully offer to return her friends if she leads them to Professor Hora. Their candor does not make the proposal humane: they want to seize the source of time and rule the world. Momo refuses even when cold and isolation threaten to overwhelm her. Her resistance rests on loyalty to people she loves and on protecting those whose time the Gray Men intend to take.

after Momo's visits begin restoring old friendships

during the Gray Man's visit with the doll

late in the same conversation

immediately after the agent's confession

late in the story, during the midnight confrontation