What It Means to Choose Humanity
On Akin’s Metamorphosis, Resistance, and Becoming in Adulthood Rites
In a page from Octavia Butler’s archive, a rough map of Akin’s development unfolds. The image below reads more like a script for survival than a character sketch to me. For instance, his kidnapping is not just a plot point; it is a total immersion. A forced, embodied apprenticeship in the chaos of contradiction. He is hated, feared, and made into a stranger not only to others but to himself.