The Toll

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of violence and suicide, and instances of bias against people with genderfluid identities.

While the entire Arc of a Scythe series is a meditation on the tendency of power to become corrupted, The Toll emphasizes the particular point that this tendency is age-old. Faraday, an honorable and compassionate scythe, thinks corruption in scythedom may be a recent phenomenon, but Da Vinci’s journals show that the very origins of scythedom are stained in blood. Faraday is struck by the realization that “the founding scythes—the shining paragons of all Faraday held true—had murdered one another” (547). The text thus suggests that any system where power is concentrated tends to be corrupt, implying that humans must be on constant watch for corruption even within themselves.

The nature of the characters who abdicate power, in contrast to those who desire it, explores how some can resist power’s allure. Greyson is the most powerful person on Earth in The Toll because of his connection with the Thunderhead, but he sacrifices that connection in the end for an ordinary life. Citra, a powerful symbol of hope as scythe Anastasia, swaps public life for a quiet, fresh existence with Rowan. On the other hand, people who desire power often grow unhinged, as in the case of High Blade Robert Goddard and Curate Mendoza. The text uses hyperbolic, extreme images of Goddard to convey the extent of depravity to which the lust for power can drive some people. Goddard is shown rolling among the scythe diamonds on his bed, their sharp edges poking him, and screaming in euphoric anger as he watches thousands of people get gleaned at Mile High City. Thus, power seems to attract the worst kind of people, while power is best wielded by those who can easily abdicate it, such as Faraday, Greyson, and Citra.

Goddard’s ever-growing desire for control shows that his thirst for power cannot be slaked and is entirely self-serving. His story arc is also a comment on how power operates in the real world, with certain governments and corporations desiring hegemony. Goodard is not just happy with being the High Blade of MidMerica: He wins or manipulates the allegiance of many regions to become Over Blade of North Merica. To achieve these ends, he foments violence against the Tonists, changes laws, and spreads fear. After the mass gleaning in the Mile High City stadium, he tells Ayn that power thrives on fear because “fear is the beloved father of respect” (326).

While Thunderhead suggested that the only entity that can be free from corruption is artificial intelligence, The Toll proposes that humans and mechanical intelligence must form a synergistic relationship to prevent the misuse of power. It is true that the Thunderhead hatches a plan to stymie Goddard’s power under his very nose, but it is also a fact that the plan requires the cooperation of many non-power-hungry humans such as Greyson, Munira, Faraday, Loriana, and the rest.

The answer to the conundrum of power in the novel lies in the dissemination of authority. The Thunderhead’s final plan works because power is not concentrated in a few hands to carry out; instead, several people perform their individual roles well within a team. Thus, assigning inordinate power to a particular group—such as the scythes—breeds corruption; the remedy is to prevent this imbalance.