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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Chapter 3 Summary

  • Mannie catches up with Wyoh and wonders where she is heading. Deciding she can't go back to her hotel, they pretend to be a couple and head out of the public corridors.
  • With Wyoh standing out too much in Luna City, Mannie buys her body makeup, black hair tint, and a red dress.
  • They find a hotel, check in, and order some food. Get comfy, Shmoopers, because the story's going to be in this hotel for a while.
  • They start the typical "Getting to Know You" moment, minus the singing. Mannie tells Wyoh about his line marriage.
  • Wyoh tells Mannie about her work as a host mother, and she also tells him how her hate for the Authority began.
  • During a trip to the moon, her transport was hit with a solar storm because the Authority would not let the passengers disembark. The radiation she was exposed to caused birth complications later—as she put it, "I had birthed a monster because the Authority doesn't care what happens to us outcasts" (3.97).
  • Mannie calls Mike to ask him if he'd like to meet Wyoh, a "not-stupid" (3.141).
  • While on the phone, Mannie has Mike patch him through to his home. His senior wife, Mum, informs him that Professor Paz called looking for him; Mannie has Mike listen for the professor's voice near any phones.
  • Wyoh, having heard the conversation, asks to whom Mannie was talking. He agrees to introduce them, but first, she needs to read a few hundred jokes.