Sol Weintraub's Tale

Lore & Background

Sol Weintraub is a Jewish professor whose adult daughter Rachel was an archaeologist. Twenty years before the pilgrimage, Rachel went to Hyperion and, while mapping one of the Time Tombs, the Shrike appeared. She contracted a disease that causes her to age backwards. For years, Weintraub wrestles with recurring dreams in which he is ordered to go to Hyperion and sacrifice Rachel — a replay of the Binding of Isaac. He ultimately decides to become a pilgrim and to implore the Shrike for a cure. His tale is titled "The River Lethe's Taste Is Bitter."

In Their Own Story

Sol Weintraub sits on the pilgrimage with his infant daughter Rachel in his arms. Twenty years ago, Rachel was an adult archaeologist. While mapping one of the Time Tombs on Hyperion, the Shrike appeared, and Rachel contracted a disease that causes her to age backwards. For years, Weintraub has been tormented by dreams in which a voice commands him to go to Hyperion and sacrifice Rachel — a direct replay of the Binding of Isaac from Jewish scripture. He wrestles with this command, but ultimately decides to become a pilgrim and to implore the Shrike for a cure. After he finishes telling his tale, the party retires outside to gaze at the stars. There, they see the Templar treeship which carried them to Hyperion destroyed by Ousters.

Reader's Guide

Sol Weintraub is one of the seven pilgrims journeying to the Time Tombs. He carries his infant daughter Rachel, who is aging backwards due to a disease contracted from the Shrike twenty years earlier. His tale, "The River Lethe's Taste Is Bitter," recounts how Rachel became an archaeologist, went to Hyperion, and was stricken by the Shrike. Weintraub's recurring dreams command him to sacrifice Rachel in a replay of the Binding of Isaac. He decides to become a pilgrim and implore the Shrike for a cure. After his tale, the group sees the Templar treeship destroyed by Ousters. The ship's captain, Het Masteen, does not react and retires to his room without speaking. In the morning, Masteen is missing and his room is found full of blood, despite a watch kept all night.

Did You Know?

• Sol Weintraub is a Jewish professor whose adult daughter Rachel was an archaeologist.
• Rachel contracted a disease that causes her to age backwards after the Shrike appeared while she was mapping one of the Time Tombs.
• Weintraub wrestles for years with dreams in which he is ordered to go to Hyperion and sacrifice Rachel in a replay of the Binding of Isaac.
• His tale is titled 'The River Lethe's Taste Is Bitter.'
• After Weintraub finishes his tale, the pilgrims see the Templar treeship destroyed by Ousters.