The Testaments

This appending section features a partial transcript from the proceedings of the Thirteenth Symposium on Gileadean Studies, International Historical Association Convention, Passamaquoddy, Maine, June 29-30, 2197. Professor Maryanne Crescent Moon, President, Anishinaabe University, Cobalt, Ontario chairs the symposium. The keynote speaker is Professor James Darby Pieixoto, Director, 20th- and 21st-Century Archives, Cambridge University, England.

Professor Crescent Moon notes that their location for this convention was formerly Bangor, a crucial point of exit for Gilead refugees, as well as for the Underground Railroad in the 19th century, adding, “As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes” (407).

Professor Pieixoto begins his presentation, noting that some of his jokes during his presentation at the Twelfth Symposium caused some controversy and he will take care not to reoffend. Professor Pieixoto reminds the audience of the excitement a few years prior when they found the tapes attributed to the Gilead Handmaid known as Offred. Despite the sabotage of Gilead server farms and libraries, plus the general loss of information from that period through data storage loss, they’ve found that these tapes are genuine.

Two other discoveries will add to their understanding of the Gilead period; A manuscript of handwritten pages known as The Ardua Hall Holograph, purported to have been written by “Aunt Lydia,” who had also been featured in the Offred tapes.