Don't! he had time to shout, but the gun was already in the woman's mouth and an instant later, as Horza started to duck and his eyes closed instinctively, the back of Gow's helmet blew out in a single pulse of unseen light, throwing a sudden red cloud over the mossy wall behind. Horza sat down on his haunches, hands closed round the gun barrel in front of him, eyes staring out at the distant jungle. What a mess, he thought, what a fucking, obscene, stupid mess. He hadn't been thinking of what Gow had just done to herself, but he looked round at the red stain on the angled wall and the collapsed shape of Gow's suit, and thought it again.
In the scene from "Consider Phlebas," a tense moment unfolds as a character named Horza witnesses a tragic event involving Gow. Just as he attempts to intervene, it becomes too late, and Gow's desperate action culminates in a violent explosion that leaves a significant mark on the surroundings. The suddenness of her choice deeply impacts Horza, momentarily paralyzing him and forcing him to confront the grotesque reality of the situation.
As Horza sits down, grappling with the chaos around him, he reflects on the absurdity and senselessness of the act. The imagery of the red stain against the mossy wall emphasizes the brutal consequences of Gow's actions. Horza's thoughts reveal his disdain for the situation, highlighting the themes of violence and the human condition prevalent in the narrative, reinforcing the disturbing nature of their conflict.
