Study Guide

A Hologram for the King Chapter 8

By Dave Eggers

Chapter 8

Alan ponders the meaning of life, and of why he's found himself in the middle of desert.
He goes back to Charlie Fallon's bizarre suicide, witnessed by everyone yet somehow unpreventable. Alan recalls the police saying that they couldn't do better because of budget cuts.
Alan and Brad continue to try to figure out the wi-fi issue, but the desert heat is so intense that Alan can't bear to go walking around to check infrastructure.
He learns from Brad that their contact is called Karim, and he should be somewhere in the "Black Box" (a.k.a. the Welcome Center).
Alan will attempt to find him once he recovers from his bout of near-heatstroke.