Tally’s experience of being Special—from an elite member of the Cutters to the last enhanced Special Circumstances unit—exemplifies the conflict between duty and actual autonomy. Her brain has again been altered, but as Tally journeys through the wild and clarifies her feelings for Zane, she begins to adapt and to regain her own sense of agency. Her appearance certainly signifies her Special status, such as through sharpened teeth and animated tattoos, but her attitude toward herself and her society gradually grows more important than her physical modifications. Tally also struggles with her own identity as a Special: She both yearns to maintain her Special status and to free herself of its burdens.

Shay, as the original Cutter, understands that being Special derives not only from the outward appearance of ferocity but the inner sense of superiority: “Like Shay always said in training, the bubbleheads had it all wrong: It didn’t matter what you looked like. It was how you carried yourself, how you saw yourself. Strength and reflexes were only part of it—Shay simply knew that she was special, and so she was” (11-12). Shay’s attitude (at least before she receives the cure) shapes Tally’s own and reflects Dr.