Understanding the climax of Corando's Don't Lose Hope

The climax of Corando's "Don't Lose Hope" may be very strange to some. With this pose, hopefully there can be some clarity brought to the narrative.

The map below shows the general area of Porbandar relevant to the climax.

After Mahima is rescued from Daruka's camp, Filforth instructs her to find a working phone near the Hotel Viram, and then contact Darshan. Of course, amidst the panic, Mahima can't adequately explain who Filforth is to Darshan, but he must take her word for it that Tara Mandir is the safe spot.

From there, Filforth instructs Mahima to tell Darshan to meet her at the planetarium, and that she must then run there herself. Given it's practically Armageddon in Porbandar, she can be forgiven for hotwiring a car to get to the planetarium. But she must drive to the planetarium, or run to it, to live. As long as she is heading toward the planetarium, the meteors won't hit her. However, Filforth never guarantees that Darshan and Ketan will make the journey safely.

Finding a car to hijack for purposes of escaping to the planetarium takes longer for Darshan and Ketan, given they're in a region near Gokul Mathura Towers, that's closer to the largest number of impacts of meteor carnage.

Amidst 5.3 kilometers (3.29 miles) of insanity raining down, Darshan and Ketan's wild ride takes a little longer to safely traverse than the 9 minutes suggested by Google under normal conditions.

However, while Darshan and Ketan tried walking, and then later stole a truck to get to Taran Mandir, Mahima was able to steal a truck almost immediately. She at one point panicks while on Highway 27, and makes an illegal turn onto Service Rd., driving the wrong way. She doesn't fear the police, given that they're too busy trying to not be killed by meteors.

Driving dangerously, Mahima is able to return to the correct lane, just short of the intersection near Kishan's Farm. She finally makes a left turn onto Adityana Rd., then ditches the stolen truck by Vegetable Vendors on Bhanvad-Porbandar Rd., which Adityana becomes. She runs on foot toward the planetarium from there, relying on the carnage all around to ensure that police and civilians don't ask questions.

Mahima was taken northeast of town by Daruka, requiring her the greatest de facto distance to travel. Darshan and Ketan were lost and confused. They were near Gokul Mathura, hoping that the towers would provide shelter from meteors - which just destroyed the airport across the street, and forced them to abandon their plans of boarding a plane to America.

Another explanation for how Mahima made it to Tara Mandir first, is that she was already that determined to survive, having just escaped from being tortured by Daruka. Darshan and Ketan may have been traumatized by the mob burning their church down, but they were even more blindsided by the meteors than Mahima was. Darshan braved taking Highway 27, the most direct route, in spite the increased risk of death by meteors. He both lacked Mahima's opportunities, as well as her sense of imagination and improvisation.

To be fair, Darshan was also distracted by the fact that he was trying just as hard to concentrate on keeping Ketan alive, as he was on keeping himself alive, and trying to drive a hotwired stolen vehicle, and reunite with his fiancee. Therefore, he chose the shorter-yet-more-dangerous road, and arrived at the planetarium just seconds after Mahima got there. All Mahima had to worry about was her own skin, as she didn't have anyone the equivalent of Ketan tagging along in her stolen vehicle to distract her.

Yes, Mahima was a little more worried about the police than Darshan, but that was insignificant compared to trying to keep a mostly-useless tag-along friend alive in the middle of an apocalypse.

Mahima arriving at Tara Mandir first is hardly the greatest irony of their story. The greater irony, is where the couple finds freedom and safety after Porbandar's destruction: in the Bihar providence to the north, not far from the city of Bahadurpur. They find a home not far from India's border with Nepal, a nation which is even more hostile to St. Thomas Christians than the Hindi nationalists typically are!

In comparison, Jerry and his band escaping from Ameristan Toklisanan Texas, to flee from Halal Affadidah, proves relatively unremarkable. They're able to pass through the Wall in 2018, before Affadidah reneges on his agreements to allow for emigration out of his land.

Therefore, the Embertons and Monides didn't have to worry about Hebbleskin raid parties, nor about being hunted by "krockodil zombie" squads. Even then, they didn't have to worry about the politics in Indiana, as Affadidah cared more about making life miserable for residents of Indiana and Michigan than he did for anyone living in Maine. Orono, to say nothing of Lubec (with the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, a location in their video), had minimal regime presence.