Human Choice Versus the Shrike and the Time Tombs

The pilgrim's experiences that led them to Hyperion were choices they made. They each have a significant purpose for the pilgrimage, whether it's for love, sacrifice, inspiration or revenge, but they all stem from their decisions, not the forces on Hyperion.

Lamia is directly tied to John Keats and is carrying the child of his cybrid recreation. Silenus uses the Shrike as a muse. His Hyperion Cantos cannot be completed until he returns to where the muse lives. Weintraub's daughter, Rachel, contracted Merlin's illness from the Time Tombs. Now he must offer her as a sacrifice to the Shrike to save mankind. Kassad is in love with Moneta, who is apparently the Shrike in a woman's disguise. Kassad will be used as the Shrike's pawn in the future during the interstellar war. Father Hoyt seeks the Shrike to rid himself...