Fifteen

Dafyd wakes from a visceral nightmare in which he struggles to communicate with the Carryx, then faces the political fallout of Ver Cannedan's earlier outburst. Uuya Tomos proposes using Ver to study Carryx body language, but Dafyd refuses to trust him. Later, Dafyd confronts the entity inhabiting Jellit's body in the visualization lab and reluctantly asks for its help with urgent matters he cannot otherwise understand.

Dafyd's night begins with a looping nightmare in which he cannot navigate to Ekur-Tkalal's chambers or communicate properly via the half-mind or written language. The dream breaks when he somehow speaks the Carryx's own language fluently, feeling the physical sensation of possessing their body—fighting arms, abdomen, strength. He wakes in his prison-like quarters and, unable to return to sleep, spends the morning in a dissociative state before showering and dressing.

At the commissary, Uuya Tomos and Ver Cannedan approach Dafyd with a proposal: Ver should be released to observe Carryx body language and movement, with a translating half-mind. Uuya argues that communication through language is incomplete and that nonverbal signals may reveal crucial information about how the Carryx function. Dafyd resists, citing Ver's irresponsibility—his earlier punch summoned guards and Rak-hund, making Dafyd's work far harder. He refuses to work with people he doesn't trust. When Uuya presses him about Jellit's fall from grace, Dafyd realizes his attempted conspiracy is being watched. Uuya counters that he must work with flawed people if he wants to accomplish anything. Dafyd leaves without committing.

He descends to the visualization lab instead of his scheduled meeting. There, Jellit and his team are working on a prototype device that will help the Carryx. The thing inhabiting Jellit's body flinches at Dafyd's arrival, and a team member moves protectively between them. Dafyd pulls the entity aside and admits he is in trouble and needs knowledge he cannot obtain alone—knowledge the entity is designed to provide. He asks it for help. The entity agrees, and Dafyd leaves, troubled by further moral compromise.

In the lab's interior monologue, the swarm entity reflects that it feared Dafyd had discovered its transmissions home. Instead, Dafyd seeks its aid, which the swarm sees as an opportunity—a chance to seduce Dafyd back into alliance, especially through Else's voice within the collective, which remembers loving him. The swarm returns to work on the prototype, mining Jellit's knowledge while Else contemplates the possibility of redemption and being loved again.