Twenty

Tonner Freis is killed by Soft Lothark guards after he discovers and begins revealing their secret communication system to Dafyd Alkhor. Dafyd, facing imminent death, uses his limited Carryx language knowledge to reframe the incident as a misunderstanding and convince the surviving guard not to report him. The chapter tracks the aftermath of this violence and Dafyd's attempts to manage the political fallout while concealing what actually happened.

The chapter opens with Tonner beginning his day, reflecting on his transactional relationship with a former finance minister and his role as the most important scientist in the human moiety. At the commissary lab, he examines the developing lamb-sack fetuses, including one he has secretly determined is his biological daughter. Brun interrupts to remind him of a scheduled meeting with Dafyd Alkhor. Dafyd, meanwhile, is working with Jellit Kaul, the spy entity accessing the Carryx archive through a hidden connection in Dafyd's private room. Jellit reports discovering vast historical records of ancient warfare spanning millennia. Dafyd leaves for his meeting, where he encounters choreographer Ver Cannedan and Uuya Tomos in the garden, who have been studying Carryx physical communication—learning that tucked feeding arms signal de-escalation and that Carryx resolve fights by breaking limbs. When Tonner arrives for his report, he initially presents outdated assay data, then pivots to his "side project": he has discovered that Soft Lothark communicate through plasmid-like information packets exchanged during physical contact—a secret communication channel. The two Soft Lothark guards present immediately attack Tonner, beating him fatally. Dafyd, witnessing the killing, realizes he will die if he does not act. He uses the Carryx language symbols to craft a message suggesting the Rak-hund mistakenly attacked Tonner, and the guards were trying to save him. He nearly sends a report to the archive exposing the Lothark's hidden communication system, but erases it at the last moment. Dafyd manipulates the narrative through careful language, claiming it was all a misunderstanding. The surviving guard agrees to mutual understanding. Dafyd walks away as the guard consumes its dead. Back in his room, he tells Jellit that Tonner is dead, then vomits from shock and trauma. Jellit comforts him physically, but when the spy begins to express sexual interest, Dafyd asks him to leave. Dafyd composes himself, showers, and returns to the garden where Andermus has cleaned up the scene. He requests the Soft Lothark guard and, sitting under the tree, sends a Carryx message to the archive stating that humans and Soft Lothark can cooperate. When the guard appears, Dafyd shows it the message. The guard adds its own modifier, shifting the message to reference "Deep Lothark" instead of simply "Soft Lothark," suggesting a distinction within the species.