Thirty-Two

Brun trains new technical staff on the slurry tank system while meeting Clae Audin, a woman claiming to be a former research assistant from Dyan Academy. Simultaneously, the swarm—having remade itself into a new individual identity—integrates itself into the community as Clae, and Dafyd confronts the spy about this dangerous transformation, ultimately accepting the situation and revealing plans to coordinate with the external enemy to assassinate the Sovran.

Brun oversees training of new technical personnel—a civil engineer, mathematician, and architect—on the slurry tank nutrient injection system that will feed the cloned children. The engineers suggest optimizations, but Brun insists on mastering current operations first. A woman identifying herself as Clae Audin approaches Brun, claiming to be a former research assistant to Else Yannin from Dyan Academy who was previously assigned elsewhere by the Carryx. Brun does not recognize her but accepts the story. In parallel, the swarm—having spent days in Jellit's room remaking itself into a new physical form—emerges as Clae, a woman with a distinct identity separate from Jellit. The swarm has absorbed knowledge from the Carryx archive and resolved its earlier revulsion at becoming Jellit by committing fully to its new self. When Clae encounters Ennil Day in the commissary, she uses pheromones and fabricated memories to establish false familiarity, retroactively embedding herself into the community's past. Dafyd later encounters Clae and immediately recognizes the transformation has occurred. He expresses alarm that the community cannot sustain unexplained new arrivals without arousing suspicion. Clae insists the decision is made and threatens that if they do not maintain their alliance against the Carryx, she will make other choices. Dafyd accepts the situation reluctantly. They discuss plans: Dafyd reveals he has been building a resistance culture through the Deep Lothark using songs and stories, paralleling the Lothark's own resistance through biochemical means. Clae confirms she sent early data to the enemy but has no current communication method. Dafyd states he needs a reliable channel to coordinate with the external enemy for an attack on the Sovran, whose presence on this planet makes it the empire's strategic center. Assassination and subsequent chaos would allow the enemy forces to invade.