Thirty-Seven

Dafyd spends a day questioning the Soft Lothark about the Carryx's past, learning about the destruction of their first world by the Epikainot and how the Carryx replaced their dead Sovran through prepared creches. He then meets with the remaining conspirators and realizes their original plan to kill the local Sovran is futile, prompting despair—but later, while helping in the nursery, he develops a new theory about exploiting the Carryx's hive nature by creating a second Sovran.

Dafyd conducts an extended conversation with a series of Soft Lothark guards in the garden, using glowing symbols to communicate. He learns that the Epikainot destroyed the Carryx's first world with a resonance weapon, killing the original Sovran and many librarians. However, the Carryx had prepared backup creches on every world-palace; when the first Sovran died, a new one simply emerged from the creche on the current world, allowing the empire to continue seamlessly. The Soft Lothark explains that the Carryx are perfectly adapted to endless conflict and will never mourn or tire of war. Devastated by this revelation, Dafyd shares his findings with Clae and then meets with the remaining conspirators—Jessyn, Uuya Tomos, and Campar—in Campar's quarters. He reveals what he has learned and admits their plan to assassinate the Sovran and seize the world-palace will not work. Campar suggests they accept defeat and build the best life possible under Carryx rule, comparing humans to chickens—animals thriving under Carryx protection. Dafyd angrily leaves the meeting and flees to the nursery, where he helps feed and care for an infant. Clae finds him there and confirms his suspicion: the Sovran transitions are seamless in the archive with no disruption, making each individual Sovran replaceable and therefore not a meaningful target. As Dafyd reflects on the Carryx as a unified hive organism, he realizes that Ekur-Tkalal had stated there is only one Sovran. A dangerous new idea strikes him: what if there were two?