Chapter 48

This epilogue features two parallel scenes: a conversation between Dr. Hu and an unnamed woman about their investment in an unstable human subject, and the capture of Beatrice by bounty hunters and Odette's operatives on the colonized Earth. Bounty hunters Sadir and Gennrik raid a human settlement in Seattle seeking a cat named Gravy Boat, but are killed by Lexis before they can complete their mission. Odette's agents secure Beatrice and stage a false narrative to cover the incident.

The chapter opens with Dr. Hu and a woman discussing massive financial expenditures on an unstable human subject who they believe may not survive past the sixth floor, despite his current success raising awareness through appearances on Odette's show. The woman expresses skepticism about the investment's viability given multiple simultaneous crises: the AI going primal, Valtay interference, Kua-Tin civil unrest, and royal infighting. Dr. Hu insists they are committed to the cause regardless.

The narrative then shifts to bounty hunters Sadir (a Null) and Gennrik (a Saccathian) on Earth, conducting a sanctioned Walk-On List hunt for valuable natives. After misidentifying a cat named Contessa Purrington, they locate their actual target, a cat called Gravy Boat, in a human settlement near Seattle called New Queen Anne. Sadir struggles with the moral contradiction of his work—hating the crawl system while working to make it more entertaining for the sake of supporting his children in the Filt system, facing discrimination as a Null race member. They plan a raid on the tent where the cat is sheltered.

The scene cuts to Brad, a human survivor, who lies awake in the settlement tent with Beatrice, who has become emotionally unstable. Beatrice had rescued a stray cat (actually her neighbor's cat, Gravy Boat, whom she renamed Ferdinand) from the ruins of her apartment and now obsesses over it, singing cryptic songs about letting it inside. Brad resents her dependence and fantasizes about having entered the dungeon instead of staying with Beatrice.

When Sadir and Gennrik breach the tent to capture Gravy Boat, they are immediately shot and killed by Lexis, a human operative working for Odette. A second operative (unnamed) provides backup. Sadir's death shocks everyone; Gravy Boat escapes. Lexis confronts Beatrice, revealing she is being hunted by the Syndicate. Odette appears via communicator and directs Lexis to stage the scene: kill Brad to make it look like the bounty hunters fought over the cat, let the Null (Sadir) survive with a planted weapon, and capture Gravy Boat in a bounty cube. Odette promises to buy out Sadir's warrant to ensure his silence and intends to keep Beatrice for purposes beyond selling her to Borant. Brad dies from his wound as security arrives, and Lexis executes Odette's plan while reflecting that not everyone gets a happy ending.