AFTERWORD

Chapter 19

Fifteen

Overview

Jessyn and Irinna continue their laboratory work studying the alien organisms while grappling with their captivity. When Campar suffers a severe panic attack, Jessyn helps him through it and they share a moment of raw honesty about their collective psychological deterioration. A mysterious presence within one of the captives observes everything with strategic purpose.

Summary

Jessyn struggles with insomnia and suicidal ideation, finding refuge in her daily work routine in the laboratory. She and Irinna relieve Else and Campar to continue experiments on cellular motility of the not-turtle organisms, seeking to understand their metabolism through nutrient gradients. Irinna theorizes they need genetic material like sperm or pollen to identify the organisms' reproductive encoding mechanism. The two women banter darkly about their situation while dealing with intrusions from small alien creatures that may be lab animals or fellow researchers. Irinna cleverly uses the protein database's error log to record notes since they lack writing materials. After returning to their quarters that evening, Campar suddenly collapses from a severe panic attack triggered by the reality of their alien captivity and forced normality. Jessyn coaches him through breathing exercises, and when he stabilizes, they have a frank conversation acknowledging that everyone in their group is psychologically broken—each coping through different maladaptive mechanisms—and that it is acceptable to be traumatized. The chapter then shifts to reveal an alien consciousness inhabiting one of the captives, experiencing the humans' emotions through their host body's pheromones and psychological state. This entity is gathering intelligence on the Carryx world-palace while maintaining its cover through mimicking human trauma and behavior. It monitors electromagnetic communications between Carryx vessels and searches for a way to transmit the accumulated data it has collected, all while remaining undetected.

Characters

  • JessynA scientist working in captivity who struggles with suicidal ideation but finds purpose in laboratory research; she helps Campar through a panic attack and reflects on the group's collective trauma
  • IrinnaA younger team member assisting Jessyn in the lab; she develops a workaround for recording data using the database error log and maintains a brittle facade of normalcy
  • ElseA team member who works in the laboratory during the first shift and appears briefly when returning to quarters
  • CamparA large team member who suffers a severe panic attack in the kitchen, triggered by the reality of their alien captivity and inability to maintain normalcy
  • TonnerThe research team leader mentioned as designing laboratory assignments; he uses work to cope with their situation
  • DafydA team member working in the laboratory during the day shift
  • SynniaA team member observed sitting catatonic on a couch, completely shut down psychologically
  • RickarA team member who eats in the common area and avoids social contact, blamed by others as a scapegoat
  • JellitJessyn's brother, mentioned as missing and possibly held captive elsewhere in the Carryx world-city
  • The SwarmAn alien consciousness inhabiting one of the human captives, gathering intelligence on the Carryx while disguising itself through mimicking human trauma and emotion