Twenty-One

Dafyd visits the librarian to propose learning about the Carryx, but the librarian reacts with violent rejection to his suggestion that understanding them could help the humans be more useful. Returning to the workgroup's quarters, he discovers the others have found the Night Drinkers' lab and have made progress on Jessyn's medication. That night, Else comes to Dafyd's room seeking physical intimacy, and the parasitic swarm inhabiting her body uses the encounter to gather intelligence while processing complex emotions about desire, control, and the coming war.

Dafyd walks to the librarian's quarters, mentally steeling himself by reframing his fear as curiosity. He observes a large Carryx with red-streaked forelegs leaving the librarian's room before entering to propose that he learn about the Carryx to better serve them. The librarian responds with barely restrained violence, its forelegs rising threateningly, and delivers a cutting statement about animals not choosing their essential nature and place in society. Shaken, Dafyd notices the translator paused unnaturally on that phrase—a clue he mentally files away. Walking back through the corridors, he searches for other human survivors but finds none, and observes that the hallway crows, previously common, have vanished entirely.

Returning to the workgroup's quarters, Dafyd finds the others energized by their discovery of the Night Drinkers' lab and progress on Jessyn's medication project. The group has reorganized their space into a makeshift laboratory, and their social dynamics have shifted since Irinna's death—Tonner has become more focused on work than control, Campar tends to others more gently, and even Rickar has been reintegrated into the team. That night, Else enters Dafyd's room and they become intimate. The chapter's final section reveals that the parasitic swarm inhabiting Else's body is aware of the encounter, experiencing human sexuality and desire while processing shame through Else's consciousness. The swarm notes signs of increased Carryx military activity—more ships arriving, a deeper hum in the structure—interpreting these as preparation for war. It struggles with its mission to escape and relay information while being drawn into unexpected feelings of tenderness and the comfort found in this small, fragile moment of safety.