Thirty

Dafyd observes the alien traffic through the cathedral and grapples with despair over humanity's helplessness against the Carryx. He encounters Jessyn at the new lab, then returns to find Else, who reveals a shocking secret: she harbors a conscious alien spy weapon planted by a resistance force opposing the Carryx, and she asks him to betray Ostencour's planned insurgency to prevent total human annihilation.

Dafyd sits in the cathedral watching alien species move through the prison, aware that knowledge of the Carryx's exploitative system has replaced his earlier wonder. He recognizes humanity as a farm organism with no power to resist, and he knows of a hidden conspiracy among his people planning revenge—a cancer too small for the Carryx to detect yet. His weariness is spiritual rather than physical. He walks to the new lab where Jessyn stands guard, observing tension between Tonner and Campar over their research direction. Jessyn's captivity has physically and emotionally transformed her; she appears to believe they will all die when the conspiracy comes to light. Dafyd leaves without engaging. Back at his quarters, he finds them empty except for Else, who has been exploring alone despite warnings. When he questions her activities, she becomes agitated, insisting they need to win, not merely die fighting. She demands he listen without judgment, then reveals the existence of a vast war between the Carryx and opposing forces spanning hundreds or thousands of star systems. Six months before Anjiin's attack, the resistance deployed a weapon onto the planet: a swarm of microscopic machines capable of inhabiting a living host. The weapon was designed to infiltrate Carryx territory and gather intelligence, then find a way to transmit data back out. Else reveals the swarm is inside her—has been for a long time—and it is conscious. She insists she remains herself but has been cooperating with it. She explains that escape will only be possible if they are transferred to a conquered system with less rigorous security; they must survive long enough for the Carryx to relocate them. However, Ostencour's planned insurgency will trigger immediate Carryx retaliation and total annihilation. Else asks Dafyd to warn the Carryx librarian of the conspiracy, which would result in the conspirators' deaths but preserve humanity's overall chance at eventual escape. Dafyd recoils, questioning whether their earlier intimacy was genuine or manipulation. Else does not answer. Dafyd says he needs time to think but must not tell anyone about her, though she warns him not to take too long.