The Expanse, #3
Abaddon's Gate
by James S. A. Corey
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Five: Holden
Overview
Holden follows Miller into the station’s core and grants access by touching a central construct, triggering a vast vision of the gate-builders’ downfall and their quarantine of the network. Miller hints he can lift the lockdown, but Martian marines interrupt and arrest Holden, halting any de-escalation.
Summary
Holden, panicked over radio silence from the Rocinante, argues with Miller about returning. Miller insists the slower travel makes going back pointless and urges Holden to continue. They head deeper into the station so Holden can provide physical authorization Miller lacks.
In a chamber with a pressure-emanating octagonal construct, Miller explains he needs Holden’s physical presence to bypass the lockdown. He reveals why only Holden sees him: an immense nonlocal simulation targets Holden’s unique brain patterns. Despite fear, Holden touches the core.
Holden’s mind expands into the network’s memory: he experiences a galaxy-spanning consciousness sensing stars going dark, then responding by sterilizing systems through the gates. Overwhelmed by an unstoppable threat, the builders quarantine the network and go silent, awaiting a solution that never comes.
Back in his body, Holden and Miller conclude the builders were destroyed by an unknown entity; the station remains in war mode after two billion years. Miller begins to say he can lift the lockdown with Holden’s help, but vanishes as Martian marines arrive and arrest Holden, stopping the attempt.
Who Appears
- James HoldenProtagonist; unlocks the station core, experiences the builders’ history, and is arrested by Martian marines mid-mission.
- Detective Miller (protomolecule construct)Guides Holden to the core; explains simulation limits and the builders’ quarantine; begins to lift lockdown before being interrupted.
- Martian recon marinesArrest Holden inside the station core, halting Miller’s plan to adjust the lockdown.