Interlude V: Titan

Carolyn restores Steve multiple times after his self-immolation, but he repeatedly kills himself—by razor, a transfusion error, and drain cleaner. Grief-stricken, she leaves him dead and immerses herself in study. She discovers the alshaq shabboleth and a catalog note from Father that directs her to a formula for perfect memory.

After days learning chemistry, she brews the elixir and drinks it, returning vividly to Labor Day, 1977. Visiting neighbor Adam Black’s yard en route to a community picnic, young Carolyn senses his unsettling attention. Moments later, a Pershing missile marked “Hi ‘Adam’!” descends.

Father invokes alshaq, accelerating the children beyond sound; motion through air burns them. As the fireball blossoms, Steve endures searing pain to guide Carolyn uphill toward Father’s protection, finally lifting her to safety while he burns. Father halts the nuclear blast with a fingertip, leaving a crater where the neighborhood and Carolyn’s parents perish.

With time restored, Father claims the orphans: they will be Pelapi. In plain speech he assigns studies; in Pelapi asides he reveals designs—David will become the monster Carolyn must conquer, Margaret her final warning. He heals Steve’s burns but exiles him to America to become the “coal” of Carolyn’s heart, a perfect sustaining memory.

Father promises punishment for President LeMay and to alter the past, then gathers the children. Carolyn, now parentless and clutching Black Beauty, hesitates but finally takes Father’s hand. Together they cross the threshold into the Library as he vows to make her a god.