CHAPTER 5

Jefri Olsndot revives on a cot among white-jacketed pack-creatures, is ferried by boat and cart to a dark, angled-walled castle, and locked into a domed room due to a counting error on the door. Alone, he explores the scroll-filled chamber and mourns his missing family and coldsleep friends.

Hearing high-pitched sounds, Jefri discovers multiple coordinated puppies. Their careful mouthing, mimicry of his words, and synchronized motions convince him they are intelligent and gentle. Believing the adults recognized him as a child, he concludes this is a kindergarden and hopes his parents are negotiating with the aliens.

Elsewhere, Lord Steel prepares a meeting and is confronted by a five-member pack bearing Flenser’s manner and voice. The visitor explains a planned survival during a mob assassination: Flenser had dispersed parts of himself into loyal followers and is now reassembling. Only a fragment stands before Steel; other parts will arrive within tendays.

Balancing power and appearances, Steel accepts the fragment’s limited status. The visitor chooses the name “Tyrathect, Flenser in Waiting,” signaling temporary deference while preserving authority through fear and legacy—threatening Steel’s control if full reintegration occurs.

Interleaved is a dated Net transmission from Straumli Main announcing an accessible, “safe” archive in the Low Transcend, promising commercial access soon, but warning of a hundred-hour communications outage. This contrasts with on-world turmoil, hinting at broader consequences of the High Lab’s discovery.