Move 2.6 Recap

The Cantata and Sasha

In the evening, Sasha heads to Engineering and asks the Cantata to teach her a song. The Cantata sings a theme and variations; Sasha transcribes the music using the grid, then sings the melody, improving in confidence as she practices. The Cantata apologizes for forgetting Sasha cannot sing with multiple voices, asks whether humans ever gather to harmonize, and thanks Sasha for choosing to "songshare". Sasha messages, "Some people do sing together, and also we create tools to make more complicated music. Sometimes I sing with the grid. Would you like to hear an example?" The Cantata thrums in delighted enthusiasm and asks whether it would "be permitted" to learn these songs. Sasha replies, "Yes, certainly! I didn't make this song. I learned it from music stored on the grid." She chooses a sad love song for voice, harmonica, and zither, with lyrics including, "Red-blue suns cast red-blue shadows/ Shadows of a different answer." The Cantata repeats the song, including the harmonica parts, then asks Sasha if the suns are red and blue where she comes from. Sasha explains, "There was one yellow sun. But I learned this song in the heptarchate. The first round I taught you, that was from my own planet." She follows up with questions: "How much spoken and sung human language can you understand? Or are you reading the lyrics from the grid? Do your songs have meanings? Also, how do you understand 'red' and 'blue'? Can you sense colors of many objects, or are you analyzing the wavelengths of stars directly?" The Cantata notes that it struggles to distinguish consonants, then explains, "I was reading the lyrics from the grid. Our songs are teaching-songs, and how we talk to each other. We can hear the colors of very large electromagnetic sources like stars, but sensing the colors of small things is very difficult. I find it hard to do reliably."

In their bedrooms: Gerae and Virmad

Later that night, Virmad is awake, reading Teo's annotated book of poetry. Hearing the hatchlings' sounds, he asks the grid where Gerae is. The grid informs him that Gerae is sleeping. Virmad goes to Gerae's room and apologetically asks the grid to wake him. After some thumps and swearing, Gerae emerges. He apologizes and asks, "Is there an emergen--" When he hears the hatchlings chirrup, he declares, "We have to help Fluffy!" Apologizing for waking him, Virmad says, "I didn't think you'd want to miss this." They head to the galley, where they find Sasha.

In the galley: Fluffy and the hatchlings, joined by Alaric, Gerae, Ione, Sasha, Sulen, and Virmad

Meanwhile, Sasha turns on the galley lights, revealing Fluffy, who is ferrying snacks to her nest. Sasha mixes almond butter with fruit preserves, then whistles. Two hatchlings, one a light grayish blue and one a darker blue shade, emerge from the nest. Sasha offers them the mixture, which they devour. She asks the grid whether Ione, Alaric, or Sulen is awake, then continues to feed the hatchlings, alternately humming and murmuring to them in Kirrish. Sulen arrives, carrying a glass of water, which they set down. They ask how they can help. Sasha asks them to make a tuna and banana smoothie: "Their food should be a paste and I doubt you want to chew it yourself." Even more disheveled than usual, Alaric arrives, asking, "Was that the decompression alert? Or the we're-being-chased-by-angry-Kel siren? We should probably have one of--" Recognizing the hatchlings, he suggests finding squeeze bottles. Sasha assents enthusiastically: "Could you print at least six? There are quite a few babies still in the nest, and pseudo-dragons aren't meant to be single parents." Meanwhile, two more hatchlings emerge from the nest, one a striking purple and magenta combination, which Sulen admires. They make the requested smoothie, pondering their to-do list and what Mafyyil is up to in an effort to distract themselves from the glop. They offer some of the result to the magenta hatchling, who is delighted.

Sasha tells the dark blue hatchling, "Baby frog, I'm going to have to set you down for a moment. Don't let your sibs take all the sweet potassium." Alaric delivers the squeeze bottles, asking if they are appropriate: "Some species' mouth need to suckle or bite on something with the right consistency. And what about emzymes or stomach acid, is the food adults feed them just chewed or partially digested? Does gut bacteria get exchanged?" Sasha thanks him, explaining, "The regurgitation is mostly to transport nutrient-dense food, while hatchlings are too young to hunt bugs or avoid predators. A lot of birds use the same strategy. Our hatchlings do need some of Fluffy's bacteria to help digest cellulose, but as long as we make sure she has plenty of nuts and seeds to share with them, they'll be all right." Virmad greets the light blue hatchling, who is chewing on the preserves spoon, with "Edzonhuraž, eyemži!" ("Aren't you hungry, little beastie?") He asks Sasha if there is more food: "I don't think this one will be satisfied with the spoon for long." She hands him one of the squeeze bottles and indicates Sulen's bowl of tuna-and-banana smoothie.

Ione, who has been caught up in the feelings of a nest of hatchlings, observes, "Er, right, I could do something besides gawking. They're much cuter than actual dragons when they hatch, you know — I wonder if they'd take potassium drops or benefit from them." Sasha says calcium is the highest priority: "I gave Fluffy a selection of calcium-rich food in preparation, but with so many hatchlings and only one adult pseudo-dragon it makes sense to supplement. But bright stars, Ione, how many true dragons have you met?" Ione notes, "Calcium isn't going to be as malleable, so I guess milk is the best bet." She adds that she has "actually met" only one dragon, though she has "seen more from far away." Crouching beside the nest, she says, "Fluffy, you must be exhausted." Fluffy nuzzles her with a chirrup that Ione interprets as "I am a beleaguered but grateful single mom."

Sasha asks for more information about dragons: "What makes them dragons, and not neo-dinosaurs? Did they evolve in an invariant way, to suit a particular environment? Or did someone engineer them? Or do they depend on some exotic calendar?" While feeding a hatchling, Alaric observes that while he cannot speak for Ione, where he comes from, "Traditionally the defining feature is being able to talk. Unless you're one of those people obsessed with heraldry who insist they have to have four legs and two wings, but they're obviously wrong so they don't matter." Sasha, who does not appear to have strong feelings about the definition of a wyvern, asks whether he has spoken to a dragon. Alaric tells her, "Only once in a meaningful way. They didn't come through my part of the world often. It was a majestic creature, astoundingly graceful despite how large it was. She told me I was an arrogant young man and that I'd probably end up buried under a mountain for the turning of an age after I was an asshole to the wrong person."

Outside Jedao's room: Reshad and Seyli; messages from Sulen

Disguising her concern, and after checking the door's soundproofing, Reshad asks Seyli, "Can we discuss tactics a moment? I think he's likely to try to feel out your responses. I want to avoid that conflict if at all possible." Seyli, who is still in Kel uniform, assents: "You mean bait me. And you don't want me to rise to the bait." Making herself sound friendly and even curious, Reshad responds, "I do mean bait you, and I want to reduce the attack surface as much as possible. Why the Kel uniform?" Shrugging, Seyli says, "Why not the Kel uniform? It's what he's always seen me in and I have no desire to confirm or deny my status as Kel/unKel to him." Reshad points out, "Always is once. Do you have an answer ready for him prodding you about it? If not now, I suspect he will soon. I know it frightens you, what he's capable of; right now that's a vulnerability. He'll see it." Seyli answers, "No, I don't have anything planned to say to him. I don't intend on saying anything to him. And I seem to be the only person on this moth who fears him in any way." Thinking of Sasha's earlier remarks on atmosphere, Reshad says, "Not the only one. But perhaps the only one to let it speak for you."

Reshad and Seyli's tablets beep as Sulen checks in. "Almost ready, so long as Seyli is," Reshad tells her tablet. Seyli agrees, "I'm ready." They step toward the spot where the door will appear.

Hatchlings and promises

Many of the team members are united by their affection for Fluffy and her charismatic offspring. It appears that the hatchlings will have multiple options for socialization, even if much of their ideal diet does not seem appetizing by human standards.

Reshad and Seyli do not join in the celebration of the hatching. It is possible that they are exhausted by the mental strain of dealing with Jedao. His presence is certainly a source of stress; we shall defer a discussion of Reshad's success in immunizing Seyli against his efforts at provocation to a future edition of this analysis.