Lili is lost within Van Gough's starscape, hanging on one of Augur's secret walls, when a moonscape competes for her mind's eye. "A twoscape," she realizes. Lili watches inwardly, as the two moons converge with one sun in a purple-red sky. She sees the light emanating from the joined celestial trinity. "Joined celestial trinity," Lili ponders, "those are Da'an's thoughts." Purple-red is momentarily dimmed by gray. Lili will never regret forming a cluster with Boone, Liam, and Da'an to save Da'an from the effects of the Pesh'tal virus, but she has mixed feelings about their link. She has surrendered part of herself to the other three, and they have surrendered parts of themselves to her. On the one hand, Lili fears the intense intimacy, and on the other hand, she craves it. She feels connected for the first time since her brother Andy's suicide.
Lili's thoughts turn from tragedy to irritation. In her mind's eye, Lili sees Zo'or approach Da'an, and she hears the strain, as the last parent addresses the last child:
"What could possibly compel you to interrupt my meditation at this most critical juncture of the Ka'arpaaj?"
Disdain drips from Zo'or's voice: "I thought you would be willing to trade this remnant of a past you treasure for the remnant of a past you covet. Volunteer-Mathematician Isabel Martinez has deciphered the relic."
Lili flips a mental switch, something she becomes more adept at with each passing day, and she confers with Boone and Liam, "You guys get that?"
"Yup," affirms Boone, amid orchid petals.
"Yes," assures Liam, gracefully executing a Tai Chi move.
The three flip back to Da'an. Because Taelons exist mentally in a perpetual present, they have not missed any of the conversation.
His dancing fingers are the only outward part of Da'an to betray his excitement. He queries, "What are the findings?"
"None," replies Zo'or, who adores making his parent stand, stuck upon one rhetorical and one literal cliff, "....as of yet. Ma'el's perverse morality dictates that a Taelon and a human be present in order to access the information."
Da'an inwardly rejoices, and calls two of his Jha'du'ur, his living lights: "Come, I need you and am glad of it."
Boone and Liam arrive to find Da'an seated in his audience chamber, once more. Boone instinctively touches the artifact that Da'an holds out to him. The truth is both stunning and heartening. Boone speaks past the lump in his throat, "Humans possess the traits that would bridge the gulf between Taelons and Jaridians."
Shaking, Da'an continues, "We can and must rejoin, or our two species will perish. Zo'or...."
"Doors," echoes Boone. The Taelon and the human feel weight pressed upon them and lifted from them. Vindication will not come cheaply.
That night, Boone, Lili, and Liam learn who will begin paying the cost. Doors is Doors. "If all things were equal, I'd say don't bridge that gulf. Unfortunately, all things aren't equal, and we're obviously caught in the middle, whether they join or perish. The point is to make sure WE don't perish. In my world, information means survival."
"This isn't your world, Doors," counters Liam.
"It isn't yours, either, Kimera."
Boone thinks to Lili: "Liam walked right into that one."
Lili thinks to Boone: "You would know."
"What's your point, Jonathan?," Boone asks, hoping to diffuse the potential situation.
"We can't forget that we're caught between TWO sides. We can't fight the Taelons and the Jaridians until we assess the Taelons AND the Jaridians." Boone, Liam, and Lili look in horror upon live video of Paul Chandler, who is suspended in a tank. "Chandler will fly the shuttle into Jaridian territory, as pinpointed by our ongoing investigation of probe data. "
"Why is he in the tank?," asks Lili, aghast.
Doors' answer chills them all: "Working in concert, Dr. Park and Dr. Joyce Belman have outfitted Chandler for the journey. Based on examination of Jaridian tissue that was supplied by the Taelons for other projects, Belman has devised a serum that will alter Chandler's blood chemistry, allowing him to survive in a Jaridian atmosphere, once they capture him. They're pumping the serum into him, while he's in the tank. Additionally, Park devised an imperativeless CVI to function as a surveillance device. We'll see and hear through him. We'll judge the Jaridians on their treatment of him and gather as much information as we can. By necessity, the ID drives on the shuttle have been disabled. We don't want to speed up the Jaridian timetable. As a result, it'll be months before we receive any useful data."
"I've got to talk to him before he goes," demands a blanched Lili.
"Not possible," Doors asserts. "As I said, the serum alters his blood chemistry. Outside that tank, the shuttle, or a Jaridian atmosphere, Chandler won't survive twelve hours. We can't take the risk."
"YOU aren't," reminds Boone angrily, as he sees the half-prophetic nightmare from his tank-time coming true.
In the embassy, Da'an is flooded with pain, sadness, and resignation, as Lili sends an image of herself with Paul Chandler. They are looking at the Valdosta sky, one starry night.
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therein are the property of the Tribune Entertainment Company.