Dutiful Passage
In which Padi makes connections and Shan receives news from home.
The looper families Shan mentions are among those who have appeared or been mentioned in the Jethri-era stories: the Smiths were the first family to have norbears travelling with them, the Tragers were friendly with Jethri’s family, and the Wildes did that ill-fated bit of experimenting with Old Tech.
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Mercantile Building
In which the Boss Vote is concluded.
And that, more or less, is that. There’s still the outcome of the TerraTrade survey to be announced, but that’s looking more predictable now than it did a few chapters ago. And Lady yo’Lanna’s housewarming party. And, maybe, a progress report on Memit’s rabbit hunt.
Surebleak Port
Office of the Road Boss
In which Miri’s day suddenly gets more interesting.
So, Pat Rin did send the alert to both Val Con and Miri, regardless, which makes perfect sense and is what I would have assumed in the first place if the narrative hadn’t implied otherwise.
It annoys me that this is what I’m thinking about when there’s a dramatic climax going on.
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Surebleak Port
In which Boss Surebleak’s plan is revealed.
So, no shocking twist regarding Boss Surebleak’s identity. Different shocking twist instead.
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On the Road
In which Emissary Twelve appreciates flowers.
Even while Boss Surebleak stirs up trouble, life goes on. Somebody said, earlier in the book: that’s the only way to do it. You have to keeping planning for life After.
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Surebleak Port
Emerald Casino
In which the Portmaster is late for lunch.
I guess maybe it was too much to expect that we were going to get an answer just like that.
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Surebleak Port
Portmaster’s Office
In which the portmaster and the survey team leader go for a walk.
The portmaster’s probably right that the port can survive if TerraTrade doesn’t grant them the upgrade. The question that’s hanging just now is, what if TerraTrade decides the recent unpleasantness means it has to downgrade them?
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Jelaza Kazone
In which Emissary Twelve has thoughts about change.
There’s a lot of thinking about the future in this chapter: about what they will do if Boss Surebleak wins, and, perhaps more importantly, what kind of future they will shape if Boss Surebleak doesn’t win.
That makes, I believe two appointments the portmaster has tomorrow, beginning two hours apart. I wonder if they will collide in some fashion.
Surebleak Port
Portmaster’s Office
In which Boss Surebleak makes the next move.
I have reservations about this, but Portmaster Liu and Survey Leader Kasveini have already said them for me.
I still want to know, if nobody knows who Boss Surebleak is, how were the requests for comment for the Voting Editions addressed?
Surebleak Port
Portmaster’s Office
In which Team Leader Kasveini has her limits.
The idea that social change on Surebleak works from the bottom up, by improving the lives of the people at the bottom of the heap, was a major theme of Dragon in Exile. Part of it was that, as seen again in the Road Boss’s meeting here, it’s harder for the Old Ways to come back if everyone knows they’re better off under the new ways.
Dragon in Exile also saw the origin of Kareen and Kamele’s project collating the historical documents of Surebleak.