Chapters 21-24 Summary

Chapter 21 jumps forward in time to 2078-85 to see what Danny learns at the end of his life, in the N'Jarr Valley. He accepts that crew members had been right to hate him for his role in kidnapping Emilio and recalls how, from his first reading of the Stella Maris logs, he had felt destined to go to Rakhat, somehow to redeem the Lakotas' tragic fate through saving the Jana'ata. His ally is the middle-aged widow Suukmel, who details Hlavin's consolidation of power through a web of Runa informants whose descendants fare better in return; by doing away with views on legacy that had held back commerce and the arts; and by ending the educational segregation of his young consorts, who bear him many children, both sexes of whom are allowed to sing. Hlavin returns to music and poetry and these...