Chapter 5 Summary

Ronin and Casey are aboveground. Ronin makes a campfire, despite Casey's protest that it's too warm. Then, it begins to snow, though it hasn't snowed in five years. Peter told her it was scientifically impossible to snow. Ronin speaks in accented English, urging Casey to rest up for the coming trials. Casey wants to hate Ronin but finds herself unable to do so. Ronin relates a Japanese proverb meaning "make the best of the time you have." He draws her close, and they make love. Later, the snow stops, and Ronin is silent once more.

New York is entirely covered with biocircuitry—only a single pre-Aquarius building is still visible. Large, organic towers rise from the biocircuitry mass, forming skyscrapers of living green plastic. Inside the Aquarius prison, McKenna is restrained in a chair. The guards say Peter recently went mad. They...