Chapter Summaries

After helping save a cat, Hesta and Ligo discovered two young women inside their suite. Agnes and Meyers shared clues from their Embarkation Notices, then Ligo stopped them at the door to ask how they had entered.

• Silei let Ligo and Hesta leave the scene and told Gobelin that Chiba wanted to question him.
• Ligo carried the exhausted Hesta down the corridor, where they noticed their suite's potted plant had been moved and realized someone was inside.
• Ligo and Hesta caught Agnes and Meyers leaving the suite and brought them back inside.
• Agnes and Meyers told Ligo that female and male passengers had received different versions of their Embarkation Notices, and that their consecutive numbers came with messages that seemed connected.
• Ligo blocked the door and asked Agnes and Meyers how they had gotten into the suite.

Ligo questioned Meyers and Agnes about sneaking into the room and learned they had entered after the incident at Grace Theater. The sisters explained their loyalty to Robogriye and their plan to join his community in District 14, leaving after Agnes declared that freedom was a lie.

• Meyers told Ligo that she had slipped into the room through a partly open door after the incident at Grace Theater, and Agnes later joined her.
• Agnes explained that she had received Meyers's message on a modified handheld device and described seeing a little girl carry a blanket toward the restaurant.
• Ligo warned the sisters that Silei and three Thorn Monks might review surveillance footage showing them entering the room.
• Meyers said Robogriye's secretary had called passengers about their Embarkation Notices, and Agnes and Meyers explained how much they respected Robogriye.
• Agnes and Meyers confirmed they were going to District 14 to join Robogriye's community, then Agnes called freedom a lie and said they had to leave.

Hesta, Ligo, and Silei examined the sisters’ warning and prepared for the day’s investigation, while Hesta arranged to speak with Anna and Zero. At Bishop Restaurant, the group reviewed footage tracing Dietrich’s movements before his disappearance into Grace Theater.

• Ligo watched Agnes lead Meyers away, then found Hesta asleep on the bed.
• The next morning, Hesta and Ligo reviewed Silei’s whiteboard analysis; Hesta said the sisters had been warning Silei because she was not on anyone’s side.
• Silei prepared to attend a meeting at Bishop Restaurant while Ligo brought Hesta to Chiba on the open deck.
• Ligo went to speak with Zero, and Chiba agreed to take Hesta to Anna after breakfast and her morning medicine.
• At Bishop Restaurant, the surveillance footage showed Dietrich entering Grace Theater’s side door at five in the afternoon and disappearing until Hesta activated the stage mechanism three hours later.

Silei reviewed surveillance footage showing Dietrich behaving as if he were following hidden instructions, then shared testimony and evidence with the passengers. She left them with a warning about possible lies and Dietrich’s connection to the Notice, while Chiba cared for Hesta at breakfast.

• Silei showed footage of Dietrich hiding from crew members and performing warm-up movements, and Gobelin suggested someone might have been controlling him.
• Silei said Dietrich had stayed in his room the morning before his death; his roommate Fritz Gruning testified that Dietrich had felt unwell and remained in bed.
• Silei announced that she had copied the passengers’ testimonies and would distribute them, along with her observations, to everyone aboard the ship.
• When Buli asked about the back of the Notice, Silei refused to comment and reminded the passengers that Dietrich had carried his luggage and dropped a Marathon Commemorative Coin.
• Silei warned that someone might have lied and gave the passengers her landline number so they could report anything suspicious.
• Chiba helped Hesta take her medication after they finished breakfast.

Chiba confronted Gopelin about his secret investigation and revealed she had once lived aboard the Ascending Bright. She then sent Hesta with Zero to explore Anna’s enormous luggage room, leaving Hesta to stay there with Jane until Ligo arrived.

• Gopelin joined Chiba and Hesta at breakfast, and Chiba questioned him about using the ship’s phones and CCTV to gather information.
• Chiba said she had lived on the Ascending Bright as a teenager and left the dining room with Hesta.
• Buli tried to stop Agnes and Meyers to question them about their meeting with Ligo, but Agnes refused and Silei’s attention made him back off.
• Chiba told Hesta about the ship’s lively summer crowds and took her toward Anna’s luggage room as thanks for saving Anna’s cat.
• Zero met Chiba and Hesta at the luggage-room entrance, and Chiba ordered Zero to stay with Hesta and Jane until Ligo arrived at one o’clock.

Hesta descended to Anna’s underground collection and study, where she saw Anna’s extensive animal specimens and field photographs before finding her resting with Meishijin. After asking Zero to fetch a rabies vaccine, Hesta explored Anna’s books, read “Origin,” and began to doze.

• Zero helped Hesta down the stairs and brought her to Anna’s underground collection.
• Hesta viewed the animal specimens and photographs, and Zero explained that Anna was a forest scientist who had been confined in District 3.
• Zero pushed Hesta to Anna’s study, where Hesta found Anna resting with Meishijin.
• Hesta asked Zero to request a rabies vaccine from the medical room.
• Hesta explored Anna’s books, read “Origin,” and began to doze.

Hesta discussed her difficulty reading a book given to her by a friend and received a rabies vaccination from Zero. She told Anna about her illness, the dangerous thoughts that returned when she stopped taking medication, and the self-inflicted injuries she used to regain control, ending by saying she no longer needed to worry.

• Anna woke Hesta by pelting her with paper airplanes and asked about the book Origin that Hesta had been trying to read.
• Hesta explained that a friend had given her the book and reflected that she and that friend had missed their chance to talk.
• Zero helped Hesta remove her coat and shirt, saw the scars on her arm and chest, and gave her an injection.
• Anna asked about Hesta's illness and medication, and Hesta described hallucinations and compulsive self-harm thoughts after she stopped taking her medication.
• Hesta recalled Tulan restraining her during episodes and said that Yani had discovered she was secretly vomiting up her medicine.
• Hesta finished dressing and told Anna, "Not anymore."

Hesta questioned Anna about her connection to Ava and recognized Zero as the person she had known as Palan and Eclipse. Anna revealed that Zero came from the true Golden Age, while Hesta renewed her unanswered question about Anna and Ava.

• Hesta asked Anna about her relationship with Ava, then confronted Zero as Palan and Eclipse.
• Anna confirmed that Eclipse and Palan were the same person but said Zero was neither of them.
• Hesta identified Zero by the distinctive patterns in her irises, and Anna revealed that Zero came from the true Golden Age.
• Anna cautioned Hesta against calling Zero an android and sent Zero to make tea.
• Hesta explained why Zero's existence did not surprise her, then again asked Anna what her relationship with Ava was.

Anna showed Hesta records from the Golden Age, including notices about a series of murders, and challenged Hesta’s idealized view of that era. She left Hesta shaken by calling the Golden Age the darkest hour in human civilization and asking whether she had shattered Hesta’s utopia.

• Anna and Hesta discussed Ava, Zero, and whether Hesta trusted Anna, with Anna noting that Chiba’s role was a major reason Hesta had come alone.
• Anna found historical documents about civilian humanoid replicas and explained that they dated to 3674, before the Great Blackout began in 3812.
• Hesta read about four criminal cases from 3676 in which dismembered bodies of women were found in the countryside.
• Hesta expressed disbelief that such crimes had occurred during the Golden Age, which she had understood as an era of freedom and abundance.
• Anna called the Golden Age humanity’s darkest hour and said people had been enslaved so thoroughly that their chains had become indispensable.
• Anna asked Hesta which of her words had angered her and suggested she had shattered Hesta’s utopia.

Anna explained how simulacra enabled markets for violent and exploitative fantasies, connecting their high cost to the murder case and the Golden Age’s freedoms. Hesta read documents showing that Southern Zhou gradually restricted humanoid robots, while Mother City later forbade technologies that blurred the line between humans and machines.

• Hesta challenged Anna’s habit of analyzing her, and Anna apologized before returning to the story.
• Anna said the murderers were swiftly executed after their crimes were documented and sold as recordings.
• Anna described how simulacra created markets for harmful fantasies and inspired Dark Side Movements seeking acceptance for supposedly harmless desires.
• Anna explained that simulacra designed to suffer realistic injuries were expensive, helping Hesta understand the connection to the murder case.
• Hesta read District 14 records showing Southern Zhou reduced and then banned humanoid robot sales over about sixteen years.
• Anna said Mother City forbade technologies that blurred the boundary between humans and machines, explaining why the base never made simulacra.

Anna explained the history and ideas behind the Ascetic Monks to Hesta through the writings of Robogriye, the movement’s founder. Hesta learned how the Matriarchal Cycle and Escape Velocity shaped the group’s separatist strategy and drew moderates to it.

• Anna asked Hesta whether she had discussed theories with the Thorn Monks, then gave her a manuscript about Robogriye.
• Anna explained that the elderly Rob Green had renamed himself in tribute to Robogriye, a Golden Age founder and creator of the Ascetic Monks.
• Hesta recognized passages in the manuscript that matched ideas Agnes and Meyers had discussed, but dizziness forced her to skim.
• Anna described Robogriye’s theories of Male Disposability, the Matriarchal Cycle, and Escape Velocity.
• Anna said Robogriye delivered his first public speech to answer criticism of the Ascetic Monks’ passive separatism, and many moderates joined the group afterward.

Anna explained how Robogriye built Ascetic Monks into a youth movement, promoted the Artificial Womb, and urged followers to create their own “Miracle Years.” Hesta connected the Golden Age to Tulan’s research grant and concluded that it had been another Mountains Under the Storm.

• Anna told Hesta that Robogriye had adapted Robogriye’s ideas and described how he expanded Ascetic Monks through documentaries, speeches, and youth associations.
• Anna explained that Robogriye’s youth associations offered young men a mission and promised an egalitarian society while demanding unconditional enthusiasm.
• Anna said Robogriye pursued reproductive initiative through the Artificial Womb and encouraged qualified Ascetic Monks to have a “Miracle Year.”
• Hesta connected the idea of a Miracle Year to Tulan’s research grant and the Ava Morgan Prize.
• Anna explained that Robogriye’s team worked within an ethical gray area to advance the Artificial Womb.
• Hesta reflected that the Golden Age had been another Mountains Under the Storm.

Hesta visited Anna and borrowed seven books before Ligo picked her up. Back at their cabin, Hesta and Ligo heard an argument in Agnes and Meyers’s suite, but Agnes denied anything was wrong and refused to let them enter.

• Anna showed Hesta artifacts and explained that a dagger from an ancient tomb had passed through her hands after the Great Blackout Era.
• Anna asked Hesta what she and her companions had laughed at during Rob’s speech, and Hesta recalled a man from the Reserve Base whom they imagined embracing Rob in an emotional reunion.
• Ligo arrived to collect Hesta, and Hesta told her she had borrowed books from Anna.
• Ligo said there was no signal and that Silei had been missing from their room when she woke up.
• Hesta and Ligo heard a heated argument from Agnes and Meyers’s suite and went to investigate.
• Agnes claimed she had been watching a movie, denied arguing with anyone, and refused to let Hesta and Ligo inside, so Hesta urged Ligo to leave.

Hesta and Ligo tried to help Agnes by calling Meyers back to her suite, where they discovered Will Buli had been staying. Hesta confronted Buli in the corridor and hinted that she knew he had been causing trouble, leaving his intentions unclear.

• Agnes slammed the door on Hesta and Ligo, so they called the service desk to find Officer Silei and learned she was unavailable.
• Hesta remembered Meyers and told her by phone that her sister was in danger, prompting Meyers to hurry back to the suite.
• Ligo wedged the borrowed book Male Awakening into Agnes's door while Meyers entered, then listened as Meyers reassured Agnes and a man came out.
• The man, Will Buli, picked up the book and found Hesta waiting by the elevator; Hesta questioned why he was staying with the Agnes sisters.
• Buli hid Male Awakening behind his back as Hesta claimed Ligo was pursuing a suspicious person, then offered to protect Hesta while they waited.
• Hesta laughed and asked Buli whether he had been causing trouble for someone lately.

Hesta and Ligo confronted Buli and Agnes after Buli took Hesta’s book and Agnes accused them of interfering with her and Meyers. As Hesta and Ligo headed back to their suite, they discovered Buli’s elevator was stuck between the fifth and sixth floors.

• Buli denied insulting Hesta, claimed he respected her as a Quicksilver Needle, and left with her book.
• Ligo asked Hesta about Buli, and Hesta explained that she had falsely told him Ligo was pursuing a suspicious person.
• Agnes accused Hesta and Ligo of taking Meyers away from her, and Hesta challenged Agnes’s threats before Agnes returned to her room with Meyers.
• Ligo and Hesta argued over whether Hesta had provoked Agnes, then heard Buli shouting from the elevator shaft.
• Ligo told Buli to use the emergency call button and warned him to stop kicking the stuck elevator.

Buli was rescued from the elevator after a bloodied corpse appeared, and Silei privately told Hesta and Chiba that she had retraced Dietrich’s route and found a note, a diary, and an envelope. The note warned that the deaths were not suicides and claimed the Embarkation Notice’s guidance was correct.

• Buli screamed from the trapped elevator, and Hesta and Ligo called for help after finding they could not reach him.
• Mechanics lowered the elevator enough to rescue Buli, then discovered Fritz’s corpse on top of the car.
• Silei arrived to investigate, while Hesta noticed Agnes in the crowd and Agnes glared at her before leaving.
• Silei took Hesta and Chiba to Hesta’s room and revealed the items she had found while retracing Dietrich’s route.
• Hesta read a panicked note declaring that the deaths were not suicides and that the Embarkation Notice’s guidance was correct.

Hesta and Chiba examined Dietrich’s diary, which described his nightmares and the strange shadow he saw before boarding the Ascending Bright. Hesta then connected the victims’ diaries to Hoffman’s record of people he planned to punish.

• Officer Silei told Chiba and Hesta that Dietrich had spent the longest time in an entrepreneur’s single cabin and left a diary there.
• Hesta read Dietrich’s entries about his nightmares, his friend Fritz Gruning, and the shadow he believed had emerged from a dream.
• Dietrich’s diary recounted the deadly events at the dock and noted that his mental state improved after Buli gave him a confession prayer.
• Chiba asked whether reincarnation existed, and Hesta wondered why victims seemed to keep diaries.
• Hesta explained that she had killed Hoffman first partly because his diary could provide clues, but his wife had burned the ledger in which he recorded grievances and sought compensation.

Silei questioned Chiba about whether a Chelated Being was aboard the Ascending Bright while Hesta reconsidered the murder in light of what she had learned about Golden Age imitations. Hesta suggested waiting for the killer to make a move, and Chiba later arranged for Ligo’s watch shift to be covered by Silei or Zero.

• Hesta and Silei discussed an empty envelope linked to Dietrich’s murder and wondered whether Fritz Gruning’s room or movements offered clues.
• Silei asked Chiba whether a Chelated Being existed aboard the ship, and Chiba confirmed it but called her evidence classified.
• Hesta lost her train of thought as she considered whether someone aboard could be an imitation rather than a human, then advised Silei that the killer might reveal clues by acting again.
• Ligo returned to find Silei gone, and Chiba told him to wait for Silei to take over his shift or for Zero to cover it instead.

Ligo and Hesta went to the medical room, where Officer Silei learned Buli had been burned by sulfuric acid. While Hesta distracted the doctor with a supposed stomach complaint, Ligo searched Buli’s coat but found nothing underneath.

• Ligo told Hesta that Gopelin had asked about her medication and Anna’s museum collection, and Hesta decided to retrieve a copy of Male Awakening from the medical room.
• Officer Silei learned that Buli had suffered burns after dilute sulfuric acid on him dried and concentrated.
• Silei went to change into sterile clothing so she could enter Buli’s room.
• Ligo brought Hesta to the medical room and Hesta claimed she needed an examination for stomach pain.
• While Hesta occupied the doctor, Ligo searched Buli’s coat after the nurses left, but found nothing underneath.

Ligo and Hesta learned that Silei had spoken privately with Buli while they dealt with the ruined copy of Male Awakening. After Meyers warned Hesta that Robogriye was arming his followers, Hesta revisited Dietrich’s belongings and the Embarkation Notice, focusing on what its second rule might mean.

• Ligo found Male Awakening badly damaged by sulfuric acid and overheard Silei urging Buli to reach an agreement while warning him against further tricks.
• Ligo told Hesta what she had heard, but Hesta rejected the idea of secretly testing Silei and said they should ask her directly.
• Meyers called Hesta and reported that Robogriye was distributing weapons, possibly pistols, rifles, and improvised grenades, and that she and Agnes would take up positions that night.
• Hesta showed Ligo the Notice and explained that Silei had brought her Dietrich’s note, diary, and an empty envelope.
• Hesta and Ligo reread the Embarkation Notice and considered why passengers had to keep their Ship Cards after boarding, noting that Rob had once used them to choose passengers for lunch.