Chapter Summaries

Connor waited for news of the supposed Joint Fleet, but reconnaissance found nothing until an enormous black curtain opened in New York Harbor. A massive, unrecognized fleet began emerging through it, leaving the city and harbor in alarm as reports climbed the chain of command.

• Connor learned from Lewis that the Joint Fleet was expected near New York Harbor at noon, then ordered the Norfolk fleet to search for and intercept any unidentified ships.
• Connor received word that reconnaissance aircraft had found no unidentified warships and prepared to confront Meng Anping.
• A mysterious black curtain appeared off New York, drawing the attention of harbor workers, residents, and a television helicopter.
• A harbor speedboat approached the curtain, but its driver turned away when an aircraft carrier emerged from it.
• Unidentified escort warships and additional carriers poured through the Spacetime Tunnel, filling the waters and prompting people to flee.
• Reports of the fleet began moving up through the ranks.

A joint fleet emerged from a spacetime tunnel outside New York Harbor, shocking Connor and Lewis as the number of warships grew to 240. Connor arranged for the fleet to dock and flew out to meet its commanders, leaving the chapter with him aboard its command ship.

• Lewis learned from a live broadcast that warships were streaming through a spacetime tunnel into New York Harbor and rushed to tell Connor.
• Connor confirmed the fleet had arrived, learned it was visiting, and ordered New York Harbor to arrange berths for the ships.
• Port operators struggled to clear the busy harbor, then began evacuating vessels and making room for the fleet.
• Zhang Tianyuan and the joint fleet agreed to send a destroyer into port first while the rest of the ships waited offshore.
• Connor and Lewis arrived in New York, realized the destroyer was not the fleet's command vessel, and flew to meet its leaders aboard the command ship.

Connor and Lewis welcomed Zhang Tianyuan and the Cross-Spacetime Joint Fleet aboard its command carrier, where they learned the fleet included 30 carrier fleets from four parallel spacetimes. Connor grew friendlier after hearing that many of the ships were formidable, while Lewis struggled with the wind and his hair.

• Connor and Lewis arrived by helicopter with their secretaries and security personnel to meet the aliens aboard the carrier.
• Zhang Tianyuan introduced himself as the temporary president of the Mutual Aid Society headquarters and described the Cross-Spacetime Joint Fleet.
• Zhang Tianyuan explained that the fleet had come because Connor had not formally refused its requested visit, leaving Connor to regret not replying.
• The fleet commanders arrived, and Zhang Tianyuan introduced them and their ships to Connor and Lewis.
• Connor heard that some fleets were weak while others, especially those from Pacific Rim Spacetime and Snowpiercer Spacetime, were powerful, and he warmly welcomed the visitors.
• Lewis watched Connor pose for photos and felt déjà vu at the sight of a four-spacetime joint force.

Zhang Tianyuan told Connor that the Joint Fleet represented the Mutual Aid Society, which had helped eight parallel spacetimes and planned to inspect other countries as well. Connor became eager to join after seeing the Society’s advanced exoskeletons, while Lewis complained that the port was taking too long to prepare a berth for the fleet.

• Zhang Tianyuan explained the Mutual Aid Society’s work across eight parallel spacetimes and said it had come to help Connor’s world by learning about it through visits.
• Connor asked about joining, and Zhang Tianyuan described the Society’s basic requirements without accepting Connor’s implied offer.
• A soldier demonstrated an exoskeleton by lifting and pulling one corner of a plane, leaving Connor and Lewis impressed.
• Zhang Tianyuan explained that the exoskeletons were exported from another spacetime, and Connor began to long for access to parallel-spacetime technology.
• Connor lost sight of Zhang Tianyuan, returned to Lewis, and heard him complain that the port had not prepared a berth despite the fleet’s long wait.

Connor struggled to berth the Joint Fleet at New York Harbor and ordered supplies and promotional brochures for the ships. After arranging preparations on both coasts, he called Meng Anping late at night to ask how he could join the Mutual Aid Society and become a messenger.

• Lewis explained that New York Harbor could not clear berths quickly, and Connor learned that thirty Joint Fleet warships had docked while 210 remained at sea.
• Connor ordered East Coast supply ships to resupply the fleet offshore, while docked ships received fuel, provisions, gifts, and promotional brochures.
• Lewis arranged the resupply and brochure printing, and West Coast bases and California ports prepared for President Zhang's visit.
• Crowds gathered around New York Harbor as news of the Joint Fleet spread, and Connor fielded calls from countries around the world.
• After briefing his people, Connor contacted Meng Anping to ask how he could join the Mutual Aid Society and become a messenger.

Connor asked Meng Anping how to join the Mutual Aid Society and learned that his government’s actions had already put its prospects at risk. He realized the Joint Fleet’s visit was both a response to the downed reconnaissance craft and a warning to stop interfering overseas.

• Connor spoke with Meng Anping about joining the Mutual Aid Society and shared what President Zhang had told him.
• Meng Anping explained the society’s principles and warned Connor that a spacetime that rejected its help had seen a hundred million people freeze to death.
• Meng Anping revealed that Connor’s side had shot down the society’s reconnaissance satellite and drone, prompting Connor to send his secretary to investigate.
• Meng Anping said he had defended Connor’s side to President Zhang and urged Connor to consider whether its world was on the wrong path.
• Connor concluded that joining the Mutual Aid Society would require him to abandon overseas interference, and he recognized the Joint Fleet’s visit as a warning as well as a show of force.

Connor learned that the Economic and Trade Organization could supply his country with resources from other spacetimes, giving him a possible alternative to overseas interests. Seeing crowds gather around New York Harbor, he recognized how widely the Joint Fleet’s visit had drawn attention and decided to address the public from the warship.

• Meng Anping told Connor that another spacetime was abandoning its old planet and that the Economic and Trade Organization could import resources from it.
• Connor asked about oil, natural gas, coal, and freshwater, and Meng Anping described the organization’s expanding trade between spacetimes.
• Connor considered replacing overseas resource supplies with imports from other spacetimes, especially while the Joint Fleet remained in New York.
• Connor saw crowds and civilian vessels gathering around New York Harbor as supply ships served the Joint Fleet and warships kept other boats away.
• Connor called Lewis and decided to give a televised address from the warship rather than go ashore.

Connor delivered a televised speech from a Mutual Aid Society carrier, assuring the world that the visitors came from a parallel Earth and were friendly. He ended by announcing that the Joint Fleet would next visit California.

• Lewis secured permission from the Mutual Aid Society to host Connor's speech aboard a carrier and arranged for a television crew to fly in from New York.
• Connor addressed viewers from the ship's island, describing the Joint Fleet's arrival as a friendly visit after earlier contact.
• Connor explained that the visitors came from a parallel spacetime and praised the Mutual Aid Society as a charitable organization dedicated to peace.
• Officials in other countries analyzed Connor's speech, and some intelligence officers wondered whether he had been taken hostage.
• Connor concluded by announcing that the Joint Fleet would visit California to learn about the world.

The Joint Fleet prepared to leave New York Harbor after establishing the Mutual Aid Society’s power, but Connor refused to get off Zhang Tianyuan’s command ship. Zhang Tianyuan eventually ordered the fleet to sail to California, giving Connor a high-profile visit through a Spacetime Tunnel.

• After Connor announced that the Joint Fleet would visit California, other powers contacted Meng Anping to seek visits of their own.
• Meng Anping told the powers to wait, expecting the Joint Fleet to leave New York Harbor once it was ready.
• Zhang Tianyuan decided to depart the crowded harbor after the fleet received gifts and supplies from Connor.
• When Zhang Tianyuan announced the departure, Connor asked the Joint Fleet to stay but refused to leave the command ship.
• After an hour of arguing with Connor, Zhang Tianyuan ordered the command ship to sail to California through a Spacetime Tunnel.

Connor turned the signing of the temporary agreement and his passage through the Spacetime Tunnel into a live spectacle, using his connection with the Mutual Aid Society to build public support. The Joint Fleet reached California to a massive welcome, leaving Connor and Lewis exhausted but delighted by their sudden popularity.

• Connor arranged for a television crew to broadcast him and Lewis signing the temporary agreement aboard the carrier.
• Connor asked Zhang Tianyuan to let the crew film his passage through the Spacetime Tunnel, and Zhang agreed.
• Connor chatted with Joint Fleet commanders and gathered basic information about other spacetimes while the fleet loaded his supplies.
• Connor kept addressing the camera as the carrier passed through the Spacetime Tunnel, presenting himself as enthusiastic and fearless.
• The Joint Fleet sailed to California, where crowds welcomed it and the Mutual Aid Society, strengthening Connor's public support.
• Connor and Lewis waved to the crowds until they were exhausted, then returned smiling and unsteady on their feet.

The Joint Fleet’s highly publicized visit to California sparked lavish welcomes abroad and a heated Mutual Aid Society debate over whether Rampage Spacetime’s countries should be allowed to join. After the debate reached a compromise, Zhang Tianyuan met with key figures, while Connor and Ski waited anxiously to learn whether they would be accepted.

• Connor turned the Joint Fleet’s California arrival into a global spectacle, prompting countries to compete with gifts and supplies for visiting ships.
• Mutual Aid Society members argued over whether Rampage Spacetime’s countries deserved membership despite their roles in wars and nuclear contamination.
• Connor finally disembarked after five days aboard the carrier, and the Joint Fleet completed its weeklong visit across the continents.
• Zhang Tianyuan inspected disaster-relief and reconstruction work while avoiding meetings with Rampage Spacetime’s delegations as the membership debate continued.
• After the Mutual Aid Society reached a compromise, Zhang Tianyuan made a brief appearance at a reception, then met privately with Meng Anping, Connor, and Ski.
• Connor and Ski worried that the society had not acted on their promises to give up overseas interests, while Meng Anping kept quiet about the debate and his own successful membership.

Zhang Tianyuan pressed Connor and Ski to accept responsibility for contamination and reconstruction in their spacetime, making their cooperation a condition for joining the Mutual Aid Society. After they agreed, he revealed that another spacetime might have technology for accessing resources buried at extreme depths.

• Connor and Ski argued over how quickly their forces could withdraw overseas while Zhang Tianyuan reviewed the Joint Fleet's reports.
• Zhang Tianyuan described the Mutual Aid Society's controversy over their past actions and presented records of the oil and water riots, including the devastation of Australia.
• Connor, Ski, and Meng Anping were asked to take responsibility for reconstructing contaminated regions, and Meng Anping enthusiastically supported the proposal.
• Connor agreed to the reconstruction arrangement, and Ski reluctantly agreed after considering the consequences of refusing.
• Zhang Tianyuan told Connor, Ski, and Meng Anping that experts believed their spacetime's oil and gas might lie deeper underground, then raised the possibility of No. 3 Spacetime's underground-city technology.

Zhang Tianyuan offered Rampage Spacetime access to Wandering Spacetime’s deep-surveying and mining technology through the planned Ninth Branch, while Connor and Ski remained outside the Mutual Aid Society until they proved their commitment. As they began reckoning with their countries’ past use of nuclear weapons, a damage-assessment convoy entered Oceania in Rampage Spacetime and encountered a sandstorm.

• Zhang Tianyuan gave Meng Anping and the others technical documents for deep surveying and mining, and said the soon-to-be-established Ninth Branch would decide how to use them.
• Zhang Tianyuan refused to admit Connor and Ski immediately, telling them they needed to demonstrate their determination, though they could cooperate with Branch No. 9 as nonmembers.
• Connor arrested people responsible for starting mushroom plantations, and Ski took similar action; other countries followed, launching a worldwide wave of opposition to war and nuclear weapons.
• Connor, Ski, and other countries prepared to assess pollution and assign responsibility in Oceania, bringing experts and original records before traveling with Zhang Tianyuan through Interstellar Spacetime.
• Wang Lei escorted the damage-assessment convoy through the Spacetime Tunnel into Oceania, where a sandstorm struck the lead vehicle as it emerged.

Zhang Tianyuan's convoy entered Rampage Spacetime during a sandstorm and detected Immortan Joe's pursuing war party, while keeping out of its way. Immortan Joe found a drone wing from outside the wasteland and continued chasing Furiosa, but the discovery left him fearful and longing for the world before the wasteland.

• Wang Lei detected a convoy moving through the sandstorm, and Zhang Tianyuan ordered his convoy to stay silent and continue its plan.
• Immortan Joe pursued Furiosa through the sandstorm, enraged that she had escaped with the women he hoped would bear healthy children.
• A lightning flash revealed Zhang Tianyuan's vehicles to Immortan Joe, but he dismissed them as a hallucination and kept driving.
• Immortan Joe's attacker fell from the war rig and was run over by the pursuing vehicles as the others shouted, "Witness me!"
• A white drone wing flew into Immortan Joe's war rig, and he recognized its unfamiliar material as proof that it came from outside the wasteland.
• Immortan Joe resumed the pursuit more slowly, repeatedly glancing at the drone wing with fear, nostalgia, and longing.

Zhang Tianyuan’s convoy crossed the desert, found the wreckage of a Vulture Tribe convoy, and was confronted by another Vulture Tribe group. After the Mutual Aid Society subdued them, Zhang ordered the representatives to help turn them into good people.

• Zhang Tianyuan refused to pursue the convoy lost in the sandstorm and continued across the desert with Wang Lei.
• The Mutual Aid Society’s scouts found the wreckage of a Vulture Tribe convoy and bodies, leading Zhang to suspect the first convoy had belonged to Immortan Joe.
• A Vulture Tribe convoy surrounded Zhang Tianyuan’s vehicles and threatened the occupants, but armed drones blasted the road and forced the attackers to surrender.
• The soldiers restrained the Vulture Tribe members, and Barry Allen claimed his little brother Bruce was strong enough to pierce the armor; Bruce repeatedly failed to damage it.
• Zhang Tianyuan agreed with the delegation’s doubts about helping the Vulture Tribe and told the representatives to turn the captured people into good people.

Smith proposed building a prison for the Vulture Tribe prisoners, but Zhang Tianyuan rejected the idea and Wang Lei explained that the representatives had crossed a boundary by seeking influence in the wasteland. Smith and Yuri withdrew to make calls, while Zhang Tianyuan sent Wang Lei to have the prisoners lead the way.

• Smith suggested that the North American convoy help build a prison, and Zhang Tianyuan walked away as soldiers moved to drive the convoy off.
• Smith clung to Wang Lei and explained what had happened, insisting he had not meant to refuse cooperation.
• Wang Lei told Smith that aid should not include building a prison, warning that outsiders should not interfere or seek influence in the wasteland.
• Smith realized his proposal had been a deliberate attempt to expand his country's influence, then excused himself to make a phone call.
• Yuri also claimed he had something urgent to do, and Wang Lei dismissed him and the soldiers.
• Zhang Tianyuan told Wang Lei to check on the Vulture Tribe prisoners and have them lead the way.

Wang Lei’s forces gave the Vulture Tribe captives salted water, and the prisoners gradually overcame their suspicion and drank. Smith then offered to make amends by granting their wishes, only to be overwhelmed by demands for armed vehicles and weapons before Yuri claimed he could provide them.

• Wang Lei ordered the captives into the shade and had soldiers distribute salted water, but the prisoners hesitated because they feared a trap.
• Wang Lei made Barry and Bruce drink first, and their eagerness for more water persuaded the other captives to join the line.
• Smith and Yuri returned after being reprimanded by Connor and Ski, and Smith apologized to the captives and offered personal compensation.
• The captives asked Smith for battle vehicles, crossbows, nitrous boost, machine guns, ammunition, and a tank.
• Yuri stepped forward and said that he had the things the captives wanted.

Zhang Tianyuan’s convoy reached Immortan Joe’s fortress and found it stripped of most of its fighters, while its inhabitants refused to surrender and attacked the Mutual Aid Society’s armored vehicle. The attack failed to damage it, and Corpus spotted an unfamiliar weapon rising from the convoy as the standoff continued.

• Zhang Tianyuan questioned the prisoners, and Bruce described Immortan Joe’s fortress, its water supply, and its surrounding farmland.
• Wang Lei’s drone located the fortress and confirmed that Immortan Joe’s War Boys and war rigs were away, leaving the stronghold vulnerable.
• Corpus spotted the Mutual Aid Society’s convoy and sent mechanics to confront it, but the convoy rammed through their vehicles without causing injuries.
• Wang Lei learned from a young mechanic that Immortan Joe ruled the fortress and supplied its people with food, water, and women taken from the war rigs.
• The fortress inhabitants rejected the order to surrender, fired guns, and threw explosive spears at the armored vehicle, which escaped unharmed.
• Corpus watched a cargo box with rows of holes rise from a Mutual Aid Society vehicle and wondered what it was.

The Mutual Aid Society used a rocket strike to break the fortress and secure its surrender, then encountered impoverished refugees who blamed Smith for the wasteland. After the refugees attacked Smith’s delegation, Yuri approached them with supplies and began introducing an organization representing peace.

• Corpus and the fortress’s defenders recognized the Mutual Aid Society’s rocket launcher too late, and its strike collapsed part of the fortress, burying Corpus and others.
• The Mutual Aid Society’s soldiers took control after the remaining mechanics and slaves surrendered, while Wang Lei planned to clear the fortress’s narrow passages.
• Smith approached the refugees with promises of aid, but elderly survivors accused North America of causing the nuclear devastation, and the enraged crowd chased him and seized several of his men.
• Zhang Tianyuan sent soldiers with water and biscuits to rescue Smith’s men, drawing the refugees’ attention away from them.
• Yuri arrived with supplies and began introducing the refugees to an organization representing peace.

Yuri won over starving refugees by distributing supplies and declaring them members of the Mutual Aid Society. Meanwhile, Max escaped with Furiosa and her group as Immortan Joe’s pursuit slowed while he investigated a newly discovered aircraft.

• Yuri gave a speech to the refugees, then ordered his subordinates to distribute food and water, prompting the crowd to cheer for the Mutual Aid Society.
• Max woke in the desert chained to a War Boy, then tried to steal Furiosa’s war rig and fought her with the War Boy’s help.
• Max agreed to take Furiosa and the other women with him as Immortan Joe, Brodie the People Eater, and other pursuers followed them.
• Furiosa led the group into a barren valley and had the narrow entrance blocked with explosives.
• Immortan Joe examined the wreckage of a recently flown aircraft and told Brodie that it had Chinese and English writing on it.