Motif · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Primal engines

Circe's history lesson on the CrawlCon panel: the original council nations 'accidentally tripped the primal engines' and started the chain reaction that overpopulated the galaxy, leaving primal elements to be collected from the pre-seeded worlds; the Hive, who reverse-engineer primal technology, demanded the right to field-test macro-AI-controlled enhancement zones, and the request was put under advisement. A hunter promises to birth a thousand nymphs in the birthing hall of Hive Home two.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 31 — The juvenile quickdraw
• Chapter 33 — Crawling Through the Ages
• Chapter 35 — Ballroom Blitz

Progression

Circe's ten minutes of history at the masquerade: the council nations 'accidentally tripped the primal engines', the overpopulated galaxy, the primal elements to be collected from pre-seeded worlds, and the Hive's macro-AI enhancement zones (ch. 33). Keith says his father says Carl whores himself 'to the macro AI and to the mudskippers' (ch. 31); Vrah will birth a thousand nymphs in the birthing hall of Hive Home two (ch. 35).