Motif · Book 6, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

The failsafe

The Syndicate Council's last resort for a crawl gone wrong: kill the system's star. Cascadia is 'one crisis shy' of it on the eighth floor; Zev prays they never learn what it does; Princess Formidable demands it and is muted on a decorum sanction; Prime Minister Glory refuses, because half the galaxy's wealth is trapped in orbit and in the Scolopendra Club.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 21 — The warlords' table
• Chapter 48 — Mass Layoffs
• Chapter 49 — The Shepherd's House flyer
• Chapter 51 — Residuals
• Epilogue — Homecoming Queen

Progression

Cascadia is one crisis shy of pulling it, which would kill them all (ch. 21); 'They’re gonna pull the failsafe this time for sure' (ch. 48); Carl asks Zev what it is — 'Pray we don't find out' (ch. 49); the council would pull it if what the Residual said proved dangerous enough, killing the system's star (ch. 51); a voice in Carl's head as he weighs the key and Ren: 'This is more than just a failsafe' (ch. 59); Formidable demands it in the emergency session and is refused, for the wealth trapped in the system, while the Fortent rep accuses her of wanting her brothers and father dead (epilogue).