Motif · Book 8, A Parade of Horribles

The Garden of Deliverance

Li Na's Deadly Bloom on Carl's Home Depot cactus tells her fate — glowing alive, blooming unlit escaped, dust dead, one flower safe to follow, three not; then Ronit's two hundred potted plants under glass, one per crawler sent to the Cabaret. 'Even the showrunners can’t see what’s going on in there.'

Segment appearances

• Chapter 61 — Suckira; the cactus; Li Na leaves the game
• Chapter 62 — Mees Koning's page; to battle
• Chapter 67 — Half a prayer, half a song; one flower
• Chapter 73 — The Garden of Deliverance; the ducts

Progression

A dread on a cactus and its code (ch. 61); steady (ch. 62); one flower (ch. 67); two hundred pots under glass (ch. 73); still intact when Carl is a dog (ch. 82).