Essay

Open threads

Every long fuse the books have lit, with where it was lit and the latest thing the text has said about it. Status is open or resolved; the chapter after it is the last one that moved the thread. Each character's page carries the rows that name them. Read through book 4.

Open (43)

Thread	Entities	Opened	Latest
Whether Bea is alive	Bea, Princess Donut, Carl	B1 ch. 4	B4 ch. 35 — Alive in a tent in Seattle a month after the collapse; taken by Lexis for Odette, 'a much better use for her.'
The Crown of the Sepsis Whore and the ninth floor	Princess Donut, The Blood Sultanate, Prince Maestro, The Skull Empire	B1 ch. 7	B4 ch. 24 — The Blood Sultanate brings twenty of its own people to the ninth floor; not among the plaintiffs.
Mordecai's advice to leave Donut before the ninth floor	Mordecai, Princess Donut, Carl	B1 ch. 7	B4 ch. 33 — It is Katia who leaves, for her own reasons; Donut and Carl stay together.
'There are no gods here. Just those who pay for the privilege'	The gods, Mordecai	B1 ch. 25	B4 ch. 32 — Carl worships one: Emberus, taken on a falling biplane, with a tithe and two quests.
Mordecai's contract, and his history with Odette and his brother	Mordecai, Odette	B1 ch. 29	B4 ch. 19 — A liaison hold takes him for five days without explanation.
The tenth floor's rules, and Odette's deal	The tenth floor, Odette	B1 ch. 29	B4 ch. 19 — Carl's next appearance on Odette's show cancelled by the teleport ban; the deal untouched.
Borant's bankruptcy and the Valtay fleet at the door	Borant, The Valtay Corporation, Zev, The Syndicate	B1 ch. 36	B4 ch. 34 — A politburo has replaced the board; a kua-tin underground nears civil war; the Valtay help in court.
Agatha's cart and the Valtay hardware	Agatha, The Valtay Corporation	B1 ch. 47	B4 ch. 33 — Ruled out by the Syndicate's liaison as Carl's outside source, with 'helpers'; goes down the stairs at level 12 in someone else's bubble.
The Vengeance of the Daughter contract for the sixth floor	Carl, Tsarina Signet, The show, Elites	B2 ch. 11	B4 ch. 33 — Katia lists 'that Tsarina Signet storyline' among the party's burdens for the sixth floor.
Seeds: whether they grow faster than the show can cut them	Seeds, Carl	B2 ch. 11	B4 ch. 34 — 'seeding the pond?': drown the markets so the factions must send their own people down.
Whether Manasa's death served Borant	Borant, The Valtay Corporation, Prince Stalwart, Carl	B2 ch. 20	B4 ch. 34 — Borant and the Valtay cooperate against the orcs in court.
The manufactured feud with Lucia Mar	Lucia Mar, Princess Donut, The show	B2 ch. 21	B4 ch. 4 — No meeting; Lucia kills Ifechi on the recap and later sobs alone; second on the board behind Carl.
Whether the System AI has interests of its own	The System AI	B2 ch. 21	B4 ch. 28 — It sides with Carl in a lawsuit and hands him the plaintiffs' mothers; 'Going primal.'
Carl's Doomsday Scenario	Carl's Doomsday Scenario, Carl	B2 ch. 25	B4 ch. 17 — Still in the Reaper Case, a 'C-quality' crystal that would flatten forty-five square kilometres.
King Rust's deity sponsorship, and the Grull gauntlet	The gods, The Skull Empire, Carl, Mordecai	B2 ch. 26	B4 ch. 14 — Both princes sponsor Maggie and arm her with a grenade for Algos; their sister's bolts stop it.
Bounties: 100,000 on each of them	The leaderboard, Carl, Princess Donut	B2 ch. 26	B4 ch. 34 — Carl first with 1,000,000 doubled; Donut 300,000 doubled.
Mordecai's 'unfortunate' experience with gods	Mordecai, The gods, Odette	B2 ch. 26	B4 ch. 32 — Mordecai explains withering spirits, feral gods and the Ascendency; the conversation about his own history is still deferred.
What Chaco did to Mordecai, on his manager's orders	Mordecai, Chaco, Odette	B3 ch. 7	B4 ch. 24 — Not raised; Mordecai's history with Odette still unspoken.
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook and its price	The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, Carl	B3 ch. 8	B4 ch. 35 — Coolie, Justice Light, Sinjin, Azin, Priestly, Drakea, Rickard and Porthus read; Carl's own entries begin; a Dr. Hu outside is called Porthus.
What the Valtay want for their pill	The Valtay Corporation, Carl	B3 ch. 13	B4 ch. 8 — A second pill: elevation and airspeed. A Valtay worm in a Syndicate liaison's face; a Valtay lawyer for Borant.
The Ring of Divine Suffering, to be talked about on the fifth floor	Carl, Mordecai	B3 ch. 19	B4 ch. 34 — Still on him at the stairwell, held up to the sky as bait for the hunters.
Eva, alive and unaccounted for	Eva Sigrid, Katia Grim	B3 ch. 24	B4 ch. 33 — Regathering the former Daughters; Silfa and her daughters dead in her party; ninth on the board.
The Bolt of Ophiotaurus	The Bolt of Ophiotaurus, Princess Formidable, Katia Grim, The gods	B3 ch. 29	B4 ch. 31 — Not used on Emberus; Katia keeps it.
What Carl's Unique Kimaris figure summons	The stuffed figures, Carl	B3 ch. 29	B4 ch. 2 — Still Unique, still unpulled, now the second most valuable thing Carl owns.
The Krakaren, real and spreading	The Krakaren, Borant	B3 ch. 30	B4 ch. 1 — No Krakaren on the fifth floor.
The Maestro is alive, and drives Grull	Prince Maestro, The gods, The Skull Empire, Carl	B3 ch. 33	B4 ch. 31 — Not seen; his grenade summons Carl's god instead of his.
Why Odette sponsored Hekla	Odette, Hekla	B3 ch. 35	B4 ch. 35 — No explanation yet; Odette is busy in Seattle.
The collapse dead in storage	The collapse dead, Frank Q and Maggie My, Carl	B4 ch. 14	Maggie's other daughter held over her; Crawler Hoon's children; a Walk-On List for the living natives.
The count of administrators: 'One.'	The count, Carl, The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook	B4 ch. 18	Loita, by a toy and a fingernail; unproven by the Syndicate; 'if I do manage that second step, please forgive me.'
Who runs the crawl after the sixth floor	The Valtay Corporation, Orren, Borant	B4 ch. 19	'If the rumors are correct and we do take over after the next floor'; a Valtay lawyer already helping Borant.
The 'outside source' the Syndicate wants named	Orren, The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, Agatha	B4 ch. 19	Not Agatha's people, not Odette; a Legendary box refused.
A goddess's head in the training room	Samantha, Mordecai	B4 ch. 24	Hired so she cannot summon a god by leaving; her mother killed for her once; Gash is the sister to watch.
The AI going primal	The System AI, Mordecai	B4 ch. 28	Photographs of mothers, a co-defendant, 'its personality rarely shines through this early'; a protected lifeform.
Quan Ch's arm: 'just a deposit'	Quan Ch, Carl, Princess Donut	B4 ch. 31	One-armed, tenth, and wanting the cat; his rings on Carl's fingers.
Emberus's two quests: who killed Geyrun, and kill Hellik	Emberus, The gods, Carl	B4 ch. 32	A smite if Carl leaves the eighteenth floor without the first; a smite if Hellik lives past the twelfth. A tithe, a shrine, a high cleric at Club Vanquisher.
Katia's own party	Katia Grim, Eva Sigrid, Gwendolyn Duet, Louis and Firas, Daniel Bautista, Florin	B4 ch. 33	To gather the former Daughters before Eva does; the guild system may keep the space shared; the Left Fang to be returned.
The Gate, kept, and what it costs to use	The Gate of the Feral Gods, Carl, Katia Grim	B4 ch. 34	'This isn't going to be a one-time thing, not by a long shot.' Every use loosens a feral god; the harem of the Nothing hates Samantha.
Every hunter on the sixth floor dead	The hunters, Carl, The marketplace	B4 ch. 34	A record number, fees paid anonymously; the markets drowned so the factions must come down themselves; 'seeding the pond?'
The changelings, and the promise to bring them down every floor	Juice Box, Carl, Larracos	B4 ch. 34	Sent through to the sixth floor; Juice Box to Larracos to tell the survivors what they are; a wedding to Louis.
Chris, freed, owed to Imani	Chris, Imani, Meadow Lark (party)	B4 ch. 34	'We'll get him to you on the next floor.' Three skulls, Frank's death and a club ban in his name.
Consequences of the flood	Larracos, Faction Wars, Borant, The Syndicate	B4 ch. 34	Tens of thousands of irreplaceable NPCs dead, says Zev; the Desperado Club likely cut off; a politburo's warning; 'There'll be consequences.'
Bea, alive, in Odette's hands	Bea, Odette, Lexis	B4 ch. 35	Cubed in Seattle, 'I don't think she's all there.'; 'we have a much better use for her.'
What the pacifists' yam was really for	The Open Intellect Pacifist Action Network, Porthus, Carl	B4 ch. 35	'He knows what it's really for.' 'Does he?' Half of it spent on Chris.

Resolved (10)

Thread	Entities	Opened	Latest
The leaderboard, blank until the third floor collapses	The leaderboard	B1 ch. 9	B2 ch. 26 — Populated: ten names and a bounty column.
The parallel crawls: Lucia Mar and Hekla	Lucia Mar, Hekla	B1 ch. 14	B3 ch. 23 — Hekla met, used, and killed; Lucia Mar still first and still on screen.
Meadow Lark's survivors, gone ahead	Meadow Lark (party), Imani	B1 ch. 41	B3 ch. 8 — Elle and Imani found at the Desperado Club, transformed; twenty of Meadow Lark left.
Maggie My's vow and her Find Crawler potion	Frank Q and Maggie My, Carl, Princess Donut	B1 ch. 43	B4 ch. 34 — Maggie, an Infiltrator inside Chris, is pulled out through his skull and eaten by Mongo.
Carl's challenge to Prince Maestro	Prince Maestro, The Skull Empire, Carl	B1 ch. 43	B3 ch. 33 — The Maestro was never dead; he loses to Carl a third time, from inside a god.
Odette's unnamed class choice	Odette, Princess Donut	B1 ch. 48	B2 ch. 1 — Former Child Actor; the Manager benefit binds Mordecai to Donut's saferooms.
Hekla's design on Donut	Hekla, Princess Donut, Katia Grim	B2 ch. 26	B3 ch. 23 — Hekla came for Katia, used a healer as bait, and died against a train wall; Brynhild's Daughters is no more.
Loita in Zev's place	Loita, Zev, Borant, Odette	B3 ch. 35	B4 ch. 18 — Loita dead in a shielded trailer; Zev back as a temporary PR agent (ch. 19).
What Odette was about to say about Chris	Chris, Odette, Meadow Lark (party)	B3 ch. 35	B4 ch. 14 — Chris was Maggie My; Odette's warning is explained by a rock body with three skulls.
The fifth floor scatters the parties	The Dungeon	B3 ch. 35	B4 ch. 1 — The Bubbles: 1,172 worlds, four castles each, about 150 crawlers apiece.

Still to watch (4)

Lines from the books read so far that nothing later has answered yet: the things to carry into the next book, each with the line it was noted for.

Noted	What	The line
B1 ch. 47	Agatha on the stairs: 'Them critters already know I'm here'	Them critters already know I’m here. They just don’t know what to do about it.
B4 ch. 18	Coolie's Cookbook entry: the admins who appeared with him were holograms, 'They were holos.'	The admins only appeared to be with me. They were holos. I was fooled today, and I am ashamed, brothers.
B4 ch. 28	The AI hands Carl photographs of the plaintiffs' mothers	I think the AI just gave you photographs of the mothers of all the plaintiffs in that lawsuit.
B4 ch. 35	'He knows what it's really for' — the pacifists' yam	He knows what it’s really for.