A Memory Called Empire

Chapter 10 opens with poetry commemorating the death of a Teixcalaanli ship captain and a diary entry from Darj Tarats, bemoaning the lack of sovereignty for Lsel Station. Mahit opens her mail with gloves, the first message being heir Eight Loop’s request for Yskandr’s replacement. The second message, from Twelve Azalea, confirms he has the imago device from Yskandr’s corpse. The third message, from councilor Dekakel Onchu on Lsel Station, warns Yskandr that she suspects sabotage from the Heritage members, but if the new ambassador maintains loyalty to Darj Tarats, they might be trusted.

After Mahit reads the poisoned messages, she gives them to a servant to burn. Three Seagrass appears at the door, saying she arranged a meeting with Emperor Six Direction, and that Nineteen Adze will escort them. Entering the Emperor’s private quarters, Mahit notices how much they resemble Nineteen Adze’s. He asks about her identity and if Yskandr lives inside her. He assumes she wants to save Lsel Station, and confirms Yskandr promised schematics for the imago devices and ready-made machines to do so. Furthermore, the Emperor promises Lsel Station’s sovereignty for the length of his dynasty. Mahit asks for time to give an answer, and they plan another meeting. She leaves and reunites with Three Seagrass, who says Nineteen Adze will no longer interfere with Mahit.

This interlude begins with a flashback of Aknel Amnardbat, the head of Heritage, as she surveys the storage room on Lsel Station—where 14 generations of imago-lines are stored. Amnardbat scrapes her sharpened nails across Yskandr’s imago device, causing it to malfunction. In the present, she worries her efforts won’t protect the storage room from the Empire’s grasp.

Chapter 11 opens with excerpts from Eleven Lathe’s reports of territories beyond the Empire and regulations for ships docking at Lsel Station. As Mahit and Three Seagrass walk to Mahit’s apartment, they discuss Three Seagrass’s lack of cloudhook. She blanches at Mahit’s guess that she’s avoiding activating the City’s AI. Three Seagrass voices surprise that the City wounded her. As they enter Mahit’s room, Eleven Conifer from the banquet waits in the dark, attacking her with a poisoned needle. They wrestle, and Mahit scrapes his neck with the needle; he dies. Mahit and Three Seagrass try to determine who would want her dead, if One Lightning or Thirty Larkspur might be responsible. Three Seagrass brushes off Mahit’s half-hearted suggestion that she’s responsible. Twelve Azalea arrives with Yskandr’s imago device and sees Eleven Conifer’s body. He suggests they call the Sunlit, explaining he was trailed by the Mist, the security force for the Judiciary, and forced to hide in a pond. As the trio think through the consequences of the Sunlit learning of Eleven Conifer’s death and Twelve Azalea’s theft, Mahit asks Yskandr why he agreed to the deal. Without warning, he resurfaces, assuming he had no choice in the matter.

Chapter 12 opens with epigraphs describing a handball game and Darj Tarats encouraging Yskandr to return to Lsel Station. The Sunlit arrive and interrogate Mahit, Three Seagrass, and Twelve Azalea, wondering why Twelve Azalea visited so early in the morning. Three Seagrass responds impatiently, brushing aside any appearance of guilt. The Sunlit tell the trio that Eleven Conifer’s body can’t be moved, as Mahit’s apartment has become a crime scene. Mahit takes a message from her mail container, one from Lsel Station, before leaving.

Mahit asks Three Seagrass if the Sunlit are controlled by someone in particular, and she says they respond to the City’s AI system. Mahit suggests Ten Pearl could be using it to actively control the Sunlit. She and Three Seagrass get ice cream and take a nap in a grassy area, with Twelve Azalea guarding them. Mahit wakes to Three Seagrass and Twelve Azalea watching the news: A tabloid printed pictures of Mahit on her way to see Emperor Six Direction, suggesting that, like Yskandr, she enjoys a special relationship with him. The news also reports that heir Eight Loop issued a statement implying the war of annexation is questionable.

The trio goes to meet with Eight Loop at the Judiciary, where she serves as minister. The meeting is disheartening, as Mahit doesn’t get answers. The trio leaves, and Three Seagrass and Twelve Azalea argue about the visit; Mahit holds her head in her hands. Twelve Azalea suggests they stay at his apartment, which is in a neighborhood populated by people who like Thirty Larkspur and his embrace of trade. On the way, they see a protest by supporters of Thirty Larkspur: Eight Loop and Thirty Larkspur are both against the war and One Lightning, and also critical of their father.