Twenty-Three
Contains spoilersOverview
Ezr watches the revived “Children’s Hour” as it pivots into a public debate over Sherkaner Underhill’s out‑of‑phase children. Anne Reynolt stages a live translation with Focused talent, including Trixia and Zinmin Broute. Xopi Reung renders a Church envoy likely tied to the Kindred. The broadcast’s outcome threatens both Spider politics and the humans’ fragile morale.
Summary
Ezr returns from off‑Watch to find “The Children’s Hour of Science” transformed into a live spectacle that disgusts him. Benny’s bar, now the social hub, even tracks Spider dates. The program, once comforting, has become a circus that showcases Focused translators, despite Qiwi’s past assurances to protect Trixia.
Backstory spills out among patrons: the show’s child cast oddly trended younger, exposing Underhill’s out‑of‑phase family and triggering a ban. Now stations announce a debate between a Church of the Dark representative and Sherkaner Underhill. For colonists denied families, the show is a balm; its fate matters. Trud Silipan promises the translators are ready.
On cue, Anne Reynolt parades the Focused team at Hammerfest—Trixia among them—while Zinmin Broute becomes the Spider host, Rappaport Digby. Ezr recoils at the spectacle yet notes Pham Trinli’s quiet competence and secret knowledge of localizers as Pham and Trud confer apart from the crowd.
The live translation shifts into Spider POV: Underhill brings his children—including Jirlib, Brent, Gokna, Victory Junior, and two babies—to Princeton Radio, planning to confront outrage with visibility. Manager Madame Subtrime gushes over ratings, and engineer Didire Ultmot readies the controls, needling about the Church envoy’s exotic, light‑absorbing shawl.
Trud’s comp flags the Honored Pedure as likely Kindred-backed. Xopi Reung, the newly on‑Watch translator, renders Pedure’s sanctimony awkwardly yet intensely as Pedure denounces “corruption” and the broadcast’s “perversion.” She surges, then stalls, while Broute-as-Digby frames stakes: public reaction will decide the show’s survival, leaving both Spider politics and human watchers braced for consequences.
Who Appears
- Ezr Vinh
Returns from off‑Watch; watches the live show in Benny’s; anguished over Trixia’s exploitation; notes Pham’s hidden savvy.
- Trixia
Focused translator on display; performs live for the debate broadcast; lost in midlevel language transduction.
- Anne Reynolt
Emergent Director for Human Resources; efficiently stages and manages the Focused translators for the live show.
- Trud Silipan
Emergent fixer; fronts the event to the crowd; analyzes the Church envoy’s likely Kindred ties.
- Pham Trinli
Old spacer; quietly confers with Trud; Ezr recognizes his deep knowledge of localizers and cunning.
- Zinmin Broute
Focused translator playing Rappaport Digby; delivers smooth host narration that anchors the broadcast.
- Xopi Reung
Newly on‑Watch Focused linguist; renders the Honored Pedure’s speech with awkward intensity.
- Honored Pedure
Church of the Dark envoy; likely Kindred agent; opens by condemning Underhill’s ‘perversion’ on air.
- Sherkaner Underhill
Spider scientist and father; brings his out‑of‑phase children to the station to confront tradition publicly.
- Madame Subtrime
Princeton Radio manager; effusive, profit‑driven; thrilled by audience and sponsors for the debate.
- Didire Ultmot
Princeton Radio chief technician; runs the board; acerbic commentary on the Church envoy; history with Jirlib.
- Benny
Bar owner at L1; hosts the watch parties; his place is the social hub with the Watch Chart.
- Rappaport Digby
Spider host of ‘The Children’s Hour’; introduces the debate and stakes within the broadcast.
- Gokna
Underhill child; attends the station; one of the out‑of‑phase voices added to the show.
- Victory Junior
Underhill child; attends the station; shares the wonder and nerves before the debate.
- Jau Xin
Emergent academic; watches anxiously; struggles with moral dissonance over Focus and the show.
- Rita Liao
Xin’s partner; emotionally invested in the show; presses Trud for status as the broadcast begins.