Star Born · Chapter
Many Eyes, Many Ears explained
Dalgard and Sssuri discuss the threat of Those Others returning to reclaim their lost world.
What happens
Dalgard and Sssuri discuss the threat of Those Others returning to reclaim their lost world. They decide to conceal their presence at the alien city, stage the scene to suggest mermen were responsible, and use animal messengers to spread a warning to Homeport and the merman tribe. Dalgard struggles with curiosity about forbidden alien technology, recalling a childhood lesson from Forken Kordov. They leave the city at night and attempt to broadcast an urgent message through the local wildlife.
Themes in this chapter
Colonization and Identity
The Terrans and mermen face the threat of Those Others reclaiming the land, forcing both groups to defend their new homes and ways of life.
Alien Encounter and Otherness
Those Others are portrayed as a dangerous, ancient race whose return must be prevented at all costs, highlighting the fear and mystery surrounding them.
Survival and Adaptation
Dalgard and Sssuri use cunning and local resources—animal messengers, concealment of tracks—to prepare for the coming conflict, emphasizing their adaptive strategies.
Characters to notice
- Dalgard Nordis
Debates strategy with Sssuri, recalls childhood warning about alien knowledge, and participates in covering their tracks and sending a warning.
- Sssuri
Argues against the return of Those Others, helps conceal evidence of their visit, and leads the effort to broadcast a warning through animal minds.
- Forken Kordov
Mentioned in Dalgard's memory as the elder who explained the danger of alien knowledge to him as a child.
Key passages
“land was once under their mastery. This world was theirs before they threw it away warring among themselves. Yes, they dream of holding all once more. But”—Sssuri’s yellow eyes took on some of the fire which had shone in those of the snake-devil during its last seconds of life—“that must not be so!”
Sssuri declares that Those Others once ruled the entire world but lost it through internal war, and he is fiercely determined to prevent them from regaining power.
Sssuri expresses the core conflict of the chapter: the threat of a returning alien race.
“We cannot hope to stop them,” Sssuri pointed out. “But we must learn when they will come again and be waiting for them—with your people and mine. For I tell you now, brother of the knife, they must not be allowed to rise once more!”
Sssuri acknowledges they cannot defeat Those Others directly, but insists they must gather intelligence and unite the Terrans and mermen to ambush them.
Highlights the strategic alliance between Dalgard and Sssuri.
“Word can pass swifter than man,” the merman returned, with confidence in his own plan of action. “We shall put other eyes, other ears, many eyes, many ears, to service for us.”
Sssuri proposes using animals as messengers to spread the warning faster than any human could travel.
Introduces the chapter's title and the method of communication they will use.