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Lindsay is exiled to the *Mare Tranquilitatis Circumlunar People's Zaibatsu*. Of the ten circumlunar worlds---the "first nation-states break off relations with the exhausted Earth"---the Zaibatsu is in the worst shape. It's a backwater in technical decline. But Lindsay remarks: "There was a grandeur in this morose and rotting desolation."``{=html}
The Zaibatsu is a haven for *sundogs* ("defectors, traitors, exiles, outlaws").
Lindsay arrives. In customs he is interviewed by a "camera" which speaks Japanese. The camera tells him about the one civil right, "the right to death". This right may be claimed at any time. Lindsay expresses understanding for the rule, doubting that "a world full of sundogs could be run any other way."
Lindsay tours the Zaibatsu using a rent-by-the-minute ultralight plane. During his tour he observes a building belonging to the Nephrine Black Medicals---"criminal biochemists on the fringes of the Shaper underworld". He decides to visit.
Lindsay wheedles his way into the Nephrine Black Medicals by saying that he's from an entertainment company, Kabuki Intrasolar, which intends to stage a play.``{=html} He says he is looking for actors and that the Nephrine Black Medicals should be interested in his venture because backing it will give them status vis-à-vis other organizations in the Zaibatsu (specifically, their rival the Geisha Bank). Somehow this ploy works and he is admitted. We do not observe what happens inside. Lindsay exits after an hour with a "black diplomatic bag", clearly having met with success.
The camera returns, compliments Lindsay on his success. Lindsay learns the human operating the camera is named Fyodor Ryumin. Ryumin, a Mechanist, is curious about Lindsay. Ryumin, a journalist by trade, offers Lindsay a place to stay. Lindsay returns to Ryumin's abode.
The two get to know each other a bit. Ryumin is a 140 year-old Mechanist. We learn more about the Mechanist/Shaper conflict. We learn about the Geisha Bank, which the other major power on the colony. The Geisha Bank and Black Nephrine Medicals are arch enemies.
Lindsay suddenly vomits and loses consciousness. He wakes up three hours later. Ryumin tells him his condition is due to the Zaibatsu's microbes. We learn that the Black Nephrine Medicals are a rouge organization, despised by the Shapers. The Black Nephrine Medicals hunger for admiration from other influential organizations---this is how Lindsay explains the success of his ploy, offering them the chance to finance the play. As the chapter ends, Lindsay suggests he has developed a plan to survive.
Parts of the text which are interesting, important, or well-crafted.
"The Zaibatsu recognizes one civil right: the right to death. You may
claim your right at any time, under any circumstances. All you need do
is request it. Our audio monitors are spread throughout the Zaibatsu.
If you claim your right, you will be immediately and painlessly
terminated. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Lindsay said.
"Termination is also enforced for certain other behaviors," the camera
said. "If you physically threaten the habitat, you will be killed. If
you interfere with our monitoring devices, you will be killed. If you
cross the sterilized zone, you will be killed. You will also be killed
for crimes against humanity."
"Crimes against humanity?" Lindsay said. "How are those defined?"
"These are biological and prosthetic efforts that we declare to be
aberrant. The technical information concerning the limits of our
tolerance must remain classified."
"I see," Lindsay said. This was, he realized, carte blanche to kill
him at any time, for almost any reason. He had expected as much. This
world was a haven for sundogs: defectors, traitors, exiles, outlaws.
Lindsay doubted that a world full of sundogs could be run any other
way. There were simply too many strange technologies at large in
circumsolar space. Hundreds of apparently innocent actions, even the
breeding of butterflies, could be potentially lethal.
This is a great chapter. Sterling does not waste the reader's time. Sometimes, in fact, the plot moves a little too quickly.