On Nilt, Strigan saves the injured Nilter but tells the girl and her mother that they need to take the family member to the city for further treatment. Strigan expresses surprise at Breq’s willingness to distract and reassure the girl. Strigan also reveals that she knows about the loss of Seivarden’s ship 1,000 years before. Pressed by Strigan, Seivarden relates how she awoke, “freezing and choking” (128), in the sick bay of a small ship. She describes her bewilderment at the changes around her, such as the presence of a human crew (in place of ancillaries) and the almost incomprehensible accents of their speech. Furthermore, all Seivarden’s personal data has disappeared and the aristocratic house to which she belonged ceases to exist.

Strigan, speaking a language Seivarden doesn’t know, tells Breq she is now sure that Breq is, in fact, a “corpse soldier” (133). Strigan speculates on the original identity of the body Breq occupies and asserts that she could likely restore that body’s original consciousness: “I can bring you back” (135). To this, Breq responds, “You can kill me, you mean” (135). Strigan asks why Breq wishes to kill Mianaai, scoffing at the idea that an ancillary can have a “personal” reason for doing anything.