"Basic Language" is the seventeenth chapter of Blame!, and the sixth chapter of Volume 3.
Synopsis[]
In the aftermath of the battle with Sanakan, the survivors recover the wounded. A Builder appears, and Killy finds he is able to communicate with it through a mental interface, surprising the others. A group of Builders begins to suppress fires and demolish damaged areas for rebuilding.
At the village, Cibo warns Pops and the surviving Electrofishers that the Safeguards will attack again. They decide to evacuate into the newly accessible Toha Heavy Industries.
Zuru performs a ritual burial of Sutezo and the other casualties. She seals each body in protective wrapping, and attaches a data package harvested from a scan of the person. She and Pops explain that this tradition is left over from a earlier age when their people possessed technology to revive the dead.
The evacuees move towards Toha, but the way is now obstructed by massive wreckage from the battle. Cibo neurally connects with Killy to learn the Builder’s language matrix, so that she can retrieve large Builders to clear the way. The connection is intense, but Cibo begins to perceive the Builder’s signals. An Electrofisher escorts her to a large railcar, and they depart.
While the evacuees wait, a colossal creature emerges from a lower level to face them.
Character Appearances[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- One of Pops’ arms is now a bandaged stump. He lost it when Sanakan revealed herself as a Safeguard.