Chapter 5 Summary

Thorby spends many long hours hidden in the dark labyrinth, awaiting Baslim's return. When Baslim does not arrive, Thorby concludes that he must have been captured, and assumes that he is currently being interrogated and tortured. He ventures to Joy Street, the nightlife district in the spaceport vicinity, to gain information about his adoptive father. (He believes Baslim is being held somewhere and can theoretically be rescued).

There he runs into Auntie Singham, a fortuneteller who stays abreast of local gossip. She informs him that Baslim has been executed and that there is a large reward out for the capture of Thorby as well. Around this time, the police show up. They chase Thorby, who narrowly escapes.

When Thorby finally has time to slow down, think, and process what has happened, he remembers that the starship Sisu is in port, and realizes that...