The Peripheral

When Netherton arrives in Notting Hill, he is badly drunk and speaks in a disjointed manner. Ash then proceeds to treat Netherton medically for his drunkenness and preemptively for his hangover. Just as Netherton is about to fall asleep, Flynn’s peripheral comes alive and mentions that it vomited after this latest transfer. They chat quickly, and it seems as the peripheral talks that it does not know where it is. Ossian suddenly appears and is immediately kicked and beaten back by Flynne’s peripheral. It is revealed that Burton entered the peripheral and is the one responsible for the assault on Ossian, who is injured during the melee.

Janice wakes up Flynne because Edward called and said she was needed at the trailer. When Flynne arrives at the trailer, Burton has just returned from occupying the peripheral. He tells Flynne that he was in the future for three hours. She is not pleased that he entered her peripheral. Burton tells Flynne that he was given a similar tour as she received, and they discuss how eerily uninhabited London of the future is.

Netherton goes back to sleep after the commotion of Burton’s arrival in Flynne’s peripheral, but not before checking the bar to get another drink. It is locked. When he awakes again, Lowbeer’s sigil appears. In her typically cryptic manner, Lowbeer notifies Netherton about a Russian pram that is being assembled, which is a weapon of some sort. She also warns him not to eat, suggesting that he could be entering a peripheral soon himself.

Burton drives Flynne to the strip mall nearby and informs her that it belongs to them now. Coldiron purchased it as a place from which to run their operations. Burton then tells her that a corporation has been created, Coldiron USA, and that it is supposed to be a real estate development corporation. All of that is just a shell, however. Burton tells Flynne that she is the Chief Communications Officer and that he is the CEO of the company. Macon and Edward also have roles in the company, as do Connor and the other security staff, Carlos and Reese. Burton’s girlfriend, Shaylene, is also involved. With the way Coldiron from the future has been handing over money to Burton, Corbell Pickett is no longer the richest man in the county.

Netherton is prepped with a similar U-shaped device to the one Flynne uses when she transfers to the peripheral. Ash directs him and has him do the same closed-eye countdown from 15. When he opens his eyes, he is in the Garbage Patch, and he is inhabiting an animal somewhat similar to a koala bear.

Lowbeer greets him when he arrives, and she is also using a bear-like peripheral. She explains that these can be used for reconnaissance, which is what she and Netherton do. Lowbeer also explains to Netherton that the Garbage Patch Boss who was killed was actually a peripheral inhabited by al-Habib. Lowbeer contends that he escaped, and it appears that he staged the whole scene with Daedra as a way of faking his own death.

The new corporation’s lawyers are described at the start of this chapter. The firm is called Klein Cruz Vermette. Macon and Flynne talk about the corporation’s board of directors, and then Macon explains to Flynne that Ash has ordered and shipped pills that she says must be taken by Flynne, Burton, and Connor. Inside the pill is a tracking mechanism. The pill stays in the body for 6 months and allows the user’s whereabouts to be monitored from the future.

Netherton returns from the bear peripheral after the investigative mission led by Lowbeer. Lowbeer and Netherton talk, and during this conversation, the reader learns that Netherton is quite uncomfortable with the world; he longs for a different, more authentic era, and he has this in common with Ash.

Lowbeer then reveals why and how she thinks al-Habib staged his death. Netherton becomes concerned that al-Habib is in London, and Lowbeer does not answer directly but she seems to think he is. Netherton asks Lowbeer why she is collaborating with Lev, and she answers that she wants to know more about the server that enables the continua, which at this point is a mystery to all, even her.

After returning to her mother’s house, Flynne is suddenly tased by Reese, one of Burton’s friends and part of the security detail watching over their property. Reese kidnaps her, puts her in a Jeep, and drives her away. When Flynne presses him on his motivation, he reveals to her that his life has been threatened, and if he did not kidnap her, they would kill him. He does not name who made the threats.

Netherton confronts Lev and reveals that he knows about the agreement between Lev and Lowbeer. He then mentions that Ossian acquired a Bentley, and Lev explains that it will be used to disassemble the pram and the weapons in it. Lev is about to eat when he is notified that Flynne is missing and that because of the pill, they are able to track where she is. It appears she is heading toward Pickett’s compound.

Reese takes Flynne to Pickett’s compound. To prevent tracking, Reese put Flynne’s phone in a Faraday pouch, though he does not know about the pill she took that enables tracking. Reese apologetically hands off Flynne to two men, who escort her inside to a room seemingly designed to interrogate prisoners. She is tied even more securely to an interior structure in the room with a dog leash. Pickett eventually enters the holding room. He threatens to break Flynne’s jaw if she does not reveal who she’s working for. Flynne sees through Pickett and assumes he’s bluffing. She vaguely answers his questions without revealing too much about Coldiron, and he leaves the room.

Ossian works on transforming the pram into a weapon as Netherton watches. Meanwhile, Ash and Lev work on Flynne’s abduction. Ossian, his dislike for Netherton increasingly obvious, suggests that Burton most likely will be the one rescuing Flynne. Ossian asks Netherton if he knows anything about Lowbeer having someone in the stub, to which Netherton says he knows nothing.

As Flynne is held captive, she notices a bug flying around. As she watches it, her eyes are drawn to the door, and she notices points of light that start as red, then become green, and then blue. Eventually, the lights blend into one, and it is aquamarine. From this light, she hears Macon providing instructions. The door then opens, and Macon informs Flynne that it is a squidsuit, which is a kind of invisibility suit. Burton emerges from the suit with an additional one and has Flynne put it on. As they exit the holding room, Flynne notices that the guards have been killed.

As Ossian continues to work on the pram, he learns that Flynne has been rescued by Burton. As Lowbeer arrives, Ossian orders the Bentley to seal its doors, suggesting that he does not want Lowbeer to know what he is doing. Lowbeer’s sigil appears and confirms that Flynne has indeed been rescued, then asks Netherton if he wants to go to Lev’s stub.

The narrator reveals that the squidsuits are fabbed, meaning made without consent, in this case from Homeland Security (Homes). Burton drives an ATV to a designated spot where Flynne notices a dummy wearing a mask of the president. Burton and one of his men, Carlos, stuff it into a squidsuit and load it onto the ATV Burton used to rescue Flynne. Tommy arrives and takes Flynne and Burton home. Meanwhile, the dummy in the squidsuit arrives at the Pickett compound. Flynne hears Burton give orders to “do it” (310), and a huge explosion follows. Pickett’s compound has been destroyed.