1 00:00:02,001 --> 00:00:03,906 Between the sixth and seventh books there's 2 00:00:03,926 --> 00:00:06,956 a short story called Strange Dogs. 3 00:00:06,976 --> 00:00:08,781 It takes us to Laconia, 4 00:00:08,801 --> 00:00:11,106 the hidden world where Winston Duarte 5 00:00:11,126 --> 00:00:12,856 and his rogue Martians went after 6 00:00:12,876 --> 00:00:14,156 the Ring battle. 7 00:00:14,176 --> 00:00:14,981 It's the bridge 8 00:00:15,001 --> 00:00:16,781 to the final three books, 9 00:00:16,801 --> 00:00:17,556 and to a jump 10 00:00:17,576 --> 00:00:19,681 of nearly thirty years. 11 00:00:19,701 --> 00:00:21,069 Spoilers ahead! 12 00:00:21,776 --> 00:00:22,906 Cara is a young girl 13 00:00:22,926 --> 00:00:24,731 whose family came to Laconia 14 00:00:24,751 --> 00:00:26,706 with the Martian settlers. 15 00:00:26,726 --> 00:00:27,931 Near her home, 16 00:00:27,951 --> 00:00:30,006 she finds strange creatures that look 17 00:00:30,026 --> 00:00:31,606 a little like dogs. 18 00:00:31,626 --> 00:00:33,306 They are not animals. 19 00:00:33,326 --> 00:00:35,566 They are alien repair machines, 20 00:00:35,586 --> 00:00:38,301 left behind by whoever built the gates, 21 00:00:38,321 --> 00:00:41,081 and they can fix almost anything that's broken. 22 00:00:41,782 --> 00:00:43,662 Then her little brother Xan is killed 23 00:00:43,682 --> 00:00:45,012 in an accident. 24 00:00:45,032 --> 00:00:46,612 Cara takes him to the dogs, 25 00:00:46,632 --> 00:00:48,487 and they bring him back to life. 26 00:00:48,507 --> 00:00:50,862 But Xan is not quite the same. 27 00:00:50,882 --> 00:00:52,412 His body has been rebuilt 28 00:00:52,432 --> 00:00:54,562 by alien technology. 29 00:00:54,582 --> 00:00:58,807 Duarte's scientists, led by Paolo Cortazar, 30 00:00:58,827 --> 00:01:00,382 one of the scientists behind 31 00:01:00,402 --> 00:01:01,992 the Eros disaster, 32 00:01:02,012 --> 00:01:03,632 take a close interest. 33 00:01:04,337 --> 00:01:06,092 Cortazar has a short story 34 00:01:06,112 --> 00:01:06,862 of his own, 35 00:01:06,882 --> 00:01:08,787 called The Vital Abyss. 36 00:01:08,807 --> 00:01:10,262 After Eros, he 37 00:01:10,282 --> 00:01:12,687 and the other Protogen scientists are locked 38 00:01:12,707 --> 00:01:13,662 in a cell, 39 00:01:13,682 --> 00:01:16,012 prisoners of a group of Martians. 40 00:01:16,032 --> 00:01:18,112 Looking back, he feels no guilt about 41 00:01:18,132 --> 00:01:19,712 the people of Eros. 42 00:01:19,732 --> 00:01:22,862 He only wanted to understand the protomolecule. 43 00:01:22,882 --> 00:01:24,887 So when Duarte offers him the chance 44 00:01:24,907 --> 00:01:26,262 to keep working on it, 45 00:01:26,282 --> 00:01:27,262 he takes it, 46 00:01:27,282 --> 00:01:29,316 and follows him to Laconia. 47 00:01:30,007 --> 00:01:32,362 That is the lesson of Laconia. 48 00:01:32,382 --> 00:01:34,997 The gate builders left their tools behind, 49 00:01:35,017 --> 00:01:37,372 and Duarte means to use them. 50 00:01:37,392 --> 00:01:38,997 Ancient alien platforms 51 00:01:39,017 --> 00:01:41,747 in orbit build him warships unlike anything 52 00:01:41,767 --> 00:01:43,717 humanity has made. 53 00:01:43,812 --> 00:01:45,742 For nearly thirty years he waits 54 00:01:45,762 --> 00:01:48,277 and builds, and makes himself the ruler 55 00:01:48,297 --> 00:01:49,656 of a new empire. 56 00:01:50,365 --> 00:01:53,595 Back home, those thirty years pass in peace. 57 00:01:53,615 --> 00:01:56,045 The Transport Union runs the gates, 58 00:01:56,065 --> 00:01:58,395 the Rocinante crew grows older, 59 00:01:58,415 --> 00:02:01,440 and Holden starts to think about retiring. 60 00:02:01,540 --> 00:02:03,620 Then the gate to Laconia opens, 61 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:05,620 and a warship like nothing anyone 62 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,470 has seen comes through. 63 00:02:07,490 --> 00:02:10,926 Next up: book seven, Persepolis Rising.