To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-5

Part 1, Chapter 6-Exeunt I

Part 2, Chapters 1-5

Part 2, Chapters 6-9

Part 2, Chapter 10- Exeunt II

Part 3, Chapters 1-5

Part 3, Chapters 6-Exeunt III

Part 4, Chapter 1-Exeunt IV

Part 5, Chapter 1-Exeunt V

Part 6, Chapter 1-Exeunt VI

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Part 4, Chapter 1-Exeunt IVChapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 4: “Fidelitatis”

Part 4, Chapter 1 Summary: “Dissonance”

Kira wakes up because they have arrived at Sol, Earth’s solar system, after traveling for six months. In the five days since she had last woken up, the xeno has formed a perfect replica of her arm. The Jellies and nightmares have both attacked Sol, and it is a war zone. The UMC tells Falconi to land on a base near Jupiter, but he does not tell them Itari is on board. Kira receives a two-month-old message from her family on Weyland, telling her they are safe and received her message. Falconi admits he does not know the fate of his family, and she encourages him to send a message.

The Wallfish docks at Orstedt station in the orbit of Jupiter’s largest moon, which the UMC has made their base. When they arrive at the UMC base, troopers armed with heavy assault weapons meet them. They are ordered to kneel with their hands on their heads.

Part 4, Chapter 2 Summary: “Orsted Station”

The troopers restrain them, and the crew is taken away. They take Kira to a cell designed to contain her and the xeno. She tells Colonel Stahl everything, including the offer from Tschetter’s Jellies, but she leaves out her part in the creation of the nightmares. She also tells him that Itari is on the Wallfish, and he leaves to contact his superiors.

When he returns, he tells her that Itari is in containment and that she will be sent to a research station to be examined. When Kira asks him who is going to translate for the Jellies in her absence, he tells her that the UMC has already sent ships to obliterate Tschetter’s Jellies at the location she gave them, and they will also destroy the Knot of Minds. After he leaves, she realizes he would not have told her that if he agreed with the action. She wishes she could warn the Knot of Minds somehow. She is left alone again, bored and angry, and finally slips into sleep. She wakes up when the station shudders. They are under attack, and Kira decides to escape.

Part 4, Chapter 3 Summary: “Escape!”

Kira utilizes the Soft Blade to protect herself as she detonates the explosives lining her containment unit. She has to free Itari—the Jellies will retaliate if he dies, as he came with a peace offer. When she gets to where the crew is being held, the Entropists are already there. When they release the crew, they free Itari and then start toward the Wallfish. At the same time, they have to fight the nightmares that have breached the station. Kira is able to use the xeno to protect the crew and dismantle threats without killing, but the xeno sometimes takes control. When they get to the Wallfish, one of the Entropists is electrified, and this renders both of them senseless. They escape in the Wallfish.

Part 4, Chapter 4 Summary: “Necessity II”

None of the nightmares or any UMC ships appear to be following them. Falconi asks Kira why they had to rescue Itari. Before she can answer, Colonel Stahl sends a message to the ship, asking Kira to return to the station. She refuses and tells the crew that The League plans to destroy the friendly Jellies. Itari and Kira conclude that the best course of action is to get to the Knot of Minds before The League does to warn them. Kira tries to remove the xeno so she can give it to the Knot of Minds, but the xeno tells her it is still too dangerous to part.

The crew votes to join the Knot of Minds, but Gregorovich refuses, and Falconi cannot override him. Finally, Hwa-jung removes Gregorovich from the ship’s computer and contains him. They prepare for another light speed trip, which means a return to the cryotubes for the crew.

Part 4, Exeunt IV Summary

Falconi decides to put the ship’s mind in cryo because he does not trust him. He agrees to let Kira talk to Gregorovich, and she quickly realizes that something is wrong with him beyond his normal instability. Gregorovich offers the story of how he decided to become a ship’s mind and then tells her that he does not feel right.

Kira and Hwa-jung discover that the UMC affected his language processing and visual cortex. They agree to put Gregorovich in cryo until Vishal can examine him. Kira goes to Falconi’s cabin to report their findings and discovers that the UMC destroyed his bonsai tree. Upon seeing it, Kira recognizes that the xeno feels the impulse to build, not destroy, and together they heal the bonsai. Falconi kisses her, then apologizes, although Kira is not sure that he should. He goes into cryo, and she goes to her cabin to hibernate. Their plan is to drop out of lightspeed some distance from Tschetter’s rendezvous point and warn the Knot of Minds of the UMC’s plans. During the trip, Kira will again work with the Soft Blade; she’s interested in the impulses she felt to build and grow.

When she first practices with the Soft Blade, it transforms a handhold into a fernlike being, organized and living. As the trip continues, she lets the xeno create what it wants. She has a dream in which she is floating, without the xeno, in a fractal, knows that this is its true form, and feels safe. However, she also feels a malevolence force, focused on her and the xeno, which makes her feel afraid and hopeless.

Part 4, Chapter 1-Exuent IV Analysis

In the first chapter of this section, Kira once again emphasizes the importance of Finding Family to her. She is overjoyed and relieved to get a message from her family, even two months later. When Falconi admits he has not been in touch with his family for a long time, she encourages him to get in touch. This simultaneously emphasizes Kira’s belief in the importance of family and shows her developing relationship with Falconi, as he reveals personal information to her. In addition, the attraction between Kira and Falconi grows in this section, culminating in a kiss for which Falconi later apologizes. At first, Kira sees it as a betrayal of Alan, but then begins to think of the future instead and the possibilities of a relationship with Falconi.

With the Wallflower’s arrival at Sol, Paolini dips back into the space opera with extended, heavy, military action. In addition to the sprawling human-Jelly battle happening throughout the system, on Orsted station Kira and her friends are engaged in their own, smaller-scale battle as they escape the UMC and simultaneously battle the nightmares. This section also shows the reader Homeworld Earth and its system. The crew’s assertions that Earth receives priority from The League are confirmed here by the strength and force of the UMC’s presence. Paolini also confirms Kira’s suspicions after her treatment by Dr. Carr that The League will imprison and examine her with no regard for her well-being.

Kira is also still working to understand the xeno and her relationship with it. As she battles to free the Wallfish crew and escape from the UMC in Chapter 3, she finds ways to protect the crew without killing. She can tell, however, that the xeno is sometimes taking control, and that she will have to be careful in this new phase of their relationship. Further, when Kira attempts to remove the xeno to give it to the Jellies, it tells her that they cannot part yet because it is too dangerous. The xeno has an increasing share in their decision-making, showing that Kira, although still wary, is beginning to put more of her trust in the xeno.

This shift culminates in Exeunt IV, when Kira and the xeno work together to heal Falconi’s bonsai tree. Kira finally fully understands the xeno’s purpose—to create, grow, and heal. When she sees Falconi’s ruined bonsai tree, she understands the xeno’s impulse and then experiments later in her cabin. She can sense the xeno’s pleasure at finally being able to fulfill its true purpose. With this new understanding, Kira has made another step toward full Connectedness and Cooperation with the xeno. The knowledge that it is built for creation and not destruction makes it easier for Kira to trust going forward.

At the same time, Paolini uses the Entropists to remind Kira of how dangerous this kind of connectedness can be. When Veera is hurt, Jorrus is rendered insensible, and they are both nearly destroyed. Their connection is the result of deep trust and vulnerability, which can easily put them in danger. At this point, Kira’s connection to the xeno is deeper than ever, and the Entropists’ accident reminds her and the reader, of the dangers of this type of deep Connectedness and Cooperation.