After leaving her mother and the Haernyara next to the burnt-out hut, Alexand walked back into Ulaanbaatar to tell Jochi’s mother news that he was dead. Understandably the family was devastated and Alexand left them alone to grieve.

The writer gives life to a story, the reader keeps it alive.
With the disturbing news that Lord Filius Anderson is interested in the genetics of her late husband’s family, Inajda’s thoughts immediately settled on the safety of her daughters, Heyem and Alexand. She left the Prison of Souls, reached the base of the mountain in Antarctica and transported herself to Saskatoon, to meet Alexand, to speak with and warn her daughter about the Amanojuko threat.
Once on board the submarine, Inajda was taken down into the black waters of Antarctica, the only passenger on board an ancient craft salvaged from the Third World War.
The Guild Master’s General did not return Katherine to the Kyuunansen after her encounter with Alexand. He didn’t reprimand her, or anything remotely like it, but simply walked beside her, towards a little hut in the deserts of Sudan. (3939)
After three more weeks on Christmas Island, recovering, Alexand is now fit for duty, and has returned to her army base in Saskatoon, India.
Heyem has been very depressed since she got back home to Hong Kong. She has received no news about Alex, and is deeply worried about her sister. She has not heard from Inajda, and Alex hasn’t returned to her military base. Heyem has continued with her life, but has grown more despondent. She has taken to drinking, to attempt to suppress her emotions. After her lecture is over, she heads out into the city, to a bar, to get drunk and perhaps pick up a woman.
Inajda wakes up, after being ambushed by a future version of Katherine De Somme. (Read Afterlife Part 3) Her version of Katherine is not in the shack, and as Inajda hunts around, she begins to remember things, previously wiped from her memory, like the death of Farokh, and Alex’s decline.
Colonel Katherine De Somme has been honoured with a full military funeral. Her parents, although invited, are absent, but her wife, Alexand, stands next to Field Marshal Panak, dressed in her uniform, as Field Marshal Panak presents her with Katherine’s medals. It is an open casket.
Doctor Kothari released Katherine after Katherine refused to discuss being part of the resistance with her. Katherine has spent the past day analysing Juba Apfvarzian’s blood. She hasn’t had to avoid Doctor Kothari, as she is in Afghanistan, arranging her son’s funeral. Katherine has retired to her apartment to record one final message to her mother and father. It’s her birthday, and she’s alone.
Inajda doesn’t need to scan the grave to realise what has happened.