Chapter 3 is called RTFM, which is even more hilarious how half of it actually does give us a manual of-sorts in the form of an "orientation leaflet" that explains what the "Bright Star Cultures" are all about. It's informative and avoids accusations of being just infodump, because it's knowingly framed as a manual. That's not the only thing going on here, however, as Gregor and Elizabeth's daughter enters the picture, and a plan is formulated by Matt, Gregor, and the others to head to the planet where the selkies live (with some spider-monkeys). All this makes me wonder where the other original Bright Star crew members from Cosmonaut Keep (the novel and the setting) are.

Chapter 4 is called The Modern Prince and at one point Volkov is explicitly referred to as Machiavelli. Such machinations befitting this appelation play out in this chapter, Volkov patiently introducing new ideas to the 10000-year-old stable society of Nova Babylonia.