The hole is funnel-shaped, and now that I'm so close to it that I see it's impenetrable darkness, I'm even less interested in discovering where exactly I'll end up if I fall in. I have managed to prevent the latter with all my might until now, but I realize that I am fighting a lost cause. The balloons are much smarter than I first took them for, because except for the first death, I can't manage to properly sink my nails into the next victim.

'What are you doing? Stop!' I hear someone shouting at that moment, it's accompanied by pounding footsteps on the springy surface. I am trained enough and that is why I do not lower my defense, otherwise the Serailers would have pushed me over the edge at that moment. Now I can hold them off long enough, although I feel myself starting to lose my grip.

My savior then talks in the language of the Serails and I don't understand what they're saying. However, I do notice the effect: my enemy disperses.

'Help,' I say, staggering at the abyss. I am unable to throw my weight back and the fear of death that now flows through me is mainly due to the hope that the other person has offered me. Maybe I don't have to die today.

A strong hand grabs my hair and it seems as if I lose all my reddish beauty in one go as soon as I am pulled back. I fall inelegantly on my bottom, but I get right back up, as I need to be able to defend myself if necessary.

'Are you OK?'

I only now realized that Zandr saved me. He looks me up and down and I actually think he's concerned about me.

I'm panting like I've run a marathon. At the same time, I lose some of the icy adrenaline and I watch him vigilantly. His current attitude doesn't match my previous thoughts about him, which gives me pause.

'Yes?' I finally say, the question mark clearly audible. However, I am not dead and the balloons appear to be listening to the cyborg. It looks like Zandr wants to keep me alive after all. That's why I say, a lot more confidently: 'Yes.'

I let out a loud scream as the earth suddenly starts to shake. It's a short, sharp punch and it sends me crashing to the ground like a ragdoll. Another shock follows, with Zandr putting his arm around my shoulders and dragging me away from the hole to which I had unknowingly moved closer. 'Be careful,' he shouts.

A few more heavy tremors follow, but eventually it stops again and only then do I manage to get up. 'What was that?'

'That's Variant,' Zandr says. 'The monster lives in the core of Serail and we awakened him when we went to live beneath the crust.'

Then he shouldn't have used dynamite for that, I think. But he just saved my life and because my negative thoughts about him were wrong, I decide to keep that to myself. The balloons pop up at that moment and judging by the sounds and movements, they start arguing with Zandr. The gentleman in turn speaks up and I do my utmost not to laugh at the facial expressions and the sputtering that accompanies them.

'Did you kill O?' Zandr looks at me intently and I look guiltily at the ground, after which I give a small nod.

'I was just defending myself,' I say. I immediately feel if there is any evidence on my nose and there is. I quickly pick off the remainder. Only then do I wonder if it would be disrespectful if I just throw it on the ground, but luckily Zandr takes over.

'Serailers can reproduce,' he explains, after which he places the membrane on his palm and blows gently on it. It swirls in the air like Earthly fluff. A Serailer separates from its cluster and opens its mouth wide. Soon the solid piece of purple balloon has turned into liquid mist.

'That evaporates over time,' says Zandr. 'Certain plants absorb it and eventually a new Serailer is born.'

The bunches withdraw, as if satisfied by his action. That's all well and good, but why did they try to push me into the hole? The reproduction of Earthlings simply works differently and I don't think the monster Variant can help in that regard.

Where is my satisfaction?

As if Variant thinks the same way, he causes another tremor. This time I see a black object pressing against the other side of the hole. The monster is completely covered in sharp protrusions in a jagged pattern and I shudder to think that I had to serve as food for that terrifying beast. Zandr pulls me away as Variant strikes again, but not before I see that the monster isn't completely black. I notice a speck of yellow, but it is so small and then gone so quickly that I doubt whether I saw it properly, and if so; what it means.

'Variant can't break through the hole?'

'He actually can, but we keep him calm,' Zandr says. Am I mistaken, or does he sound cautious? 'He will destroy the planet if we don't, he said.'

Talking monsters are the worst.

I think about something: 'Will the planet survive if the monster dies?'

Zandr nods. 'Yes. One has nothing to do with the other.'

He's a botanist, so he would know.

My soldier training takes over and I ask matter-of-factly, 'What attempts did you make to kill him?'

I'm probably stuck on this planet so I might as well make the most of it.

'Dynamite certainly doesn't help,' says the cyborg and I can see from his attitude that he has no good memories of it. I tactfully decide not to say anything about it and just nod slightly.

'What else?'

'Our disadvantage is that you have to be able to fly in the core, otherwise you fall to pieces,' he says. 'We sent flying slaves down, but no one survived.'

That is indeed inconvenient. I ponder other possibilities and then point my head to the bunches bobbing here and there: 'And the Serailers?'

'They're going to explode, you've seen the skin of the Variant.'

I'm looking into all possibilities, but I don't have a solution anytime soon. Variant chooses that moment to push his ceiling again. This time there is a loud scream.

'He expects his gift,' Zandr translates.

'His gift?'

'His food.'

'And normally you take care of that.' It's not a question. My near-death experience is still too fresh in my memory.

Zandr nods. 'It is the responsibility of all ladies and gentlemen,' he says. 'We made this agreement with the Serailers.'

'Wait.' Now I look at him menacingly. 'Is that what the harems are for?'

The cyborg doesn't say anything, but his looking away is enough of an answer for me.

My first feeling is relief. I think of DMTR, of ^w^ – how cute they are – and of Windy. I thought he did all kinds of unspeakable things to them, but luckily that's not too bad. They are all bait, a sacrifice for the monster.

Then I put the pieces of the puzzle together and an idea starts to form.