psychological-dissociation

In this chapter, the protagonist witnesses a brutal interrogation led by Kaby, who uses a device called the Invertor to threaten Lili into revealing information. The narrator mentally distances themselves from the horror unfolding, focusing instead on deciphering a cryptic clue involving inversion and a sculpture, ultimately realizing that the bomb can be disarmed by inverting the Major Maintainer device. The chapter explores the interplay between physical and psychological inversion, and the desperate measures taken under extreme circumstances.