Chap­ter V intro­duces a stark shift in the jour­ney, as the pro­tag­o­nist and Per­ry find them­selves with­in the oppres­sive heart of Phutra. Their new real­i­ty as cap­tives under the Mahars—a ter­ri­fy­ing rep­til­ian race—unfolds with both awe and dread. These beings, far removed from human­i­ty, rule with intel­li­gence and an eerie sense of order. Lack­ing speech and hear­ing, they use intri­cate ges­tures to com­mu­ni­cate and main­tain a seem­ing­ly emo­tion­less author­i­ty over their human slaves. The pro­tag­o­nist observes their cold effi­cien­cy, which con­trasts sharply with the chaos and des­per­a­tion of the humans. What dis­turbs him most isn’t just their appear­ance, but the way they regard peo­ple as mere tools. There is no hatred in their actions—just indif­fer­ence. That dis­pas­sion makes them all the more dan­ger­ous.

The Mahars, unlike any­thing Per­ry or the pro­tag­o­nist have ever stud­ied, reveal a world where pre­his­toric biol­o­gy is not extinct, but evolved. Perry’s excite­ment over their anatom­i­cal fea­tures clash­es with the grim­ness of cap­tiv­i­ty. He rec­og­nizes the Mahars as pterosaurs, but larg­er and more intel­li­gent than any fos­sil record has shown. The notion of crea­tures that com­mu­ni­cate via a sen­so­ry per­cep­tion beyond sound or sight sparks sci­en­tif­ic curios­i­ty in Per­ry. Yet to the pro­tag­o­nist, the dis­cov­ery car­ries no won­der, only the weight of sur­vival. Assigned to a mas­sive archive room, they are forced into a monot­o­nous task of orga­niz­ing ancient Maha­ran records. Amidst the silence, thoughts of Dian resur­face. The pro­tag­o­nist begins to real­ize his con­cern for her has grown into some­thing more pro­found than sim­ple grat­i­tude.

A faint hope flick­ers when they reunite with oth­er human cap­tives, includ­ing a fierce war­rior named Ghak and the slip­pery Hoo­ja. Ghak agrees to join in plan­ning an escape, pro­vid­ed they can bring valu­able knowl­edge back to his peo­ple. Con­ver­sa­tions begin to shift from mere sur­vival to rebel­lion. Per­ry reveals a vital secret dis­cov­ered through the ancient texts: the Mahars are an all-female species. Their repro­duc­tion is not bio­log­i­cal in the tra­di­tion­al sense but rather a close­ly guard­ed arti­fi­cial process. This vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty, if exposed, could dis­man­tle the Mahars’ con­trol. The real­iza­tion trans­forms the pro­tag­o­nists’ goal. They are no longer just prisoners—they could become rev­o­lu­tion­ar­ies.

The sig­nif­i­cance of this secret can­not be under­stat­ed. In a world ruled by crea­tures who appear invin­ci­ble, under­stand­ing their fragili­ty gives the oppressed a new form of pow­er. Knowl­edge, rather than force, becomes the most dan­ger­ous weapon. The pro­tag­o­nist and Per­ry begin forg­ing makeshift tools and dis­cussing strate­gies under the watch­ful eyes of their cap­tors. Mean­while, wor­ry gnaws at the protagonist’s mind over Dian’s fate. Hoo­ja, who was cap­tured with­out her, offers no reas­sur­ance. This uncer­tain­ty, cou­pled with a new pur­pose, strength­ens his resolve.

Moments of qui­et reflec­tion among the cap­tives bring out dif­fer­ent facets of human­i­ty. Per­ry still clings to sci­en­tif­ic method and the­o­ry, find­ing com­fort in analy­sis. Ghak embod­ies strength and lead­er­ship, a man of action with deep loy­al­ty to his peo­ple. The pro­tag­o­nist finds him­self torn between intel­lec­tu­al fas­ci­na­tion, emo­tion­al long­ing, and a burn­ing desire to act. With­in the cold stone halls of Phutra, unlike­ly friend­ships and alliances form. Their uni­ty, though frag­ile, becomes a source of courage. Even among slaves, dig­ni­ty and hope remain.

This chap­ter builds a bridge between mere sur­vival and the ear­ly steps of rebel­lion. The Mahars, who rule through intel­lect and secre­cy, have under­es­ti­mat­ed the resilience of their human cap­tives. The pro­tag­o­nist, once over­whelmed by the sheer ali­en­ness of Pel­lu­ci­dar, begins to under­stand that oppres­sion can be undone by strat­e­gy, sol­i­dar­i­ty, and the relent­less will to reclaim free­dom. In the still­ness of cap­tiv­i­ty, seeds of rev­o­lu­tion are qui­et­ly sown. Each thought, each plan, each hid­den weapon craft­ed in secret adds to a grow­ing momen­tum that could one day shift the bal­ance of pow­er in this primeval world. The jour­ney ahead promis­es dan­ger, but it also car­ries the poten­tial to rewrite the fate of an entire civ­i­liza­tion.