Chap­ter X opens with a strik­ing reunion between the weary pro­tag­o­nist and his stead­fast ally, Ja. After endur­ing per­ilous days nav­i­gat­ing the hos­tile ter­rains of Pel­lu­ci­dar, the sight of Ja brings a much-need­ed sense of relief. The pro­tag­o­nist, though bruised and exhaust­ed, quick­ly recounts his experiences—fleeing wild beasts, evad­ing prim­i­tive tribes, and sur­viv­ing nature’s many tri­als. Ja lis­tens intent­ly, both awed and con­cerned, and recounts how he had been track­ing his friend ever since they were sep­a­rat­ed. The bond between them is reaf­firmed by mutu­al admi­ra­tion and grat­i­tude, espe­cial­ly since Ja still remem­bers being saved ear­li­er in their jour­ney. He extends an invi­ta­tion for the pro­tag­o­nist to set­tle among the Mezops, his sea­far­ing tribe, promis­ing peace, safe­ty, and a future togeth­er in their coastal haven. But the pro­tag­o­nist, dri­ven by loy­al­ty to his cap­tured friends and the mem­o­ry of Dian the Beau­ti­ful, refus­es the offer. Instead, he resolves to return to the dan­gers of Phutra.

In the qui­et hours before they part, the two com­pan­ions share a thought­ful exchange about the nature of the inner world. Pel­lu­ci­dar, with its fixed cen­tral sun and lack of night, makes time itself feel abstract. The pro­tag­o­nist tries to explain the out­er world’s con­cept of a spher­i­cal Earth, but Ja, like many of his peo­ple, finds it implau­si­ble. To them, the sky is a great cav­ern and the ground stretch­es end­less­ly. Though amused by Ja’s sin­cere dis­be­lief, the pro­tag­o­nist real­izes the impor­tance of bring­ing knowl­edge to this world. If civ­i­liza­tion is ever to thrive here, under­stand­ing geog­ra­phy, time, and sci­ence would be essen­tial. The moment is tinged with irony: in a world where sur­vival demands pri­mal instincts, knowl­edge is the true weapon. Their con­ver­sa­tion strength­ens the protagonist’s resolve—not only to free his com­pan­ions but to enlight­en the peo­ple of Pel­lu­ci­dar.

Deter­mined to fol­low through with his mis­sion, the pro­tag­o­nist bids Ja farewell and sets off alone, return­ing to the treach­er­ous cor­ri­dors of Phutra. The jour­ney is ardu­ous and stealth is cru­cial. Upon his arrival, he is swift­ly cap­tured and brought before the Mahars. Cold-blood­ed and cal­cu­lat­ing, these rep­til­ian over­lords see through weak­ness but respect cun­ning. The pro­tag­o­nist hides his true inten­tions, spin­ning a tale of vol­un­tary return. He pre­tends to serve their inter­ests, gain­ing tem­po­rary favor while secret­ly plan­ning his next move. This decep­tion show­cas­es his adapt­abil­i­ty and grow­ing under­stand­ing of how to nav­i­gate pow­er struc­tures in this hos­tile land. Though under con­stant watch, he begins lay­ing the ground­work for an escape, both for him­self and his com­pan­ions.

At long last, he finds Per­ry once again. Their reunion is qui­et­ly emo­tion­al, marked more by a shared look than any grand out­burst. As they set­tle into whis­pered con­ver­sa­tion, Per­ry rais­es a ques­tion that has plagued him—how long has it been? In Pel­lu­ci­dar, time seems to stretch and bend with­out mark­ers. The cen­tral sun nev­er moves, and no day tru­ly ends. Per­ry spec­u­lates that their per­cep­tion of time may be dis­tort­ed, mak­ing it impos­si­ble to track how long they’ve been cap­tive. The pro­tag­o­nist, too, strug­gles to grasp the time­line. This moment of philo­soph­i­cal uncer­tain­ty adds a new dimen­sion to their plight. It’s not just their phys­i­cal free­dom at stake, but also their men­tal clar­i­ty and grip on real­i­ty.

This chap­ter high­lights not only the resilience and brav­ery of the pro­tag­o­nist but also deep­ens the the­mat­ic com­plex­i­ty of the nar­ra­tive. Con­cepts of time, space, and knowl­edge are explored with­in the con­fines of an exot­ic and per­ilous world. His choic­es reflect an evolv­ing hero—one no longer just react­ing to dan­ger but active­ly shap­ing the course of events. The reunion with Ja rein­forces the pow­er of human con­nec­tion, while the dia­logue with Per­ry reveals the hid­den toll that such an alien world can exact. Despite the dan­ger that still lies ahead, the pro­tag­o­nist moves for­ward with grow­ing pur­pose. What began as a des­per­ate bid for sur­vival is now becom­ing a mis­sion of lib­er­a­tion, learn­ing, and pos­si­bly trans­for­ma­tion for an entire world.