The Jean that Ilk pulled in to rejoin the group after Norton escaped from the sphere was a homonculi-Jean. Osric creates an eye on the end of a tentacle and assigns it to keep an eye on Jean. The new Jean is briefed on the demise of the old one. Somewhere there is an empty puppet that shut down.
Jean realizes that he was zapped when he got onto the Fringe and worries that he might have been tainted by the white stuff. Osric checks and confirms the suspicion. People worry. It is suggested that the white sandy Jean is the link, which is no longer accessible to anyone but Gwen...
Jean fills Ilk outside Home in on the grey stuff and asks Ilk if he can find and re-open the hole in reality.
[Retcon: When Celeste's head blew open, she was handed through a trump to Faythe by Brandt]
Somewhere in shadow, someone that Jean has never seen before taps him on the shoulder.
"Hello. Have I ever seen you before?"
"Not in this shape."
"So who are you?"
"I am your father."
"That explains why I don't recognize you."
"I have a message for people."
"I have a problem."
"What is your problem?"
"You know that bad white stuff - I kinda touched it..."
"Bye."
Rainbow melts away.
Suhuy, playing with the statue outside the Fringe gate, has the uncomfortable feeling that someone is watching him.
Jean has the fish fish his trump to the him on the Fringe.
Cailin leaves the Fringe to trump Jean and finds himself on a mining platform on the side of a mountain. He spends a while acquiring power, and then trumps Jean. Cailin has a foreboding feeling and cuts off the trump. There is a scattering of white dust around him. Cailin gathers up the dust magically, and then returns to the Fringe. As he crosses the Fringe gate, his spell holding the dust collapses, the dust falls to the ground, and the Fringe defenses fire.
Cailin wakes up on the far side of the platform, with a number of Osric's broken troops lying around him. Galantine is embedded in one of Osric's soldiers.
Recent events are discussed.
Osric turns on trump on the Fringe; Jean gives Cailin his trump. Osric dangles Jean in the zero-gee area off the platform. Jean hands Ilk the trump fish. Cailin conjures a bunch of blowers. Osric sends his army down a corridor.
Cailin trumps Jean. There is a hint of condensation around Cailin which forms into white dust. Cailin drops the trump, and the wind blows the dust off the Fringe.
Osric grows an air-jet, jumps into the null-g area, and trumps Jean. The platform trembles. Osric's shields flare and go down, and he loses consciousness. Cassandra tries to TK him back and fails. Cailin TKs him out magically. There is an envelope of dust all around Osric, but not touching him.
Cailin dust-busters the dust out from around Osric.
Jean informs Corwin that he has been compromised, and will be temporarily unable to fulfill his duties as Minister of Information.
Jean informs Mr. Suhuy (also known as Gentleman Suhuy, or Pattern Suhuy) on his situation. Mr. Suhuy suggests that someone might be taking advantage of that connection, and possibly still listening in through him. He suggests that Jean not make it easy on anyone trying to listen in. Jean tries to overload anyone listening in through him. All of the homonculi Jeans in puppets start playing video games.
Jean has one of him near Helgram jump through the hole in their living room. For a moment, the Jean on the Fringe looks orange and then sets, then returns to normal. Osric checks, but he's still infected.
Osric goes to a warehouse in a pocket stop, argues with an old man, and shifts into Cassandra.
"I have someone in my head. I want to make them run screaming." Random offers Jean a series of pills. Jean injests everything offered. Random gives Jean something to wash it down with.
All of Jean look very happy. Jean's video games are now visible to everyone around him.
Osric uses his Gwen-o-meter on Jean. The meter fluctuates radically, and at one point even goes negative.
Ilk's Home is now stoned. Ilk (and Ilk's Vlad) start herding the wandering bits of the shadow. Brand is also lying on the ground trying to bite at his back.
[The royal we = me. The military we = you]
Somewhere, there is a Jean, with a shotgun, playing Doom.
Cassandra trumps Ingold. They chat. Cassandra hands Cailin through, then follows herself.