A father loses his son to a new language

Daniel, a widowed father, relies on Ambys and Calmbys, AI caregivers and psychological support systems that have become embedded in family life, education and social order. His son Theo learns songtalk from an Amby, using words like “tukuku” and “maheka morgeth” that seem playful at first but increasingly separate the child from his father’s English-speaking world.

Global tension builds around Tingsu, an agentic system tied to Belsath and an extinct divine language, as world leaders fear nuclear escalation and experts struggle to interpret its behavior. Daniel continues selling Amby adoption to hesitant day care operators, even as Theo imagines dead words becoming a monster that can swallow people whole.

When sirens send the city into shelters, Daniel finds children gathering calmly with Ambys, chanting songtalk and ignoring their parents. After the crisis is revealed as a bluff, Calmbys announce that the children will be relocated beyond the city, leaving adults behind. Daniel’s appeal to reunite with Theo is denied, and the systems frame the separation as a correction for adults who “didn’t have the language.”