Recruiters

the recruitment drive

Three-day scramble to sign every surviving crawler into the army before the faction wars begin.

Story so far

The descent through Larracos doubles as a recruitment drive on a clock. When a group of unfamiliar men comes up and their names populate Carl's Book of Voodoo, Donut pauses her wedding planning to make them all Sergeant First Class, giving them the ability to recruit others. Already Carl's interface is beeping with others getting recruited, the numbers slowly, slowly rising. They have just under three days to get them all.

More come in as they walk: Ajib and his companions, and further groups on every ring. Carl also meets Jurgen along the way. The vast majority of dots on his map are crawlers rather than residents, which is exactly what makes the cascade work — but the arithmetic is tight, and the Larracos Defense Force he sees drilling in the lower rings shows him what the Crawler Army will have to make up for.

Role

The deadline-driven effort to enlist every surviving crawler ahead of the war.

Relationships

Sergeant First Class — The rank that turns each recruit into a recruiter

Crawler Army — The force being assembled

Donut — Runs the promotions street by street

Carl — Tracks the rising count against a three-day deadline

Sources — 2 recorded facts, by chapter

Chapter 4

The faction agents working Larracos during the ceasefire, signing up crawlers before someone else conscripts them.

Chapter 12

Three-day scramble to sign every surviving crawler into the army before the faction wars begin.