Atdtda34: Only choice, 964

[Paul Nightingale]

Movement, but time is acknowledged by reference to changing light. There is
progress westwards, "over towards Macedonia", the light threatening, here
"pitiless"; "it could not be borne for long". Reef contemplates "that
Interdikt", which might be a reminder of adventures with Cyprian, 946
onwards: not least the separation from Yashmeen in those pages, ending with
their deception of her on 954.

The changing light is what registers movement. This light cannot be taken
for granted but "received with judgement". And then private reflection
("Sometimes Reef wondered ...") is replaced by the historical chronicle ("In
mid-October ..."). The "further narrowing of choices" returns the narrative
to the personal, emphasising the relationship between perceptions of micro
and macro levels. Hence, military action is juxtaposed to "[r]umors ... a
storm of fearful hearsay": armies with weapons as opposed to perceived
reality. In the midst of all this Yashmeen insists on the power of agency:
"This must mean that we failed ...". Her "assignment" has now become, or
been superseded by, Reef's "job", to survive.