I think it's deceptive. By the 19th Century, technology made weapons horrifically destructive. As pointed out in the chapter, they would have stood no chance if there had been artillery.
Against ordinary possibility Ollie has easily absorbed Axl's little family into his home and is happy about it.
Another successful Orel generated protocol.
This sparked my memory and I recalled borrowing a video camera. They were bulky back then and the camera and recorder were separate units. I noticed there was a half used tape in the unit. I rewound it to see what was on it. I saw some other guy hiding the camera in a bathroom. Ewww. And no, I stopped watching.
Something is very off with this war. Did Varilik isolate himself at the front knowing how unpopular their war objectives would be?
Can Ain get any dumber?
Our prisoner awakes to a myriad of mysteries. He is an empty vessel with no knowledge of who he is or why he is there. The complete absence of memories is frightening to his core.
It's hard to say if his questioner is friend or foe.