Zelu meets Hugo Wagner at a Chicago restaurant, immediately noticing how naturally his bionic prosthetic legs blend in beneath his clothes. Despite her usual coolness around celebrities, she finds herself starstruck by Hugo, who built revolutionary exoskeleton technology after his own injury. Hugo praises her as one of the greatest sci-fi writers of her generation, but the flattery doesn't sway her; she insists she only wrote her truth.

Over an Italian dinner Zelu doesn't enjoy, Hugo references a personal interview comment of hers about swimming and feeling part of something larger, demonstrating how thoroughly he's researched her. He explains that civilian access to the exos is bogged down in regulatory hoops, though military applications are advancing.

Hugo finally pivots to his real question: does she want to try the exos? Zelu asks whether they'll work on her and whether they might change who she is. Hugo says she fits the profile, her swimming background helps, and that the acclimation is physically demanding. He admits about a third of users need therapy, but stresses the exos are a tool, not a cure, and that the gap between human and machine is closing.

Hugo reveals his motivation: her novel inspired him, her paraplegia intrigued him, and an interview about being in conversation with her body convinced him. He frames it through Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, casting himself as having reached his ultimate boon and her as just beginning hers. He also bluntly admits a Black woman sci-fi writer using his tech would be excellent PR. When Zelu worries the exos could ruin her writing, Hugo challenges her sense of adventure, and she concedes she's already there.