At Mei’s Montessori classroom on Ganymede, Miss Carrie tells four-year-old Mei that her mother has come to get her. Because Mei believes her mother has gone to Ceres for “mommy-alone-time,” the news overwhelms her with hope. Mei rushes to wash off finger paints, clean a smear from the wall, and put away her painting of a space monster so she can give it to her mother.

In the anteroom, Mei finds not her mother but Doctor Strickland and an unfamiliar woman. Doctor Strickland distracts Mei by picking her up and tickling her while Miss Carrie speaks politely with the woman, then leaves the classroom with Mei. When Mei asks where her mother is, Doctor Strickland claims her mother is waiting and that they are taking Mei to her.

Doctor Strickland and the woman carry Mei through Ganymede’s corridors, moving from newer, plant-filled hallways toward older, narrower passages near the surface. Mei calms herself by naming plants, while the adults speak little. The woman asks whether there are more, and Doctor Strickland says Mei is “the last one,” suggesting Mei is part of a larger collection or transfer.

Instead of taking Mei to the hospital, Doctor Strickland opens an unmarked door into an old, storage-like section, then into a cleaner area that smells like decontamination equipment. Mei sees Sandro, an older boy from school, which makes her feel safer. Doctor Strickland brings Mei into a bare examination room, but Mei grows resistant and repeatedly asks for her mother.

Doctor Strickland leaves after telling Umea to check with operations, load up, and “release it.” Umea stays with Mei, returns the painting when Mei demands it, then leads Mei into a colder room. There, behind glass, Mei sees a naked man whose skin looks unnatural, whose eyes glow blue, and whose hands are wrong; when the man reaches toward the glass, Mei screams.