Disra Senkovi drifts through the empty crew quarters of the Aegean, realizing he has become almost unnecessary to the terraforming of Damascus. The planet is now far ahead of schedule: ice is gone, oceans are oxygenated, colonies are expanding, and the uplifted octopuses are using and repurposing technology in ways Senkovi never ordered or fully understands.

Yusuf Baltiel contacts Senkovi from a shuttle, filthy and shaken, and reports disaster on Nod. Baltiel says the alien substance infected Lortisse, then Lante and Rani, taking control of their minds, and that Baltiel killed them to stop it. Senkovi watches the transmitted evidence, struggles to absorb the deaths, and initially clings to denial.

Senkovi then realizes Baltiel should not be approaching Damascus if quarantine is necessary. Baltiel’s behavior shifts, revealing that the infection has also reached him; the voice speaking through Baltiel says it is going on an adventure. Senkovi threatens to use the Aegean’s anti-collision lasers, but discovers Baltiel’s command codes have locked him out of the ship’s defenses and engines.

As Senkovi fights unsuccessfully through the ship’s systems, the infected Baltiel explains that the alien mind has discovered a greater vastness inside human minds and ships: space, travel, memory, and civilization. Senkovi begs the entity to take the Aegean or remain on Nod, but leave Damascus alone. He sends danger warnings to the octopus civilization below, fearing everything he built is about to be infected.

While checking the planet’s data streams, Senkovi notices the octopuses are using orbital machinery in an unexpected way. The orbital mirrors, once used to warm and terraform Damascus, are repositioned to concentrate sunlight into the shuttle’s flight path. The shuttle enters the focus, overheats, breaks apart, and falls burning into the sea, destroying the infected Baltiel before the entity can reach Damascus.