Portia surveys a thinning Great Nest as a rapidly spreading plague begins to depopulate the city and undermine maintenance and order. As a priestess-scientist, Portia analyzes why the disease is devastating: dense urban living, poor collective sanitation, weak governance for harsh measures, and peer-group inbreeding that has weakened immune systems. Early vaccination theories fail because spider immunity is poorly adaptive.

In the Temple, public faith in the Messenger falters. Portia performs the ritual dance to the passing signal yet privately entertains the forbidden idea of sending a message back. Accepting that no answer will come, she decides she must find a cure herself before civilization collapses.

With females fleeing and society straining, males assume roles once reserved for females—guarding, hunting, and assisting in laboratories. Portia had dispatched a trusted male band to retrieve immune spiderlings from plague cities, promising protection and patronage as reward.

Only Fabian returns, maimed and exhausted. He reports that travelers from the north face lethal suspicion at Great Nest’s borders and that survivors in plague cities live like beasts, devouring his companions. Fearing he carries infection, he is told the plague is already within Great Nest.

Fabian has succeeded: he brings three healthy spiderlings from the plague zone, presumed immune. Portia orders them to her laboratory and promises Fabian reward. He asks to aid her work, citing biochemical training. Portia accepts, reaffirming her resolve: she must attempt a cure, or all is lost.