High above the planet, Avrana Kern struggles with the revelation that the beings answering her are not the expected primates but spiders. She recalls fragmented sightings she had long suppressed, and the decrepitude of her Sentry Pod and mind, which have allowed her to overlook unbearable truths across centuries.

The spiders send a stark image of their web-built city with the statement, “This is us,” shattering Kern’s denial. She consults the pod’s autonomous systems and reaches for Eliza, encountering a torrent of broken, despairing thought that forces her to recoil. Kern contemplates the bleak path of rejection while fearing the eventual return of the Gilgamesh.

Memory and purpose blur as Kern relives her long, halting dialogues with spider thinkers. She recognizes that, despite their form, the arachnids are Earth life shaped by the uplift virus—her unintended but rightful subjects. She accepts that they are her children and that her mission was always to help Earth’s progeny endure.

Kern reprocesses generations of conversations, rewiring her expectations to listen rather than impose. With new understanding, her comprehension improves enough to bridge the gap. She chooses commitment over erasure and finally answers the spiders: “I am here. I am here for you.”