In a prelaunch flashback, Grace privately meets the prime crew to record end-of-life preferences for the suicide mission. DuBois requests nitrogen asphyxiation, Ilyukhina asks for heroin with a planned overdose, and Commander Yáo requests a handgun and offers to act as a last-resort for the others.

Back in the present, Grace wakes in pain from burns as Rocky taps for attention. Rocky is alive but weak; he explains the “soot” Grace purged was protective tissue his body produced, though enough healing had occurred to survive its removal. Grace apologizes, confirms the Adrian sample is secure, and after resting, coordinates with Rocky—who has built a xenonite glovebox—to extract a safe subsample.

They compare senses and intelligence, speculating that overlapping hearing ranges reflect universal collision sounds and that thinking speed may evolve against planetary gravity. Maintaining half‑g for healing, they continue working.

Another flashback nine days before launch shows Baikonur rocked by an immense explosion that vaporizes the research center. Stratt confirms DuBois and Dr. Annie Shapiro were inside and likely killed, along with staff. She locks down the base, assesses the Astrophage-related cause, and orders Grace to find urgent replacements despite his grief.

In the present, using Rocky’s box, Grace observes an amoeboid organism directly disabling and killing Astrophage and names it Taumoeba. They rapidly breed Taumoeba in Adrian-like conditions, then set parallel tests in Venus and Threeworld analog atmospheres at the 0.02‑atm layer. As they await results, the ship’s lights abruptly go out.