Summary

An unknown amount of time later, Holsten is cataloguing a wealth of Old Empire writings. The terraforming station on the second planet they found, called the gray planet has access to all recorded history and Holsten wonders what life would have been like without the Old Empire’s mistakes. Lain found an electronic plague that would have destroyed the Gilgamesh had its systems been made from Old Empire tech. Guyen arrives, asking Holsten to look through some specific files from the catalogue and send all information to him. He then asks Holsten to attend a meeting about the failed terraforming project.

On Kern’s World, a new generation’s Portia looks at the dwindling population of the Great Nest as a deadly plague sweeps across the planet. She believes the generations of inbreeding have made her species weaker...