An armed mutiny on The Gilgamesh brings Holsten out of cold storage and holds him hostage. The people chosen to found the lunar colony have resisted, arguing that they did not agree to be condemned to exist in a freezing wasteland. The mutineers have taken hostages, including Holsten and Lain, in order to bargain with Guyen and Karst for their freedom and their lives. Guyen is unwilling to negotiate and says that he doesn’t need either Holsten or Lain.

Another generation of Portia’s people prepares for massive battle with the evolved ant colony. This Portia is from The Great Nest, which is located near the Western Ocean, and she has come to the city of Seven Trees to defend against the advancing ant colony from which her ancestor stole the crystal. By now, the spiders have created an intricate society that is built in part around their growing understanding of mathematics, as conveyed by the crystal’s transmission of the radio signals coming from Kern’s satellite. The ants are threatening the spider’s territory, and the war is ongoing. Suddenly, a massive battle erupts, and although Portia and her companions do their best to protect Seven Trees, the advanced ant technology of metal, glass, and fire burns Seven Trees to the ground, and Portia only narrowly escapes.