Part 8: Shikata Ga Nai Summary

In the opening to Part 8, it is revealed that Peter Clayborne was on an elevator when the cable was destroyed. He and the other passengers donned space suits and ejected before they hit the atmosphere, and Peter was rescued by a passing ship and taken back down to Mars.

Back on Mars, Ann Clayborne is in a deep depression. Even as Michel tells the group of the hidden colony's canyon cars, their secret caverns, and their ability to self sustain, Ann refuses to speak, overcome with grief over the planet and the assumed loss of her son. They drive for several days, with the others discussing the hidden colony, terraforming, and other topics. They come to a massive flood and ice blockage, where the rock overhangs continue to crumble around them, threatening their route. An entire canyon...