Summary

The story shifts to Helen's perspective as the astronauts undergo the simulated launch. It feels shockingly real. A phrase enters Helen's mind, “Nothing feels as free as this" (116), and she realizes it was written on the Playtex ad that Boone Cross showed her.

Back at Prime Space, Luke and the other employees celebrate the successful launch of Red Dawn II, the ship that will take the astronauts from Mars back to Earth at the time of the real mission.

Returning to Helen, the astronauts on Primitus are faced with difficulties right away in the form of ear splitting noise Yoshi describes as “'a cacophony most unpleasant'” (121). The ship has two levels, and the launch has so rattled it that everything is out of place. Helen is fixing a piece of equipment with a cuticle clipper when she suddenly recalls her...