New portal stations are open that allow rapid transportation between Los Angeles and New York in ten minutes. Passengers are kept in stasis to protect them during the trip through ID space. However, during one such transit, a woman's son fails to reappear at the destination. When he finally does reappear, he is suddenly able to hear, even though he was deaf before the trip. Analysis indicates the presence of a CVI. Boone's sister comes out of one such portal pregnant. The Resistance sends in Sahjit with a way to keep him from being kept in stasis. He learns that all passengers arrive to the Taelon base on the far side of the Moon, where experiments are performed on them while they're unconscious, at which point they're sent to their destination. Zo'or wants Sahjit to be interrogated, but Da'an places a device on him that sends him to LA instead of the moon base in hopes of discrediting Zo'or's management of the portal project.
- Portal Network: ID portal stations are set up at several locations across the world, allowing transportation significantly faster than any other means. In actuality, Zo'or uses the portal stations as a way to get research subjects for experiments on the far side of the Moon. The stations are set up in major airports, since they're convenient locations with security measures.
- Shout-Out: The idea of sedating people before teleporting them to their destination is a reference to Stephen King's short story "The Jaunt", although the reason for the sedation is different.
