Ezra and Lynn are captured by the previous settlers, and Silas attempts to strengthen his parasite.
Teaser
A masked person expertly navigates an obstacle course oriented for agility and combat, striking every target with apparent ease. They instinctively strike at someone who comes up behind them: it’s the young man who confronted Ezra and Lynn. The athlete stops short of hitting him and unmasks, revealing her to be a teenage girl. She tells him that “Rowyn will have [his] hide” for leaving his post. He says he came to tell her about what happened, and that the Sparks are making people again. Calling him Nico, she asks who they created. He says, “It’s your parents, Kylie.”Act 1
At the Skin Rider camp, Duncan tells Jax that his Companion can’t contact Silas. He suspects Jax may have killed Silas so that he could take over, like he tried to kill him. Jax responds that if he’d wanted Duncan dead, he would have used “a more enjoyable method” than tying him to a tree. When asked if he is using Red Drone to kill, Jax says that his knowledge comes from the Ancestor, and questions Duncan’s faith.Red Drone tells Silas that it will be hard to escape, as all eyes are on their tent. Silas says if Jax finds out what Red Drone did, he’ll kill them both, and Red Drone replies that freeing Silas of the parasite is worth that risk. When asked why Red Drone would help someone who had done what he had, it replies that everyone deserves kindness, but reminds him that he will die when the parasite tries to retake his body. Silas asks to hear Red Drone’s escape plan.
Red Drone comes out and tells Jax that Silas’s frontal lobe has swelled and he must be kept unconscious while he recovers. Duncan says that the Ancestor and their people will be unhappy with Jax if he kills their priest. Jax tells Red Drone to inform Silas when he wakes that he’s gone to find who has killed their scouts, then tells Duncan to post guards on the tent so that no one leaves it.
Ezra and Lynn kneel on the ground, Raven crouched beside them, as guards stand over them. One guard makes a bird call, and a woman approaches them, drawing a sword. She demands to be shown their necks, and confirms they aren’t infected. She then scans them with a small device, and declares them clean. The guards get them up. Ezra complains about the reception, but she retorts that they brought Skin Riders with them, so she couldn’t take risks, then orders the guards to hide the corpses of the Skin Riders, and tells one of them, Thomas, to signal to the other scouts that everyone should return to Pine Lake.
Lynn accuses the woman of using Raven to lure the Skin Riders into an ambush. She retorts that Raven is helping protect her people, and calls them foolish for not knowing they were being tailed. She also explains that the scanner was to check for diseases, and cuts off Ezra’s introductions: she already knows who they are. She introduces herself as Rowyn, a former inhabitant of the settlement. Lynn asks if Kylie is there, but Rowyn says she asks the questions first. She asks who is at the settlement, and Ezra answers. Rowyn says she likes Feena, but will kill Abram on sight, citing “unresolved issues.”
When asked again about Kylie, she asks them what their last memory of Kylie is. Ezra responds that it was when she died during the invasion. Rowyn says that means they know nothing of the last 12 years of her life. She confirms Kylie is alive, but not their little girl anymore… or technically at all, since they are copies of her parents. She tells them that if they follow her, they can’t leave, because if they’re captured by Skin Riders, they will have the location of Pine Lake and attack her people.
Nicholas tells Kylie that she can’t just go running back to Ezra and Lynn. She says they’re her parents, but he responds they just look like them; they could have someone else’s brain states. She says Abram said the Sparks and drones would never do that, but Nicholas responds that he was wrong about a lot of things. He also says she might want to think about what she might want to say to them about her and Nicholas’s impending marriage, that they’ll think they’re too young. She says her parents liked him, but he says that they liked him as a kid, not a son-in-law, and that they now don’t seem to recognize him. They seem at least 10 years younger than when they last saw them, and may not be the parents Kylie remembers.
Yellow Drone returns from scanning the area to Abram and Feena, and reports no Skin Riders nearby. Abram tells it to come get them if it sees anything. Feena thinks it’s a waste of time to try to retrieve the broken drone in the graveyard, but Abram thinks they have to try; it could store information about the settlement, or the location of the Ancestor, or how Duncan became infected.
Rowyn leads Ezra and Lynn into a cave. Ezra asks where the lake is; Rowyn responds that there isn’t one: “Pine Lake” is a code name for their home, so that if the Skin Riders hear about it, they’ll look in the wrong place. The survivors living there are shocked to see Ezra and Lynn. Rowyn tells them that Lynn’s previous incarnation died saving 19 of them from a Skin Rider attack at their previous home. She says she was murdered by Silas, and that they’d all still be at the settlement if it weren’t for him. She hands Lynn a spear, and she responds that she’s not much of a fighter. With a slight smile, Rowyn says she’s not the Lynn she knew.
Abram and Feena have recovered the buried drone, this one blue. Yellow Drone scans it and reports that some data may be salvageable, and requests Feena’s assistance to be hooked up to it. She solders a connection between them, and Yellow Drone reports that it has downloaded 78% of its database. It says the settlers recorded their brain states often, and that it can show them their memories, but that he won’t like it: it’s Abram’s fault that they died.
Rowyn shows Ezra and Lynn to a place to sleep and leaves. Lynn is worried that they’ve endangered the survivors, but while Ezra tries to reassure her, Kylie arrives.
Act 2
Kylie and her parents all react to how different they all look, but Lynn reassures Kylie that they want to become reacquainted. Ezra also tells her that they don’t bring the virus because the Sparks immunized them against it. Kylie says the Sparks have tinkered with them, and that as much as she wants them to be her parents, she’s not sure she can accept them as such. She leaves, and Ezra stops Lynn from following her. He tells Lynn that they have to look at things from Kylie’s perspective, and that they will need to show her that they really are the same people she used to love.Red Drone reports to Silas that guards have been posted on their tent. Silas grunts with pain, and Red Drone asks if he can run. He nods. Red Drone exits the tent and lands on a nearby stump, deploying solar panels to recharge. Duncan reminisces when he used to work with the drones, and Red Drone retorts that he was no expert. Duncan says he manipulated Red Drone easily enough, and it responds that he won’t do it again. Duncan bends down toward the drone, when suddenly Jax appears and threatens to kill Duncan if he touches the drone. He says that he was ambushed by the other settlers and his Companion has been injured. He tells Duncan to take a squad of men to Crow’s Creek, and orders his men to follow. Once they’re gone, Jax disappears; he was a hologram projected by Red Drone. It returns to the tent and leads Silas away from the camp.
Ezra finds Kylie practicing archery; she tells him Nicholas taught her, and that everyone must help protect the community. Ezra wishes she wasn’t living in danger. He tells her that he knows how strange this is for her, and that it is for him and her mom, too. She responds that her mom died protecting her. Ezra agrees, but says she’s still the same human being, just like she is to them. She says she’s not the same, and they aren’t, either. He insists that he is, and she asks if he’s the same man who left her and her mom and never returned. She suggests that they should accept that they’re from different times. Meanwhile, Jax and his men arrive at the area where they last knew their scouts to be. He finds a small puddle of blood, and tells the others to spread out to search.
Yellow Drone shows Abram and Feena the memories stored in Blue Drone. It shows them a vibrant settlement with many survivors. Abram notes that there is no forcefield, and Yellow Drone says there was no need for one at that time. Feena sees her past (pregnant) self in the watch tower, calling that “they’re coming.” Two settlers enter: Jax and Duncan. Jax hands Ezra a scarf, and Kylie remarks that she made it for Silas. Jax and Duncan report that they managed to take it off of Silas when he attacked them, that he acted like he didn’t know them, there was a glowing lump on the back of his neck. Ezra moves to go find him, but Jax advises him that he should not go out; it’s getting late and cold, and Silas isn’t who he was before.
The memory ends. Feena realizes that Silas was the first Skin Rider. Yellow Drone says that he was infected by a fungus-like Skin Rider growth that emitted spores, or he ate an infected animal. It also tells them that the Karik were originally peaceful, but were infected by the Skin Riders, the true instigators of the invasion, and thus brought the infection to Earth.
Thomas discovers the Skin Rider scouts camping. He draws an arrow, but is interrupted by Jax, who had used his men as bait to draw him out. He zaps him with his prod weapon, and he drops to the ground unconscious.
Act 3
Kylie talks with Rowyn about Ezra and Lynn. Rowyn is encouraging Kylie to give them a chance, because she lost her parents, husband, and son, and would give anything to be with them again. Kylie has an opportunity, and Rowyn thinks she should at least get to know them before passing it up.Silas collapses in the snow, and Red Drone scans him, reporting that the parasite’s attacking his organs. Silas asks for its help, and it shoots a beam at his brain. Silas sees himself in his parents’ cabin, where he felt most at peace, and feels no pain. Red Drone tells him that he will only be free of the pain while in this state. He feels the back of his neck, and Ezra tells him there’s no parasite in this place. The drone has used Ezra’s brain state to put him in this location. Silas tells Ezra he’s dying, but Ezra believes that who he is will continue to exist in some way. “I like to think that the universe isn’t so cruel that we exist, and then we’re forgotten,” he says. Silas says that because of what he’s done as a Skin Rider, being forgotten is better, but Ezra insists that wasn’t him. Silas guiltily replies, “Some of it was.”
Red Drone reports that someone is coming, and Silas returns to the real world. He gets up hides, and they see Duncan heading toward the settlement to block their way. Silas suggests shooting him with a dart, but Jax removed all of Red Drone’s defenses. It commits to getting Silas inside the settlement, because, it says, it’s not too late for him to set things right.
Thomas wakes to see the Skin Rider scouts and Jax around him. Jax tells him he knows that torture will not get them the location of his people, but that there’s no need: by tomorrow, he’ll tell them willingly. Thomas checks his shoulder and discovers the start of a parasite infection.
Nicholas reports to Rowyn that they haven’t heard from Thomas, and a campfire has been spotted nearby. Nobody they know would risk a fire, so Ezra surmises that Thomas has been captured and infected. They can either leave the caves, or stay and hope that Ezra’s guess is wrong. Leaving would mean they are abandoning a defensible position, and they’d be slow with the children. Ezra says that means they should leave immediately to give them as much lead time as possible, before Thomas is turned and can report their location. Nicholas is defiant and thinks they can defend the caves, but Rowyn isn’t so confident. Nicholas leaves, and Rowyn apologizes for him, saying that he and Thomas were close, and Ezra observes that he seems close with Kylie, too. Rowyn chooses to tell them that Nicholas and Kylie are engaged.
Yellow Drone shares more memories with Abram and Feena. Past!Abram has gathered the settlers, and is proposing that the Sparks can create a virus that would alter their DNA to make them resistant to the Skin Rider parasite. Rowyn and Nicholas don’t like it, but Abram says the idea came from the Obelisk, and that he trusts it and the Sparks. Ezra asks for Lynn’s expertise, and she says that there is a lot of potential for error. She says that people need to be able to choose for themselves whether they want their DNA altered. Abram says that it has to be everyone, because they can’t control the spread of the virus. Lynn suggests that they should separate into two groups: those who want to undergo the gene therapy and those who don’t, until they know whether or not it works. Rowyn says the people who accept the virus should leave, but Lynn says that even if it works, the virus will weaken them and they will need rest, so they are the ones who should stay.
Present!Abram is crestfallen: he is responsible for the settlers’ deaths.
Act 4
Ezra tells Rowyn that he will stay at the caves to buy the survivors time to escape. Rowyn says they can’t tell him where they’re going, since if he’s turned the Skin Riders would know, and Ezra accepts that. Rowyn says she should not have doubted him, that this is what the Ezra she knew would do. When he tells Lynn this plan, she vehemently disagrees. He says he has no connection to these people, and they need their soldiers to defend them. Lynn says this is what happened in her previous life: he left and she ended up a widow. Nicholas volunteers to stay with Ezra.Silas and Red Drone arrive at the settlement and find the gates open; Red Drone explains that Duncan knows how to open them. They go inside and find an angry Duncan in front of the fire. Silas tries to order him to step aside, but Duncan calls him a traitor and says he has no more authority. Silas says he’s there with the drone to recover the weapon, but Duncan won’t hear it, and advances on Silas with his prod weapon. Silas backs away from him, retreating into the outbuilding, Duncan follows, bellowing that he’d be a better priest than Silas ever was. Silas replies, “If you ever get out,” and disappears, as the real Silas locks him in.
Feena tries to reassure Abram that it was the Obelisk’s fault, but Abram says he’s still the one that convinced them to go through with it. He accuses Yellow Drone of lying to them, having said that the virus was naturally occurring. Yellow Drone replies that it assumed that was the case. Abram realizes why the settlers had blocked the Obelisk’s room; it had tried to kill them. He goes to the Obelisk, and angrily accuses it of murder. He tries to draw glyphs on it, but there is no response.
Suddenly, a hooded figure behind Abram tells him that it wasn’t murder. He turns to see the figure raise its hood: it’s the Abram from the memory: Yellow Drone is projecting it. He says the Originators, the beings on the other side of the Obelisk, believed they were helping the settlers. He explains that the problem was the virus worked too slowly. It was only able to change around half the cells in the body before the immune system attacked the changed cells, killing them. He says the Obelisk did not hide the risks; the settlers knew and accepted it because being turned was a fate worse than death. Abram asks why he was brought back if he failed the settlers before, and Holo!Abram says that the Originators believe in him. He responds that the feeling is no longer mutual.
Holo!Abram disappears as Ezra and Lynn call to Abram and Feena. They open the door, and they enter, along with Red Drone and Silas. Once the door is closed, Ezra and Lynn disappear; they were holograms. Silas tells them to hear him out.
Act 5
Ezra apologizes to Rowyn for their having to leave their home, but she says that’s the Skin Riders’ fault, not his. She says Kylie is inside the cave and refuses to leave. Nicholas tries to get Kylie to leave, saying the survivors need her protection, but she insists that the others won’t need their protection if they don’t let the Skin Riders past them. Nicholas says that he’d known she would act this way, he would not have stayed, but she retorts that if he’d consulted with her he would have known. She has accepted Ezra and Lynn as her parents, since they clearly love her as their daughter and risked their lives for her, and she won’t risk losing them again.Silas is having trouble convincing Abram and Feena of his intentions, but the drone tells them that they need him so they can destroy the Ancestor, and that the parasite is killing him. They bring him inside.
Morning breaks, and Lynn goes to talk with Nicholas, who is on lookout duty. She starts with some small talk, and then starts asking about his relationship with Kylie, but only gets curt answers. He apologizes, saying he doesn’t intend to be defensive. Lynn asks about Nicholas’s parents. He says his mother was never reborn, and his father is a Skin Rider. Lynn asks about how she and he got along before; he says she didn’t approve of him being with Kylie, feeling she was too young. He tells her that he loves Kylie and while the circumstances aren’t ideal, he’d die to protect her.
Suddenly, Thomas is seen running toward them. He shoots an arrow, which strikes Nicholas. Ezra returns fire and kills Thomas. He checks the back of Thomas’s neck and confirms that he was infected, then inspects one of his arrows, and discovers that the tip is coated with a greenish substance. Other Skin Riders are close in, and Ezra falls back to where the other Reborns are and tells them about the arrow. Kylie wonders if it’s the parasite.
Silas is unconscious on a bunk, with Red Drone shooting a beam onto his brain. Yellow Drone explains to Abram and Feena that Red Drone must keep Silas in an induced coma or he will die.
