Akin returns to Earth to reconnect with his resister friends before undergoing his metamorphosis, after which he will become unrecognizable to them. His primary goal is to inform Tate that he kept his promise; he wants to tell her about his plan to relocate humans to Mars, establishing their own space.

Akin returns to Phoenix to find it in a poor state, marked by “hidden guns and open drunkenness” (262). Akin meets Gabe, who initially doesn’t recognize him and points a gun at him. Gabe informs him that Tate fell and is now under a doctor’s care.

Visiting Tate, Akin assures her that he has kept his promise. Although Tate listens, she has numerous questions. Seeing her prolonged suffering, Akin wishes to use his Oankali powers to help. Gabe, suspicious and forgetting their previous connection, doesn’t want to leave her alone with Akin, but he eventually relents at Tate’s insistence. Akin attempts to heal her.

During the healing process, Gabe returns and, fearing that Akin is poisoning Tate, intervenes abruptly. Interrupting the healing prematurely can have serious consequences, potentially endangering both Akin’s and Tate’s lives.