Hall wakes up and attends the conference with Leavitt, Burton, and Stone. He resents the limited selection of food and drink as he listens to Stone talk about Rudolph Karp, a biochemist who theorized that life might be found on a meteorite. The scientific community mocked the idea, but some were intrigued, including Leavitt and Stone. The Wildfire group used Karp’s ideas to consider the source of any potential disease-causing alien bacteria. Bacteria could travel from distant galaxies or could originate from Earth and then mutate in space before returning to wreak havoc.

The men review the Scoop VII logs. A possible collision between the satellite and a piece of debris, another satellite, or a meteor may have caused the initial issue with Scoop VII. The men cannot reach a definitive conclusion. A bell rings, indicating they are ready to descend to Level V.

The men arrive at Level V. Hall sees mechanical hands maneuvering the satellite to the correct laboratory. The hands open the satellite and remove the sample from inside. A lab rat is placed near the sample to determine whether the bacteria is immediately dangerous. The rat dies almost instantly. The experiment is repeated with a monkey, which also dies.