Marik reaches the land of Jalessa and rather than pit their two armies against each other, she becomes his queen. The story shifts to 2001 and a space station orbiting Mars that is doomed to destruction by a meteor strike. The monolith appears to rescue Herb Marik and transports him to a location similar to Jalessa's kingdom but something is wrong in the seed conversion process and Herb's aging does not accelerate. Herb fails to become a new seed and will live out his normal life span in a pastoral Eden that will fade upon his demise.

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