Dumped on Arcadia 234, a waste disposal planet, an injured Todd limps toward a colony whose residents crash-landed there years earlier; as they were believed dead, no rescue missions have been attempted. Todd is found and sheltered by Mace, and he and his wife Sandra help nurse Todd back to health. Rarely speaking himself, Todd develops a silent rapport with their mute son, Nathan, who had been traumatized by a snakebite as an infant. He looks upon the happy, loving family with yearning in his eyes; having never considered sexuality before, he also has confusion concerning an attraction to Sandra. Though they try to make him feel welcome, Todd has difficulty adapting to the community and their conflict-free lives due to his extremely rigid conditioning. When Nathan silently looks to him for defense against a coiled snake, Todd attempts to show Nathan how to protect himself. Nathan's parents intervene and disapprove of the lesson, unsure of how to deal with the silent soldier. Todd's increasing disorientation by exposure to peaceful civilian life manifests into flashbacks of his time battling other enemy soldiers - and killing civilians who were in the way. With Todd's mind deep inside one of his more violent memories, when one of the colonists surprises Todd from behind, Todd nearly strangles him. Fearful, the colonists expel Todd from the community. Having been rejected by every society he has known - the military and the refugee civilians - Todd shows strong emotion for the first time; overcome by the loss, he quietly cries. A short time later, Mace and Sandra are almost bitten by a snake while they sleep, but Nathan uses Todd's defensive technique and saves them. Now understanding the value of Todd's lesson, Mace leaves to bring him back, regardless of the opposition of the colonists who fear him.