Verdeschi contacts Pasc, but instead of meeting his demands, he replays the recording for Helena's benefit. Pasc's wife, Lyra, relates how Pasc was discovered to have the neurological pathogen known as the killing sickness. After murdering two of their team, he was overpowered. A stasis chamber was prepared and, knowing susceptibility to the disease is carried in the genes of the male line, both husband and son were imprisoned until a cure was found. As Pasc watches his wife's tear-stained face, Nuñez tells Helena the virus is curable. He has prepared a serum from the boy's blood...but Etrec seems incapable of replacing the blood volume he has lost.