ectogenesis

The chapter explores the dynamic between Nirgal and his classmates as they challenge their teacher Sax with persistent 'why' questions, revealing contrasting worldviews represented by the 'white' scientific perspective and the 'green' mystical perspective. It also depicts daily life in the Mars settlement, highlighting the children's play, communal living, and the arrival of refugees from a failing ecosystem, which strains resources and raises questions of identity and belonging. The narrative underscores the tension between scientific understanding and mystery, community survival, and the political contest over Mars.

In this chapter, Murray cares for his embryo daughter growing in an ectogenesis machine, relocating her for safety and reflecting on the implications of her existence. He reconnects with Georgina Sparks, a pregnant lesbian friend, who shares news of a bomb attack that destroyed the Preservation Institute and killed the marine biologist Marcus Bass, raising fears about threats to Murray's embryo. The chapter explores the miraculous and controversial nature of the embryo's conception, with Georgina interpreting it as a divine event, while Murray remains skeptical but concerned about enemies targeting the child.