With Noah and Arushka safely imprisoned in the Beast, Tao roars off leaving Chip alone under the relentless sun of the Red Desert. On a rescue mission, Sundance and Becky find him, exhausted and thirsty but alive.

A smug Tao, with Noah his captive audience, tempts him with knowledge of his future; Noah is only 65 years in the future and he along with the survivors from North Col could still be alive somewhere. Tao produces a disk that he claims was found in the ruins of the old holodeck and contains a history of North Col. Noah agrees to watch it but only if Arushka is with him.

The end of North Col unfolds — his family's suffering because of his illegal time-travel, the horrors of the rat carried disease rabies sweeping through the panicked citizens. Is he responsible?

Noah believes he is the only one who can save his people — he must return. "But if I am the only survivor", asks Noah, "what happened to me?" Tao has one more piece of information… "you reappear", he says, "as the Shadowmaster!"