The team returns to the US and despite his lack of an established reputation, Norton secures a lab at Stanford to study the dreamers, while Tallent, with the discovery of a lost tribe, becomes an anthropological hero. Norton sedates the dreamers and keeps them confined. Their mental state quickly begins to deteriorate in this new setting, but their physical health remains strong. However’ Norton’s secret experiment to prove that the opa’ivu’eke meat enhances longevity is postponed for a year due to lack of space and funding.

When he finally begins, he feeds the meat of the opa’ivu’eke to mice and observes their physical health, mental demeanor, and overall lifespan. He keeps this experiment a secret from Tallent and spends his free time learning the U’ivuan language. His brother, Owen, is teaching nearby, and Norton goes to dinner with him. At this dinner, Owen comes out to his brother with a metaphor, and Norton reflects on how complex his own life and self has become in comparison after his journey to U’ivu.