As Ethic falls, memories flood her mind. She recalls a world before the crystal was unearthed, the joy of building her first robot, but most of all, the friends she’s made recently: Adila, Octavia, Lemma, and Hedge. Hedge—her creation, her responsibility, her failure, and her betrayer. He had convinced her to collect three nodes she never needed. Now, Ethic remembers how to operate the World Machine and wishes for another chance.
Adila has been in contact with Octavia, captured by the robots and held in the same jail that once contained Ethic. Ethic reveals that Hedge has been manipulating everyone, planning to destroy the Bradbarrier and cover the world in a giant maze unless they can stop him. Ethic devises a plan: she will reach the crystal at the maze’s center and use its power against Hedge. Meanwhile, Adila and Lemma will do whatever they can to slow Hedge down.
As Ethic navigates the maze, her radio picks up Octavia’s signal. Octavia has led a successful jailbreak, freeing hundreds of resistance members and overwhelming the guards. They now have access to the World Machine but don’t know how to use it. They’ll need Ethic’s guidance and nearly limitless spools of wire for their mission.
Ethic faces the maze entrance, remembering it centers on the crystal with many dead ends and no looping paths. She quickly radios simple navigational instructions to the resistance members. They must efficiently explore the maze, marking dead ends with broken wires to prevent anyone from retracing those paths. This maze-mapping technique, known as depth-first search, requires each prisoner to cover fresh ground, marking dead paths to ensure Ethic’s route to the crystal is clear.
The method proves effective. By marking paths and helping to explore further when reaching intersections, the resistance makes their way through the labyrinth. When Ethic finally reaches Hedge, she stands before her creation with a choice: destroy him or set things right. Realizing the destruction was due to her own instructions, she fixes her error at Hedge’s core, specifying the correct maze size.
Ethic prevents disaster and takes control of the World Machine. Her journey with Adila, Octavia, and Lemma has brought hope and healing. As the people recover from the forgetting food, they begin to rebuild and create again. The future seems brighter with less greed and a little more Ethic.