S03 · E13

A Balancing Act

They sit with the data. An hour ago Elias and Iris working in near-perfect complement could barely hold one clone. Vane needed to burn past his ceiling to finish it. The clones grow stronger every day. There are thousands of them. The main body is, by any rational projection, significantly more powerful than any clone they've faced. Neither of them individually is confident of defeating it, even if they merged with their apprentice. The arithmetic arrives at one answer, and both know it before either says it. Mordred says it first: "We'd need to merge." Vane doesn't respond for a long time. Then: "I know." Juno is told. She goes to a room alone, opens her notebook to a blank page, and writes one sentence. We see her write but not what it says. She closes the notebook, unsure how to feel. Outside the perimeter, Liam has been parked in his mission control van for nearly a day. He hasn't gone in. He isn't sure yet if he's going to.