Jack Morrison woke at the orbit of Pluto to silence. The AI of the Ark told him that the Earth direction had been silent for twenty-five thousand years. He was the sole survivor of the Ark's seven pioneers. He had flown for twenty years to return to the solar system. Crossing Pluto's orbit, he saw Earth—a black and white dead world. He landed on the Earth's surface and found Micros on a coin. But Micro society was not a utopia—it was a complex society full of political struggles and factional conflicts. Victor Lance, the Micros' cold-blooded politician, stood in the center of the coin, looking up at Jack. He did not smile, did not welcome. He just coldly said: "What do you want, giant?"

Jack showed the Micros the Ark—a starship that could hold the entire Macro civilization. He showed them the Seed Vault and the Embryo Vault. Victor demanded Jack hand over all weapons and technology on the Ark. Jack refused. The two engaged in a cat-and-mouse game in the underground city—Jack used his space experience to navigate the Micros' underground maze. Victor sent Micro agents to track Jack, but Jack was more familiar with underground environments—he had lived in space for twenty years, accustomed to confined spaces. Jack discovered Victor's true purpose: to use the Ark's technology to rule Micro society and build a new Micro empire. "Macros once ruled Earth," Victor said, "now Micros will rule the universe." Jack sneered: "You don't even understand yourselves, yet you want to rule the universe?"

Jack realized the Micros had not truly inherited Macro's beauty—they had only inherited Macro's desire for power. Victor led Micro agents to surround the Ark, demanding Jack surrender. Jack faced a choice: hand over the Ark, or destroy it. He chose the latter. He activated the Ark's self-destruct program—not to destroy the ship, but to destroy everything useful to him. He incinerated the Seed Vault—if the Micros didn't deserve these, let them disappear. He incinerated the Macro Embryo Vault—the last biological spark of Macro. Then he opened all the Ark's hatches, letting space's vacuum swallow everything. Victor asked in the final moment: "Why?" Jack lit a cigarette—his hand no longer shook, because late-stage lung cancer made him not care anymore. "Because you don't deserve it."

The Ark exploded in space. The Seed Vault, Embryo Vault, Weapon Vault, Technology Vault—everything was destroyed. The Micros lost the possibility of ecological recovery, lost Macro's technology. Jack alone returned to Earth in a landing capsule—he had deliberately destroyed the main ship before returning. Now he was just a two-meter-tall giant in a world ruled by one-centimeter-tall people. Victor's people captured him and locked him in a transparent cage—a display case to the Micros. Jack sat in the cage, watching the Micro world. He knew the Micro civilization would survive—they had enough food, enough underground cities. But they had lost the future. No seeds, no embryos, no technology. They could only survive on a gradually cooling Earth. Jack closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the Micro world—not jazz, not symphony, but the noise of power struggles. He remembered his wife's words before departure: "If you never come back, don't cry for the Macros. Cry for humanity." He smiled: "Humanity is dead. Dead in my hands."

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