The night was not good for the crew of the Old Speckled Hen (now swelled with one of the Marquis' old companions, a young marine named Jayne Velasquez).  A failure in the Traveller's Lodge's air filtration system resulted in the planet's tainted air being pumped directly into their rooms causing the crew to come down with upper-respiratory tract infections.  Indeed, Lieutenant Higson-Smith's infection was so bad that he was forced to stay in bed for the entire day.

Rising early in the morning, the Marquis hacks into the Acropolis central computer and uploads a programme that would snatch one of the robots and install it into the throne, thereby allowing its personality to be uploaded.  Mindful of the potential legal consequences of such an act, the Marquis lays a data trail leading to the door of a technician who is also one of the most vocal proponents of downloading personalities into the Crab Thing children.  He arrives down to breakfast to find the rest of the crew in conversation with Agent Ramirez of the Concordat, who is evidently hoping to recruit Captain Chavez as an informant.

The crew set off for Acropolis in the company of Agent Ramirez and Dr. Querido (who suggests that the Marquis take her to... dinner as soon as possible).  Upon landing they find that Acropolis is composed of buildings that are similar to tinted black diammond with huge high ceilings and wide corridors (clearly built with any possible alien shape in mind).  After being extensively briefed and warned, the group are show to the viewing platform above the nursery.  The Crab Thing children are suspected to be descended from creatures who would naturally lurk under the mud or in the shallows, the human scientists have them in a large, airy and well-lit room full of toys.  The Crab Thing children largely scuttle round the outside in packs looking terrified.

Taking command of the robotic motherbot, the Marquis attempts to create an allibi for himself by looking as inconsiderate and culturally dense as possible.  He does this by expressing disappointment at the prospect of not being allowed to prod the children and then speeding towards the children wildly gesticulating or making violent, sweeping gestures with the robot mother's claws.  Understandably the children are terrified.  At this point, the crew are introduced to Subject 315, the most advanced child to have appeared yet.  We know that he is advanced as he has enough sense to attack and try to dismantle the motherbot as well as attempt to show the other Crab Things how to do the same.  Mentally tagging the child as a potential demagogue, the Marquis waits for the motherbot to turn away from 315 and then activates his programme, immediately locking Velasquez out of the controls and making the motherbot grab a child and head off down a corridor.

Immediately, Captain Chavez smells a rat and attempts to wrestle the Marquis to the ground in order to get him to admit what he has done.  Meanwhile, a marine starts firing at the motherbot and then jumps through the glass and follows it out of the nursery.  With the glass gone, 315 seizes his opportunity and jumps up towards the humans, Jayne helps him onto the viewing platform and hold the child at arms' length.  The two eye each other up warily for a moment.

Finally breaking free of Chavez's iron-like grip, the Marquis jumps into the nursery and follows the motherbot into the room with the throne intended to uploadpersonalities into the children.  He finds a large crab-like robot and the marine cut in two by energy-weapon fire.  Gingerly attempting to communicate with the robot, the Marquis and Chavez learn that they are to be honoured by the Crab Things but that the Crab Things who built the resurrection chambers were not representatives of the Crab Thing government, but were in fact a doomsday apocalyptic sect responsible for the death of 84 billion Crab Things and now intent upon spreading their One True Way to the rest of the galaxy, though they are mindful that other species might be worried about extinction.

While this is going on Jayne is in a helicopter with 315 now asleep on his lap.  Seemingly the two have bonded.  Ramirez drops some hints that it would be a good idea if the rest of the Old Speckled Hen's Crew were to leave the Acropolis now and Jayne re-enters the building in order to fetch his companions who, slightly appalled at what they (well... the Marquis) have resurrected, gladly return to the helicopter meer minutes before the entire Acropolis Plateau is nuked from orbit.

Once safely back at Necropolis, the Marquis makes the most of the disarray to negotiate favourable contraband prices with a smuggler and the entire group are de-briefed.  Seemignly, the Concordat agents have worked out what happened but rather than push the crew to admit what they were involved in, they seem content to help with the cover-up initiated by the Marquis' attempts at framing a technician (who, fortuitously enough, died in the nuking of Acropolis).  Ramirez also suggests that Jayne formally adopt 315.

With all loose ends seemingly tied off, the crew return to the Old Speckled Hen accompanied with cargo for Triffid, Dr. Querido and a number of other immigrants, as well as 315.