The balance of the solar system was suddenly shattered at this moment — as the Nauvoo, refitted into a giant impact weapon, hurtled toward Eros at full speed, the asteroid harboring the secrets of the protomolecule experiment unexpectedly shifted its orbit in the split second before impact, evading the catastrophic collision as if guided by an invisible hand. Inside the vessel, Ceres Detective Miller had already braced for death, but the violent orbital change threw him into chaos and allowed him to survive. This inconceivable maneuver signaled that Eros was no longer an ordinary celestial body.
Orbital calculations arrived soon after, plunging the entire solar system into panic: driven by an unknown force, Eros began accelerating, its trajectory directly targeting Earth, humanity’s home planet. A collision would annihilate ten billion lives. The United Nations urgently activated its highest defense protocol, and several interplanetary nuclear missiles roared into the sky, locked on the out-of-control asteroid. However, just as the missiles approached the interception point, Eros suddenly vanished from all radar screens — the protomolecule had evolved active electromagnetic jamming capabilities, blinding all targeting systems and leaving the nuclear weapons adrift aimlessly in space.
Amid the chaos, Captain Holden of the Rocinante sent a declaration to the United Nations. Drawing on his understanding of the protomolecule’s properties, he pledged to pilot his ship to track Eros’ trajectory and provide precise guidance for the nuclear weapons. But this plan was met with fierce opposition from Miller. The detective, who had been pursuing the missing socialite Julie Mao, caught a crucial clue in Eros’ abnormal movements: he repeatedly heard echoes of the signal from Julie’s former vessel, the Scopuli. Combining this with the protomolecule’s ability to preserve consciousness and form a collective mind, Miller made a bold inference: Julie’s consciousness had merged with the protomolecule on Eros, becoming the "hive mind" controlling the asteroid.
"She's not an enemy — just a consciousness vessel transformed by the protomolecule," Miller urged Holden over the comms. "Destroying Eros is killing her, and we still don't know the protomolecule's true purpose." Ignoring the objections of others, Miller infiltrated the depths of Eros with a bomb, following the signal to the Blue Falcon Hotel, where Julie had first been infected with the protomolecule. What he saw exceeded all expectations: Julie’s body had long been transformed by the protomolecule, revived from death and connected to the asteroid’s core systems, her consciousness expanding endlessly within the hive network constructed by the alien substance.
Witnessing Julie trapped by the protomolecule, Miller made a desperate choice. He voluntarily exposed himself to a sample of the protomolecule, allowing the alien substance — capable of rewriting life itself — to invade his body. In the moment his consciousness merged with Julie’s collective mind, Miller used his willpower to guide the protomolecule and alter Eros’ trajectory. The death star once aimed at Earth turned course under the gaze of the entire solar system, ultimately slamming into Venus’ surface at incredible speed and sending a massive cloud of dust billowing into the sky. The crisis ended in an unexpected way: Eros was destroyed, but the protomolecule survived, continuing its evolution in Venus’ environment. Meanwhile, the consciousnesses of Miller and Julie remained forever trapped within the transformed planet.