The narrator of this story sees a legendary figure propped up at a watering hole – the only survivor of some terrifying incident. This story isn’t only about space exploration and aliens though — Hudak is writing about humankind’s relationship with nature from the beginning:

You have to understand, there was nothing on that planet when we arrived. Nothing. Anything we wanted, we had to build for ourselves. None of it came easy, and the stress could just about kill you if you let it. We all did what we needed to find respite. For Etan, that was Silver.

That’s what he called her—Silver—because she didn’t have a name, and because it suited her. Like the rest of the Champignon, she sprouted from the ground like a mushroom, delicate and smooth.