第22話: 雪崩で道が開けたことで、子供たちが偶然にもパグを牧群へ戻した

22

Two weeks later, the snow lies thick on the ground, but in the cave - named "Star Hole" by Sharla - the children are surviving. Pague is living in a rock shelter nearby, but he is suffering in the cold, and leaves for him to eat are getting scarcer. Bell, Shingo and Chako return to the ruins to find a way in and shut it down, trying to interface the communications system with the card that came from Adam's cold-sleep capsule, but are unsuccessful. On the way back, however, they find a valley full of other creatures like Pague, which is kept warm and fertile by a hot spring. That night, they theorize that the ruins may be a terraforming machine, but are unsure of why it's making the weather too cold even for Adam, who came from the ruins. They also mention the herd of pagues, and the children decide to return Pague there. Adam, however, has become attached to Pague, and doesn't want to see him go. They find a cleft that Pague may be able to walk down with the help of a pulley system to control his descent, but it needs work to smooth it down before it can be usable. Howard, chasing a tobihane, accidentally starts an avalanche, which does the job for them. They successfully return Pague to his mother. The children - and Adam especially - are sad to see him go, but know that he will be happy. Howard accidentally discovers a large amount of sweet potatoes that were hidden by the snow. (Source: Wikipedia)