20.Life

Howard successfully observes living creatures in Odin's atmosphere—giant blimp-like organisms with tentacles—and invites Bridget to view them through full-immersion VR technology he's created. When Bridget discovers Howard has rendered her as young in the virtual space, she feels manipulated despite his good intentions, though they reconcile with an embrace.

Howard pilots a drone through Odin's stratified atmosphere and discovers a flock of large, living creatures resembling a hybrid of zeppelins, jellyfish, and squid, each approximately fifty meters long with multiple tentacles. The creatures show signs of intelligent observation but pose no threat to the drone. Excited by this biological discovery, Howard contacts Bridget to share the findings. Rather than simply transmitting the data, Howard reveals he has constructed full-immersion VR equipment based on pre-FAITH video game technology and invites Bridget to experience his virtual environment in person. Bridget dons the VR helmet and enters Howard's beach-themed virtual space, where she reviews extensive video and catalogued data on the diverse Odin ecosystem, including plant-equivalents and various animal species. However, Bridget notices that Howard's avatar displays her as she appeared when they first met—young—rather than her current older self. She recognizes this as a manipulative, though well-intentioned, attempt to persuade her toward replication, violating his earlier promise not to pressure her on the subject. Though Howard argues he is simply expressing how he sees her, Bridget removes the VR equipment, disappointed by the tactic. She then manifests herself physically in her home via Manny and embraces Howard, forgiving him despite her disapproval.