The energy released by the destruction of Cruella de Villeneuve's ships was enormous, and it hit the surface of Tern in a wave across the whole spectrum, a flash of light that ran instantly from the lowest infrared to the highest ultraviolet and beyond. But the cells of Tern's Plantiarch network, tuned by the masterful algorithm that the Elders and Cornucopia had evolved, were ready, and they absorbed and stored the energy into their systems without turning a leaf. Newly fed by this abundance, the strength of the network doubled and tripled; new branches emerged, new roots and capillaries spread out under the soil, new leaves uncoiled to the sun. The Ternian network rapidly doubled in capacity even as the last motes of pixie dust settled out from the high atmosphere and drifted slowly to the surface of the Ternian sea.

Deep under the surface in the Root Directory the agent known as Cornucopia sighed and smiled. "Praise to Tern," he said under his breath, "The only planet in the cosmos where analog really works!."