(6x18) The Children of Antiquity: Part 3, Episode 3
Just after the egg bearing Lievus is laid, a new wormhole in the constantly-expanding galactic network finally reaches its destination, and when the subsequent exploratory team goes through, they find a world in the new system that is not only already habitable, but inhabited by intelligent, though primitive, alien life forms: it is prehistoric Earth, inhabited by ancient humans. Finding they have no nanites of their own and yet are somehow sapient, contrary to his prevailing theory that sapience is a product of the Minded-Worlds' nanites, Keius is absolutely fascinated by this discovery, and intensely curious to observe the progress of their evolution.
Keius quickly becomes obsessed with studying them, so enthralled with these newfound Humans that he decides to leave Lievus to Tatia to raise as her own, completely counter to Ehrban tradition. Normally only the "mother", in this case Keius, rears the child, because of the indeterminacy of fatherhood in Ehrban. He sees this as a gift to her, but she has much more mixed feelings: surprise and some honor at the unusual gesture of being entrusted with someone else's child, of whom she is the sole father and so almost as much a rightful parent as the mother himself; but also derision at Keius' lack of responsibility. She ultimately decides to raise Lievus alone, and let Keius, or Meij as she decides he really is, go be the larger-than-life figure that he seems to have become since the Keius who once was died back on Asira.
Turning his full attention to studying humanity, Keius modifies a human themselves with reprogrammed nanites, granting her effective immortality, through whom Keius will study humanity "from within", through his psychic link into her mind.
Fearing to expose humanity to the rest of the galaxy, or to have Earth or other important parts of Sol disrupted for raw building materials, Keius sets off after the wormhole-building automatons already hard at work building outgoing wormholes from that star system to others. Normally the Ehrban dared not interfere with them, even once they had the ability to catch up to them, for fear of reigniting the ancient war with the automatons. But Keius is not afraid, although his actions inspired much fear in others; fear that turns to awe as his magical might is able to so effortlessly overpower the automatons the unwavering fear of which has echoed through Ehrban culture for thousands of years.