The pilgrims arrive in Naiad to find it destroyed, probably due to the fighting between the Shrike and the SDF, and the poet is the next to tell his tale
The poet describes how he was born via artificial insemination since his father had been long dead before he was born on Earth.
The poet grew up on a large estate somewhere near North America and his mother sends him off on a spaceship that will cost 167 years in time debt, with the hope by the time he arrives, the accrued interest will be enough to pay off the actual debt they have.
While in transit, the poet has a stroke that leaves him only able to say a few swear words.
He spends 3 years on basically a prison planet called Heaven’s Gate as he discovers what it is to truly be a poet.
As his language slowly returns, he starts to write his Cantos
After he is beaten up by people looking for protection money, he is rescued by someone who happens to read his book that he’s carrying with him and 5 weeks later it is published.
His book, The Dying Earth is published and sells a billion copies, making him a millionaire, which he uses to wander between obsessions, of data, politics, and religion.
Eventually his wife divorces him as he piles on debt, and he asks his publisher to publish his next book. They say they will, but are convinced that it won’t sell.
After 10 months of crafting the perfect book, his publisher was right, despite her saying that it was beautiful, it doesn’t sell many copies.
He is then forced to start work on The Dying Earth II and all way to part IX to pay back some of his advance from Cantos
After 6 years, his muse has left him and he delivers a new book where the earth has died, followed by 299 blank pages. Afterwards he tells his editor that he is leaving and heads for Asquith.
Martin befriends Sad King Billy, who is a fan of Cantos and offers to bring him with to Hyperion
While on Hyperion, people start to disappear and eventually more are found murdered.
They later find a video of a couple being brutally murdered by the Shrike. And Martin describes what his research has found about them. He found that the cult believes the Shrike is immortal, beyond time, was constructed by man, and seeks to destroy the human race.
Martin believes the Shrike is his muse and writes Hyperion Cantos. Meanwhile, Martin and the residents move out of the City of Poets.
Sad King Billy believes that Hyperion Cantos is responsible for the Shrike, and after stunning Martin, burns the manuscript.
The Shrike impales Sad King Billy as he implores Martin to destroy Hyperion Cantos and the Shrike.
Martin throws a canister of kerosene on both Sad King Billy and the Shrike, but the Shrike had fled before it was killed.
Since then, Martin spent his time in the dying City of Poets, rewriting Cantos, hoping to get back to Hyperion to finish it.