- Gossip of the old wanderer continues to spread through the abbey, with each retelling adding intricate layers of fabrication to the story.
- Arkos has the cave resealed to try and keep the chattiness to a minimum.
- The novel then gives us a history of the nuclear holocaust and the Age of Simplification to follow. Ah, glad Mr. Miller decided to get us up to speed eventually.
- And wouldn't you know it, a detailed analysis of the Simplification just happened to have made its way into our "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" Section. Coincidence? Nope. Pretty deliberate actually.
- Anywho, with the shelter closed, Arkos tries to weed out the other source of gossip, Francis's story.
- Francis, unfortunately, doesn't know how to look out for his own interests. He continues to tell everyone only that he can't say one way or another—maybe wanderer dude was The Famous Leibowitz, maybe he was just The Dude. Who knows.
- Francis isn't permitted to profess his vows again. But there are plenty of hickory ruler spankings to make up for that absence in our hearts.