- Our hero's prose gets a little purple here, as he wakes up and recognizes himself as masculine (read: individual) in the mirror.
- R-13 drops by for a chat and D-503 manages to keep it together during the meeting. R-13 complains that he's tired of reading poetry at executions, and says that he is writing something for the spaceship instead.
- He recites an ancient legend—the serpent in the Garden of Paradise—and how reversing it would restore us to bliss. "It was he, the devil, who lead people to transgression, to taste pernicious freedom—he the cunning serpent. And we came along, planted a boot on his head and… squash! Done with him! Paradise again! We returned to the simple-mindedness and innocence of Adam and Eve." (11.11)
- R-13 reveals that he and I-330 have…ahem…hooked up, and she's worked her magic on him too. This makes D-503 really angry and jealous again, though he more or less keeps it together.
- R-13 leaves but leaves behind a book of his latest poems. D-503 has to figure out which person he now wants to be.