- The next morning, D-503 reads a report stating that the dissenters were "sick" and needed to be purged. He is, as usual, a little conflicted about the idea.
- He goes out, but notices that there's something off about the regular unity of movement among the other pedestrians.
- He notices a sheet of paper mounted on a wall that reads "MEPHI." A Guardian is trying to remove it, but he's not quite tall enough. D-503 helps him, but the city is full of similar signs.
- He heads off to work, where the Integral is getting ready for a trial flight. He responds to a sensible question about the schedule with a bit of absurdist nonsense. Our hero may finally be going nuts.