The chapter opens with a flashback to the beginning of the story, when humans first returned to Earth from another planet. They faced complete destruction from the forces of nature, so they fled to another planet, but the new home was like hell, and they waited in the darkness for generations to return. They were supposed to return to Earth before this happened, but now they're trying to destroy it by their own hand. The flashback is interrupted by the sound of a trumpet, and the narrator tells us that this is the trumpet of a new era in human history. It's the era of the "renaissance" . The narrator says that the new era will be one in which "arrogant humans" will destroy Earth by themselves. He adds that this will be the first time in history that humans will be able to do this. He also says that this era will mark the end of humanity as we know it.