The chapter opens with a discussion of the "long winter rutile" , which is a term used to describe a period of extreme cold that lasts for a long period of time. The main concern with this term is that if we use a different mineral for the head of the gem, that will result in a reduction in the amount of phospholipid in the gem. If we use the same mineral as for the body, then the ratio will be even lower. The problem with this is that, even if they were to use a new mineral, they would still have to wait until they could get a crop of new phospholipid down to half the amount in the body. If they use a mineral that is already familiar to the inclusions, then they will not know how to use this new material to create the new gem. The head comes with a lot of risks, and a high chance of failure, so the experiment will likely produce some emotional problems. The chapter ends with a soliloquy by the ghost, in which he laments the fact that he is not involved in the experiment.