This chapter opens with a conversation between a nobleman and his master. The nobleman tells his master that he is worried about his son, who has been declared an enemy of the realm. The master tells him that his son is a jack-of-all-trades, and that he has been trained to design weapons. He tells the nobleman that the emperor asked him a question, and he promised to destroy the traitors. He has a task for the master: to shut down Carthicus, an opinionated drone. He says that if the master shuts him down, he will purge his mind of all his thoughts. He then tells the master that they have located a rogue machine in the city, and the emperor wishes that it be eliminated quickly and quietly. In return, the master promises to get rid of the machine. He also offers to pay the master a certain sum of money if he can get an "outbound" cargo ship. The ship leaves in three hours.