Simak

This chapter opens twelve years before the events of the first two volumes of metabaron, in the year 2000 . In this chapter, we are introduced to a new character, the marquis, who has just arrived at the hyperflesh laboratory. The marquis welcomes his new friend, and the two of them prepare to fight each other in a series of combat-like games. The paraguild, however, is not pleased with the outcome of the game, and he orders his men to kill him. He also tells them that they have "swallowed the colossal sums" that he has "beneficially injected" into the hyper-flesh program. He tells them to get rid of him, and they do so. The scene ends with a soliloquy by the protagonist, phoenix, in which he declares that he wants to be a "virtuous gladiator" when he grows up.