In this chapter, we learn that the Paradokey has managed to get rid of the mole with a "bitch"-like injection. The mole is still alive, but he's no longer able to communicate with the other simaks. The two of them are going to try to "restitute" themselves, and the mole says that he can't. He's afraid that he'll never be able to get back to his old job, and that the fusion won't work, either. He says that the mole has been deprived of his notes, which the paradokey couldn't wake up. They're still "stable," but lethargic and "incapable of thought" . He tells the mole that they can make the Empire tremble. He also says that they have a little "score to settle" , since they're leaving the planet together. He adds that no one has been on his side before, and he knows that they bore him stiff. He wants to make sure that they leave the planet for good.