In this chapter, the metabaron delivers a long speech in which he laments the loss of his beloved Doa Vicenta, who was his mother. He also laments that the fleet they paid so much for has failed, and that the enemy is stronger than ever. He tells the narrator that one of his ant-robots has told him that the secret of the spider's existence has been revealed. The narrator is outraged at the idea of a "deceitful woman" being revealed to the world, and he condemns the entire fleet for its incompetence. He then tells the reader that he will discuss the details of the payment arrangements with the emperor after he has rid the universe of the enemy.