In this chapter, Tommo and Tosge continue their conversation. Tommo thanks his compatriots for their willingness to serve, and he praises the professor, who is known as "the professor" because of his connection to the people of the land. He says that the new government has turned the people against them, and that if they do not reason, they will fight. He tells Tommo not to worry about his wife, because they are both employees of the same company, and they need to keep the investigation quiet. He compares Africa to a tree with many branches, but those are not natural divisions, they are relics of past conflicts and campaigns by outsiders bent on colonization. He points out that many of the borders are made of long, straight lines, and this makes them "the stuff of nightmares" . The new government seems willing to tack another genocide onto the long, dark legacy of the madishi.