This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the young designer, Akira, in which he tells the young man that he is the only person he knows who can make his designs into something that is "ideal." He tells him that he has always thought of himself as a "patterner" who puts smiles on the faces of those who work on his designs. He tells Akira that he does not want to be a part of the "new generation" of patternmakers, who will "put a smile on their making it too." He says that he will continue to work with Akira until he is no longer able to do so.