Thick Skins

In this chapter, we learn that the Nomaral clan has been living in the trans-mondo for the last thirty-five years, and that they've been disappearing. We learn that they were created through a genetic modification that made them "workhorses" , a term used to describe people who were born without the use of outer space suits. They're also known as "thick skins" because they're so skin-like. The narrator tells us that he's already figured out what this means. He tells the narrator that he works at the university of Castille on the island of Owego. He's got a package waiting for him, and the narrator can't find anyone to help him find the clan. He asks the narrator to tell him where the message came from, because he doesn't want to die.