"Kill me cleanly" is the title of this chapter's first soliloquy. It's a reference to a famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which Hamlet says, "I'm going to kill you." This is the first time the narrator has spoken in such a way, and it's important to note that he's not referring to himself. He's referring to the captain of the Navy's Nimrod-class submarine, which is on its way to destroy a U.S. arsenal of weapons. The narrator tells us that the Navy is preparing to launch a intercontinental ballistic missile. He says that the United States hasn't been attacked by anyone, and that the president has ordered the destruction of the U. S. arsenal. He also says that everyone in the Navy should remember that they're working for the "good of humanity." The narrator swears that he won't bring this up again.