The hermit tells us that he's found his old friend, and that they're back together. He says that he escaped from prison because someone was using him as a guinea pig for their experiments. He's back as the head of the foresta machine, which is spreading a new strain of the Virus. The hermit says that the skullbot put him in charge of running the machine, and he'll be able to use the rest of the humans as guinea pigs for his experiments. The two of them continue to argue about whether or not the humans are the best of all the animals, and if they are, who's the better of the two. Finally, the hermit asks if there's anything wrong with him, and the old man says that something's up with him. The old man points out that the two men on the ship are tourists, not human beings. He doesn't know what's going on, but he does know that they belong to the government, and so he'd rather die than see them again. He also says that if they have ties to Elsie, he won't let them see him again