The Underground Man tells his story. He wakes up in the middle of the night. He's hungry and thirsty, but he doesn't know where he's been or what's going on. He can't remember his name, his clank days, or the faces of the other people in his life before he came to the Underground Man's apartment. He tries to guess who they are, but they don't recognize him. They're not mad at him, he says, because it's just the tip of his tongue. He wants to go out and get some theater tickets, and they'll have them for him. He tells them that they're watching a play called "The Life of Ludwig" , and that no one escapes from it.