This chapter opens in the new International Congress Hall, which is being built for the first time in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The speaker tells the audience that the new congress hall is a symbol of the new era in which the empire has entered. He compares the new hall to the old one, where the cranes were still being built and the gates were still guarded against the east. He says that the empire is entering a new era, with more demands on its soldiers, and that the people should not pretend to be concerned. He adds that the military is not under fire in the city, and he would have thought that section one would have censored the speech. He also says that he will make the empire a military force, which he thinks probably isn't the best idea. He tells the speaker that he'll make sure that everyone has access to food and shelter. He's not sure why he didn't say that, but he thinks that the lieutenant would have had to face humiliation all by himself. He thinks that he used the speech to make sure everyone had access to bread and soup. He doesn't know what she is talking about. The corporal comes by and says that things are tense in town, and the lieutenant thinks that there might be an internal war going on. He asks the speaker to calm down, but the speaker says that it's too early to tell if there will be war or not. He goes on to say that the city is