The chapter opens with a soliloquy by Alek, in which he tells the reader that he is not where he is supposed to be. He tells Alek that he was once a member of the military, but that the war ended and the military took over the power of the state. He asks Alek to join him in a celebration of the end of the war, but Alek refuses, saying that his job as a patrol officer is to protect the public. He says that the military is using the state as a tool to restore power to the state, and that the state should not be allowed to do so. Alek says that he heard a scream coming from the top of the tower, but he thinks it is from the military. He thinks that the noise is not gunfire, but from the equipment of the enemy. Alek tells Alek to hurry up to the control room, where he and the other officers will greet Roger, the officer in charge of the city. Alek warns him that the enemy is planning to destroy the empire. He reminds Alek that the empire took his land from him when he was a young man, and now he wants to rid himself of this injustice.