The chapter opens with a description of a man who seems to be strong and powerful, but who is actually weak and vulnerable. He is a member of a section of the army that has been fighting in the civil war in the Middle East. He has joined the section after the war because he wants to stay hidden and not be seen by the other soldiers. He wants to kill each and every one of them, but he also wants to be sure that he does not kill them all at once. He knows that if he kills five people in one day, he will be able to kill five more at night. He also knows that he will eventually die, and that he can walk again. He wonders how many people will simply do one or two things to save their lives. He says that he knows that some people are even more miserable than he is, and he wonders if this is because they are trying to rank people on a scale of misery rather than on the basis of their individual suffering. He adds that when people see a person in misery, there is "no pity, no mistrust" . The chapter ends with the sound of gunfire.