The narrator returns to the historical archive in Shanghai, where he has spent the last twenty years of his life. He tells his old friend, sol, that the elder council has ordered him to leave immediately. The elder council blames the narrator for destroying the historical archives. The narrator asks sol to help him get back to Zanzibar, the capital of the African nation. He wants to know why the island is separated from the rest of the world. He also wants to understand why the white people believe that white is good and evil. He asks sol if he can unlock the historical structure.