The chapter opens with a soliloquy by David, in which he laments the fact that he is not where he wants to be. He says that sex is still "fun," but the "raw energy" of it has "abateed with entrophily" and that being smart is "overly cherished commodity knowledge" and "a curse" . He tells us that he knows he is in trouble, and that his wife, mirra, has been "tactically shift[ing] to passive aggressive" and has called him a "pussy." He also says that his girlfriend, lisa, is considering a "server transfer" so that she can "get away from you." He tells her that he has been gone three weeks and that everything will be fine now that he's gone. He adds that he doesn't even give a "damn" about his career or what he wants. He explains that he engineered a power plant that knocked out electricity to millions of people and that they called it a "reproactive military strategy" to ensure peace. He then tells us how they could have killed Desmond before he turned into a threat to the national security of the U.S.