In this chapter, we learn that the men have been digging up the island's foundations, but that they haven't yet found the "foundation" of the spire, which is at the center of the island. They're going to dig until they find it, and then they'll go down the freight elevator to check it out, but there's no way to get down there. Oh, and they've been underground for months now, so they might finally be able to learn something new.