This chapter's epigraph comes from the opening lines of the novel, "What in the World Is Going On?" . It's a quote from the novel's first chapter, which was entitled "What's Up With the World?" , and it's one of the most famous lines in the novel. It says something like, "what's up with the world?" In other words, what's going on with the rest of the book? Well, this is the first of many epigraphs that will appear in the book. The first epigraph is from the second chapter of the same novel, which is titled "What the World's Been Up to." It says that the protagonist, Sebastian, has been studying martial arts with his master. He's learned some of his moves from a buddy who was a friend of Sebastian's during his time in the army, and he's sure that his master's martial arts is something that Sebastian learned from his grandfather's son, who is still alive.