The chapter opens in the middle of the night, in the midst of a raging thunderstorm. The storm is raging, and the sky is full of smoke. The doctor tells the audience that the storm is a sign that something is wrong with the patient. He explains that the patient's spine is the worst part of the body to be affected by the storm, because it is the weakest link in the body's chain of command. He tells the patient that he will cure the patient of the disease by giving him medicine that will make him "upright" for the rest of his life.