Bertha Cody and Maria Reiche indulge a bunch of white dorks about archaeology, history, language, and the nature of existence.

Mitch, Marshall, and Jocasta arrive in upstate New York to investigate the murky depths of Lake Champlain.

Alone at the watchtower in Huntsville, Archie talks with his old friend Hobo Stan and implements memetic controls at ALLOCHTHON.

URIEL arrives in Huntsville, AL • It’s a Sandman convention! • Archie and Marshall have a curious conversation with Dr. Hilary Postel • Kendrick Mead and Dr. Sidney Gottlieb explain the situation • Charley takes a sneak peek at some confidential data • URIEL is disbanded and dispatched to various parts of the USA

Viv returns to Livermore with gifts from her cross-country book promotion tour.