Ry, Victor, Ron, and Claire are in the tunnels under Manchester. Ron introduces Claire to Victor as the love of his life, and he explains the Christian Companion idea. Claire does not like Ron talking about the sexual abilities of the Companions, and Ron announces a line of younger, male-shaped bots for clergy. They have I.J. Good’s head in a box, and Victor explains how he intends to reanimate Good into a small robot. Ron expresses discomfort at the idea of being transferred as data, and Victor says that making bodies for transferred consciousness is important. Ry feels the city move above them, and Victor says the tunnels cannot be fully explored because of their maze-like structure. However, the ventilation and power are like a life-support system. Victor removes Good’s desiccated head from the box.

A narrative shifts to Hampstead, London in 1928. Isadore Jacob Gudak is nine years old, and he goes out to play with a wind-up seaplane. His father fixes watches, and other boys make fun of Isadore for being Jewish. His mother tells him not to look back. Isadore is smart, and he goes to Cambridge, where he changes his name to Jack Good.