Part 1: Act 3, Scene 1 Summary

Prior is having a nightmare. He wakes to find Prior 1, a dead ancestor from the thirteenth century, in his room. Prior 1 is played by the actor who plays Joe, thus forging a sense of unity between this part of the story and the other part, which involves Joe directly.

Prior 1 asks what the little things are that Prior has been swallowing. Prior explains they are pills. Prior 1 assumes he has 'pestilence,' a plague like the black death or small pox, which killed whole villages in his time. Prior 1 died of the plague. He asks Prior why he has no children. He cannot understand what Prior means when he says he is gay. Prior 1 had twelve children, which is of course what kept the family line going so strongly. He pities Prior for his childlessness and warns Prior to...