Book One: The Thing Was, Chapter 7-Chapter 8 Summary

American and Japanese money still has worth, but Canadian, French, Swiss, British, and Germany money is unstable. Still, the worth is imaginary. Meanwhile, Mary wonders if she has a brain tumor, the same malady that killed her husband Roy. Perhaps the tumor inspired him to buy the tickets to this trip. Roy, who loved his work, had left work at noon, "playing hookey", and walked all around Ilium. He bought the tickets then, the first tickets that were sold. At the time, the ship was not yet built, and the narrator was yet to work on it. The next spring, he would be beheaded during its construction.

The poster showed a flightless cormorant, which only exist on the Galapagos Island. The funny looking bird has evolved to loose its flight but...