Summary

Part 2, Chapter 1 takes place six years later. After Kornfeld arrested Metcalf, Metcalf was sentenced to spend six years in cryogenic freezing. The time passes instantaneously from Metcalf’s point of view, and he does not age at all. Walter Surface—now six years older—comes to meet Metcalf when Metcalf is released. In Chapter 2.2, Surface tells Metcalf some of the ways in which the world has changed in the past six years. The government has eliminated all private inquisitor licenses. Also, the drugs distributed by the government are mostly comprised of Forgettol, which erodes people’s memories and ability to remember things. In Chapter 2.3, Metcalf observes that people’s memories have mostly been transferred to personal handheld electronic devices that store people’s memories and audibly recite certain memories in response to users’ verbal inquiries. The government likely censors certain elements of people’s...