Summary

Chapters 41 – 51: Vollman and Bevins witness a man in the bardo named Captain William Prince. Prince is a soldier, and he speaks aloud about his life, addressing his remarks to his wife, who is not present. Prince admits that he was unfaithful in his marriage and deeply repents, and in that moment, he passes on to the next stage of the afterlife, disappearing in what the others call “the matterlightblooming phenomenon” (140). Vollman and Bevins then find Abraham Lincoln sitting in a patch of grass, looking quite sad and defeated. They merge with Lincoln and are flooded with vague memories of Lincoln’s past. They attempt to motivate him to return to Willie. Lincoln recalls precious memories of Willie, and he thinks of how terrible death and grief are. The narrative then presents several historical entries regarding the horrors and violence of the American Civil War...