Chapter 17 Summary

Case enters cyberspace and flips the flipflop to follow Molly. He goes through a rather long period of introspection, as Molly is led through the Villa Straylight by Wintermute. He thinks about the mission, about Armitage and about his past. When Case goes back to cyberspace, he discovers the virus is almost finished working. Then, Wintermute projects a likeness of Finn into cyberspace, which startles Case. Case and Wintermute discuss Armitage. Wintermute muses about its own motivation and reasons for doing things and promises Case that it knows how to remove the toxin sacs and how to get Molly out of the Villa Straylight. It also promises the Dixie Flatline construct that when the mission is complete, the construct will be erased.

Case flips the switch and follows Molly. She has had to climb a long ladder and her leg, not fully healed...