Chapters 25-27 Summary

In Chapter 25, Thomas Riemann's copy is in his virtual suburban mansion. He is continuously haunted by the memory of his killing of Anna. To distract himself and give himself an illusion of control he mutilates his body, but his flesh heals. He has read all the books in his library hundreds of times and torn them to shreds, but each time he does they reappear. He believes he is in hell.

In Chapter 26 Maria is slowly adapting to life as a copy in Permutation City. She takes an apartment, but does not try to recreate anything from her flesh-and-blood past, not wanting to admit to any connection between her real self and her copy. She repeatedly tells herself that she hopes her real self had been able to convince Francesa to have herself scanned. She spends her time going through the...