Part Five, Chapters One through Four Summary

Chapter One begins with Derek cooing at the twins. He now lives openly with Beatrice-Joanna in a large flat with a view of the sea, and is a high official at the Ministry of Fertility, while Captain Loosely has been demoted to a junior rank. The couple talks about getting married and having more children, which the government encourages. Beatrice-Joanna seems less than thrilled with her life. When Derek goes to work, she turns on the news disc and sees news of developing hostilities between China and neighboring countries, which reminds her of reports of British Army troops training on the Annexe Islands. Once, she thinks she sees Tristram's face among the troops, but Derek says Tristram is dead. In her bedroom, she unlocks a box and extracts a letter she has written...