“How very utilitarian.” His statement is neither criticism nor praise—it is spoken merely as plain fact. Anthony finds himself equally mystified and intrigued by the world the Bull describes. When he can set aside how unbelievable it sounds (which is difficult) he can, somewhat, appreciate the cold logic that seems built into such a system.

“Why iron?” Usually Anthony would not ask so many questions, but his chess-playing companion seems quite willing to answer.