Twenty-four hours before his next meeting with Corelli, David still hasn't written a word. After sifting through his pile of notes on the Bible, he sits down at his typewriter and begins "to squeeze my brain to see what would come out" (307).

After reading David's 10 pages, Corelli pronounces them "strange, but interesting" (308). He is particularly intrigued by David's decision to use a warrior messiah rather than a peaceful one. David replies that the decision is rooted in human biology. After the meeting, David says in narration, "I was sure that I'd told him exactly what he wanted to hear. […] I told myself that anything that bought me time in which to discover what I had got myself into was worth a try" (312).

David begins to investigate all the strange circumstances surrounding his situation, starting with Diego Marlasca and the tower house. At the Land Registry, he learns through a lawyer named Soponcio Valera that Marlasca's surviving family members sold the house after his death. Soponcio died in 1919, but his son Sebastian Valera is alive and practicing law.