Part 8 — Chapter 13

Summary

• The main character is having a conversation with an investigator. He intends to keep the investigator off-balance by discussing topics that make him uncomfortable, such as Shakespeare, the speaker's deceased wife, and the investigator's accent.
• The speaker describes his typical day. He plays violin in a busy commuter area, with his dog lying by his feet, while people pass by and throw change towards him. He compares the speed of the commuters to the robots he previously observed on his farm.
• The speaker originally lived on a farm on the outskirts of the city, observing and mildly interfering with the automated operation of the robots working there. He sometimes played the violin to occupy himself while watching the airships in the distance.
• He paints a scene of playing his violin at an airship terminal, equating the upward movement of the airships to gravity in reverse. He mentions the far-off destinations of the commuters, such as Los Angeles, Nairobi, Edinburgh, and Beijing, conveying a sense of their fast-paced lives.
• He shares the fact that he continued farming for a year after his wife died, before deciding to give up the farm.
• The investigator seeks permission to set his voice recorder on, to which the speaker agrees, before formally identifying the speaker is a violinist who plays at an airship terminal.
• When not playing at the terminal, he spends his time walking his dog in the city. He feels like a stationary point amidst the city's fast-paced environment, expressing thoughts about time and motion.