Summary

5. Having completed his assignment, Mitchell is granted an interview with Sandy Sherman, who is so pleased with his work that he offers him a promotion – not to “Risk,” but to “Equations and Vectors.” As Mitchell listens, he wonders how Elsa faces her world and her life without fear. Then, when Mitchell expresses his interest in working in “Risk,” or as a liaison to “Future World,” Sherman tells him that his skills will be of more use in “E and V,” as it is known, and that the process of moving his office has already begun. Back at his office, Mitchell discovers that his few personal possessions have already been gathered – among them, the postcard from Elsa and photographs of his parents, his Hungarian father (Tibor) and his American mother (Rikki). Narration describes Mitchell’s memories of his anxious mother...