Chapter 26 Summary

Paul rides the train back to Ilium. He sits next to a man who used to be a conductor on the train and complains about the mechanization of the railroads. The trains are completely automated, and no one can get on or off at a station without a ticket coded for that station. Occasionally, an old woman will lose her ticket and be trapped in the train until a Reeks and Wrecks crew discovers her.

A group of soldiers sits behind Paul, playing poker. He listens to their conversation. The sergeant tells a story from the war. His unit was surrounded and without power, so none of their mechanized weapons would work. A corporal stole a generator, and the unit hooked up the power, defeating the enemy. Paul thinks that the men had nothing to do in the war except power the machines...