Summary

In Chapter 5, Krug has a dream about his childhood relationship with Paduk. These dreams merge with his memories, creating an atmosphere similar to what really happened between them.

In the dream, Krug enters "a tunnel of sorts" (57). Then he encounters scenes from the schoolyard. Paduk was disliked by everyone, but he was also teased and bullied. Tensions between Krug and Paduk's fathers amplified the boys' rivalry. Yet, in his memory, Krug cannot "recall any single definite example" of Paduk's meanness (60). He primarily recalls sitting on Paduk as a sort of punishment.

Eventually, Paduk's father, who "was a minor inventor," developed a device that could "reproduce personality" (61). Paduk senior gave his son one of the first samples of the device, called a padograph (61). Paduk senior's ideas about morality and socioeconomic dynamics greatly influenced Paduk. In their last term at school, Paduk suddenly rose to...