Part II, Chapter 11 Summary

Robert finds he cannot use the microscope he got; it is of inferior quality and he doesn't understand how to use it. He carefully looks for a better instrument and spends three days reading about microscopes and preparing to use them. He organizes his workshop so that he can use the paraphernalia efficiently, without allowing a particle buildup from the twice-weekly dust storms. He finds that he enjoys being orderly, a trait he attributes to his father's blood.

In a few days, after 37 attempts, Robert's patience is rewarded. He "turn[s] on the spotlight, adjust[s] the draw tube and mirror, rack[s] down and adjust[s] the diaphragm and condenser," and views a cylindrical-shaped germ within a drop of blood of a vampire woman. He observes the germ propel itself through the blood with "tiny threads that projected...