Chapter 9 The Darkness of Mere Being Summary

Chapter 9 begins with a brief recounting of the final events portrayed in Chapter 8 - Jon appears in Dan's apartment and takes Laurie on a teleportation voyage to Mars. Laurie takes along a few small belongings, including a bottle of her mother's perfume. On Mars, Jon walks with Laurie toward the giant clockwork mechanism he constructed in Chapter 4. Jon tells Laurie that, for him, time is largely meaningless. He does not experience space and time like she does. Laurie seems unable to fully comprehend what Jon is trying to explain.

Laurie reminisces about her early childhood. She remembers Sally and Laurence having an angry fight about Sally's affair with the Comedian. Although Sally does not name the Comedian, she does yell that at least he knew how to be gentle with a woman. Laurie...