The chapter opens with a description of the fight between the Phaedrus and the Volscians. The chapter's title is a nod to the fact that the chapter is set in a "command tower" , a structure that serves as a buffer between the two opposing forces. The Volsalians, however, are not in a command tower, but rather in the midst of a battle. They are fighting against a single enemy, the parasite, and they have no choice but to fight against it.