The chapter opens with a description of the physics of the big bang, which occurred 13.8 billion years before the events of the novel. The two scientists discuss how they came to be scientists. The scientist explains that the universe was created by a massive energy event, the Big Bang. The Big Bang created a new kind of matter, which was able to interact with the rest of the universe. This new form of matter was called a "neo-cortex," or brain, and it was used by the human ancestors of the human race to create life.