The chapter opens with a description of OrganInc Farms, where Jimmy’s father works as a top‑level genographer. He pioneered proteome mapping, helped create the Methuselah Mouse, and now leads the pigoon project (officially “sus multiorganifer”), aiming to grow human‑compatible organs in a transgenic knockout pig that can regenerate multiple kidneys and resist microbes. Snowman (Jimmy) reflects on being told these details when he was “old enough,” questioning what that means.

A disembodied voice in his head urges him toward a path, which he dismisses as a cheap enlightenment handbook. The narrative then explains that pigoon organs can be customized from donor cells, frozen for later use, and are marketed as a cheaper alternative to cloning or illegal “baby orchards.” Promotional brochures claim no pigoon ends up as meat.

Environmental collapse has made meat scarce, yet staff at OrganInc’s café—André’s Bistro, nicknamed Grunts—regularly joke about “pigoon pie.” Jimmy eats lunch there with his father and a young lab technician named Ramona. Ramona, described with soft dark hair, mauve‑powdered eyelids, and a gentle smile, comforts Jimmy when the jokes upset him, reminding him not to mind the teasing. She inquires about Jimmy’s mother, Sharon, whose health is described as “not so hot,” and the father replies with cynical humor. Ramona notes Sharon’s declining condition and suggests she may need medical attention, while also commenting on the myriad new pills available.

Jimmy’s father boasts about his work, and Jimmy asks to visit the pigoon pens. Jimmy describes donning an oversized biosuit, wearing a mask, and washing his hands before entering the secure facility. He observes small pigoonlets—twelve per sow—guzzling milk and chanting “Pigoon, balloon” to soothe them. He remarks on their eerie white‑lashed eyes and his fear that they might eat him, though his father warns him not to fall in.

The chapter shifts to describe Jimmy’s upbringing: early years in a modest Cape Cod‑style house, later moving to a large Georgian centre‑plan residence within the OrganInc Compound, complete with an indoor pool, gym, and furniture labeled “reproduction.” The father explains that each reproduced item once had an original, hinting at the artificial nature of their world. The compound’s residents live together to avoid commuting, while the outside “pleeblands” (cities) remain dangerous, with rampant crime, forged identities, and lax security despite fingerprint cards.

Jimmy’s father mentions the CorpSeCorps men—security personnel constantly on alert—and compares the compound’s fortified walls to medieval castles. When Jimmy asks if they are “kings and dukes,” his father laughs affirmatively, reinforcing the sense of elite protection surrounding their lives.