While Train 4297 leaves the Portsmouth yard for Sturbridge, Mrs. Sigsby studies dossiers on two targeted children who will soon arrive at the Institute via the Ruby Red team. The subjects are a ten-year-old boy from Sault Ste. Marie with a BDNF of 80 and a fourteen-year-old autistic girl from Chicago with a BDNF of 86, a high score that justifies her selection despite anticipated difficulties.

The narration outlines BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) as a measurable scale akin to basal metabolic rate, associated with robust neural growth and resilience. Individuals with high BDNF—under half a percent of the population—enjoy broad cognitive and physical advantages, though they often have irregular sleep mitigated by napping.

Dr. Hendricks’s expertise is noted in explaining BDNF’s decline through aging and conditions like CTE, particularly in long-term football players, and Alzheimer’s. Despite the science, Mrs. Sigsby focuses on outcomes; the Institute has operated secretly since 1955 with strong results.

The chapter connects high BDNF to latent psychic abilities—telekinesis (TK) and telepathy (TP)—which the Institute refines after abducting flagged children. Some children, like Avery Dixon, are aware of limited abilities, while many are not. Dr. Hendricks sometimes broadens abilities using experimental work on “pinks” (guinea pigs), but such research remains secret.

Rosalind interrupts with a message that Fred Clark, a janitor, urgently needs to see Mrs. Sigsby. Initially dismissive, Mrs. Sigsby consents to the meeting after hearing he seems extremely upset.

Fred Clark enters, and the encounter immediately turns ominous. The chapter closes by stating his visit is not good news but very bad, signaling an imminent internal problem at the Institute.