The morning began with Luke receiving an injection and being connected to heart and blood pressure monitors for a treadmill stress test. Carlos and Dave oversaw the procedure, increasing the speed until Luke nearly fell. He noted his heart rate hit 170 BPM before they slowed the machine and let him recover with orange juice.

A large, bald man in an expensive brown suit entered and assessed Luke silently before speaking. He criticized Luke’s "slow adjustment," blaming possible influence from Nicky Wilholm, and told Luke not to emulate Nicky’s insolence toward staff who were "only doing their jobs." Luke chose not to respond.

The bald man then advised Luke to minimize interactions with service staff and to stay out of the West Lounge and empty rooms, suggesting Luke should make his stay as pleasant as possible. Luke replied that nothing about the place was pleasant. The man retorted that there was a difference between nothing pleasant and something unpleasant, implying consequences, and then left.

Afterward, Carlos identified the visitor as Stackhouse, the Institute’s security officer, and warned Luke not to get on his bad side. Dave immediately proceeded to take another blood sample, asking Luke to be a good sport about it.