Luke Ellis was brought by Hadad to Mrs. Sigsby’s office for an initial private meeting. He assessed her as cold and merciless despite a polished exterior, deciding it was safer to accept that impression. Mrs. Sigsby noted that some children had attacked her in these sessions and warned she would "teach" them when that happened, then asked if Luke needed such teaching.

Mrs. Sigsby confirmed new arrivals Avery Dixon and Helen Simms and suggested Luke could earn tokens by helping Avery acclimate. She said staff would be watching. She asserted that other kids had given Luke mixed information and insisted her account would be accurate.

She laid out the Institute’s framework: children spend 10 days to a month in Front Half, then move to Back Half. She called the children "conscripts" in an undeclared war that was a "mind race," not an arms race, and emphasized strict obedience with real punishment for disobedience. Luke, recalling prior coercion, acknowledged the consequences.

Mrs. Sigsby detailed the process: injections, tests, monitoring, eventual Back Half "services" lasting up to six months but typically six weeks. She claimed that after Back Half, memories would be wiped and the children would be returned home, asserting that Luke’s parents were alive and that the Institute were not murderers. When Luke tried to negotiate a call to his parents in exchange for compliance, she refused, stressing there would be no negotiation and no outside contact.

Luke questioned the feasibility of erasing the memories of everyone who knew him; Mrs. Sigsby suggested their capabilities might surprise him and ended the meeting. She forced a handshake by threat, warning that any future visit to her office would be less pleasant. Luke complied, noting her strength and resolve.

Hadad escorted Luke out. On the way back to the residence building, Luke suffered a wave of dizziness that Hadad attributed to a delayed reaction from an injection. As Luke reflected on Mrs. Sigsby’s "trust me" assurance and the improbability of the Institute’s secrecy, he concluded such assurances were likely lies. Hadad joked that Luke was now a "son of the Institute" as they continued back.