Besso and Einstein are fishing midday, though Einstein admits that he never catches anything. Besso feels guilty for coming along, aware that Einstein uses the pretext of fishing to think. Ever enamored with his friend, Besso asks Einstein to tell him first about his theory of time, once solved, so that he can always brag that he heard it from the famous Einstein first. Einstein laughs. Again, Besso is caring and understanding of Einstein’s needs, and provides friendship and respite to a troubled scientist stuck in the riddle he created for himself.

In this world, time is a human construct that ensnares people, causing misery. The dream follows pilgrims to a cathedral in Rome, where thousands wait for their turn to pay homage to the Great Clock. Every person must make this pilgrimage, and everyone despises it. Before the invention of the Great Clock, people measured time by nature’s movements. Once the Great Clock was made, all other clocks were destroyed: “They have been trapped by their own inventiveness and audacity. And they must pay with their lives” (118).