Jake is interviewed at the Dallas Police Department where he tells a plausible story of how he learned of Lee Harvey's intentions to kill the President. Now a national hero, he then speaks to President Kennedy. Later, Jake is taken to the Adolphus Hotel where an FBI agent gives him the means to escape from public view. Jake returns to Maine.

Jake takes a day to rest, then arranges for a taxi to return him to Lisbon Falls. On the ride, he learns there has been a major earthquake in Los Angeles. When he arrives at the Kennebec Fruit Company, there is a new Yellow Card Man, only his card is green. The man calls to Jake, referring to him as “JIMLA” (1019).

The new Yellow Card Man, Zack Lang, tells Jake that he is a guardian of the rabbit-hole, which he calls a “bubble.” The other Yellow Card Man, Kyle, lost his sanity because of the strain of knowing about all the different strings of time. He says it will happen to them all. Jake realizes that the card in his hat indicates his level of sanity: Green is sane, yellow is growing insanity, and orange is total insanity.