Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which whisk the children into an intangible darkness where Meg feels “alone in a fragment of nothingness” (57). She emerges from this void on the planet Uriel, a sunlit place permeated by a feeling of pure joy. Calvin demands to know how they got there, and the ladies say they tessered. Before Meg can ask if tessering is related to the tesseract, Mrs. Which commands Mrs. Whatsit to show the children something. Mrs. Whatsit transforms into a radiant flying creature and transports the children to the top of a high mountain. There, they view a shadow in the distant universe that fills them “with a fear that was beyond shuddering, beyond crying or screaming, beyond the possibility of comfort” (72). Meg ends the chapter by asking Mrs. Which if her father is fighting the dark thing.

Mrs. Which confirms Mr. Murry fights against the darkness and that they must travel behind it to save him. To do so, they will use the tesser/tesseract, which allows them to travel very long distances in no time.