- Word gets out around D ward that Hobbs, the attendant who was rude to patients because he was probably dealing with issues himself, gassed himself to death in his apartment.
- The patients see Hobbs's suicide as a way of mocking the patients from a place where they couldn't smack him for it. They had all, at one time or another, tried to kill themselves, too.
- A new staff member comes on board to replace Hobbs. The patients call him "The Nose" and take pleasure in watching how scared he seems to be.
- McPherson comes into the ward for his shift, and the patients remark that if it weren't for the ward being under lock and key, he wouldn't be able to distinguish himself from the patients. He laughs at this and says, "We're not so different" (11.22).
- After that remark, Helene says, "Who is he kidding!" (11.23), but the patients all appreciate that McPherson is compassionate and understanding.
- The patients then turn their attention back to the new staff member and call him another "gas customer" (11.23), hinting that he's a lot like Hobbs and won't survive there.
- Sylvia, a patient who hasn't spoken in over a year, announces that the new staff member's religion won't allow him to commit suicide.
- Stunned by Sylvia speaking, Lee Miller freaks out and asks the nurse on duty to fetch Sylvia's doctor immediately. When the nurse refuses, Lee continues to have a meltdown about it.
- Deborah admires Lee for going to bat for Sylvia, especially since Sylvia will probably never thank Lee for doing it. Yr likes this, too. But then something changes in Yr, and one of its gods, Anterrabae, scolds Deborah for siding with Lee and admiring her selflessness.
- Deborah is sent to the Pit for sympathizing with Lee and wanting to help her. When Deborah finally emerges from the Pit, Anterrabae reminds her that she will be punished again the next time she admires someone in the world.
- The ward members continue to poke fun at the new staff member, whom they also nickname "Hobbs's Leviathan" (his real name is Ellis). They make fun of him because he's scared of his inner crazy in the same way Hobbs was.
- McPherson sees what the patients are doing and why. He asks Deborah and the other patients to stop making fun of Ellis.
- McPherson gets Deborah to step out of being self-absorbed and try to feel empathy for Ellis. He says, "Do you think the sick people are all in hospitals? Do you girls think you have a corner on suffering?" (11.71).
- In response to McPherson speaking to her honestly and sternly, and asking her to put herself in Ellis's shoes and feel for the people who aren't getting care for their mental health, Deborah actually feels joy. She feels respected and trusted to act like an adult.