one hundred twenty-two days after
- The Old Man wants to have class outside. (Miles is irked because he got kicked out of class for looking outside.)
- He hands out the final paper assignment for the semester. It's a variation of Alaska's question: "How will you—you personally—ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering? Now that you've wrestled with three major religious traditions, apply your newly enlightened mind to Alaska's question" (122after.2).
- The Old Man explains the question. He asserts that each of the founder figures of Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism had a message of hope, and then he asks what each student's cause for hope is.
- Later, back in their room, the Colonel says he prefers the labyrinth of suffering to getting out of it straight and fast.