The Intervention of Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos

The cosmic struggle between the agents of Purpose and Random, and how Ralph and Lois become pawns in their game.

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First Sight of the Bald Doctors

The Night Visitors A Glimpse Through Binoculars Ralph wakes from a nightmare about Carolyn and sees two short, bald men in white smocks coming out of May Locher's house. One carries a pair of scissors. He grabs his binoculars and watches them walk down Harris Avenue, leaving glowing green-gold footprints. They have no balloon-strings – a sign that they are not Short-Timers. The Mysterious Death Ralph calls 911 anonymously, but when the police arrive, May Locher is dead of a heart attack. The doors are locked from the inside. Ralph later learns that the bald doctors are agents of Death, cutting the life-cords of those whose time has come. May Locher's death was purposeful, not random. A Rogue Agent Ralph soon encounters a third bald doctor, Atropos, who is dirty, carries a rusty scalpel, and takes souvenirs – Bill McGovern's Panama hat, Rosalie's bandanna, Lois's earrings. Unlike Clotho and Lachesis, Atropos serves the Random, cutting cords for his own amusement. He is the joker in the deck.

The Bald Doctors Explain

The Purpose Revealed A Conversation on the Roof After the High Ridge attack, Ralph and Lois are taken to the roof of Derry Home Hospital by Clotho and Lachesis. There, the bald doctors explain the nature of reality: there are four constants – Life, Death, the Purpose, and the Random. Most deaths serve the Purpose, but Atropos serves the Random, and he has cut Ed Deepneau's life-cord, making Ed an undesignated agent of chaos. The Master-Cord Clotho and Lachesis reveal that Ed's cord was a master-cord, and its severing has set in motion a chain of events that could lead to the death of thousands at the Civic Center. They charge Ralph and Lois with stopping Ed, but warn them not to approach Atropos or Ed directly, as they are protected by powerful forces – including an entity Ed calls the Crimson King. The Promise Ralph negotiates a deal: he will stop Ed if Clotho and Lachesis promise that Atropos will not harm Natalie Deepneau in retaliation. The bald doctors agree, and as a sign of the pact, they cut Ralph's arm with Clotho's scissors, leaving a scar that will glow when the time of the promise comes. The scar is both a weapon and a bond.

Atropos's Defeat and Escape

The Showdown Under the Oak Entering the Den Ralph and Lois follow Atropos's trail to an old lightning-struck oak tree near the airport. Beneath it, they find a vast underground storeroom filled with souvenirs from the Random dead – hats, toys, jewelry, all still faintly singing with the life-force of their owners. At the center is a deathbag containing Ed Deepneau's wedding ring, the master-token that binds the planned massacre. Cutting the Deathbag Ralph uses his psychic power to create scissors from his aura and cuts open the deathbag. He retrieves the ring, but Atropos ambushes them, holding a scalpel to Lois's balloon-string. Ralph subdues Atropos by cutting him with his own scalpel, forcing him to promise to stay away from them and Ed until the rally is over. The Crimson King Appears As Ralph tries to escape, he is confronted by the Crimson King, who takes the form of his mother and then a giant catfish. Ralph stabs the creature with Lois's earring, and a green light from the scar on his arm banishes the entity. He escapes with the ring, but the encounter leaves him shaken and aware that the forces opposing him are vast.

Early morning, Monday October 4, 1993

Tuesday night, October 5, 1993, on the hospital roof

Late afternoon, October 6, 1993, in Atropos's den