text:
Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 2

=Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Chapters 1-5=

Section 211: Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * While waiting for Dr. Ferris to arrive, Dr. Stadler paces in his office and thinks about the outrageous weather and the Ferris' outrageous book. Stadler is worried about how the book will be received. Although it was not written by him, it was published by the State Science Institute, and whatever notoriety it acquires will inevitably be attributed to him, since his name helps affirm the SSI. He is worried about the philosophy in the book which begins "Thought is a primitive suspicion. Reason is an irrational idea." After some time Dr. Stadler screams to himself that "I had nothing to do with it!"
 * Dr. Ferris arrives one hour late because his car broke down and he "had a hell of a time trying to find someone to fix it." They briefly talk of the trouble with reclaiming the Wyatt oil fields - the scientists cannot discover the special method Wyatt used. Dr. Ferris had yet to reclaim one drop but has received many large grants from the government. Moreover, he gauges the project's success based on approval from certain incumbents, rather than actual results. Dr. Stadler attempts to ask for actual results, but Ferris tells him he's not interested in practical technological endeavors. Stadler then complains of the lack of heating due to the oil shortage. Dr. Stadler then asks about Project Xylophone or Project X. Ferris informs him that it is a top secret project that has to do with sound. Stadler then presses Ferris on the book. Ferris is flustered and asks "did you find the text confusing?" Stadler warns of the dangerous message of the book and Ferris shrugs it off. Ferris claims the audience is one that does not want to think and thus will not be troubled by the content. He believes the audience will embrace the books for giving them justification for not thinking.
 * Dr. Stadler lets Ferris leave without saying he will denounce the book in public. He fears this threat would not faze Ferris. He begins to feel that his word no longer had any power.
 * His secretary informs him that Dagny is on the line. She asks him to meet with her in New York, and although he does not have an engagement there, he lies so that he can meet her today. He leaves as soon as he can, desperate for another mind of like competence.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dr. Stadler's office
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dr. Robert Stadler
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Ellis Wyatt (mentioned)
 * Dagny
 * The following quotations appear in this section:
 * Excerpts from Why Do You Think You Think by Dr. Floyd Ferris
 * " "Thought is a primitive superstition. Reason is an irrational idea." (316)
 * "The more we know, the more we learn that we know nothing" (316)
 * "Do not expect consistancy. Everything is a contradiction of everything else. Nothing exists but contradictions." (317)
 * "You cannot be sure of anything" (317)
 * "You see, Dr. Stadler, people don't want to think. And the deeper they get into trouble, the less they want to think. But by some sort of instinct, they feel that they ought to and it makes them feel guilty. So they'll bless and follow anyone who gives them a justification for not thinking. Anyone who makes a virtue—a highly intellectual virtue—out of what they know to be their sin, their weakness and their guilt." (264)
 * The following pieces of Literature in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Why Do You Think You Think by Dr. Floyd Ferris

Section 212: Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 2

 * Plot summary
 * While at work, Dagny reminisces the recent events -- the dying companies, and Jim's triumph. Hammonds and Stockton have disappeared, and Dagny has no longer become astonished at this steady disappearance of the producers. Through his friends in Washington, Jim has managed to make all the restrictive legislatures favor Taggart Transcontinental, in some way, usually through forced elimination of competition. Jim has thus grafted large sums of money, "Listed as profit, on the glossy pages of his report to the stockholders, was the money he had not earned--the subsidies for empty trains; and the money he did not own--the sum that should have gone to pay the interest and the retirement of Taggart bonds, the debt which, by the will of Wesley Mouch, he had been permitted not to pay. (327)" He proclaims to Dagny, "'You have always considered money-making as such an important virtue... well, it seems to me that I'm better at it than you are (327)."
 * In her conversation with Stadler, Dagny almost finds herself sympathizing with Stadler when he offers a potential scientist to take on the quest of reconstructing the motor. This type, as Stadler admits himself, is the type who would refuse to work for the State Science Institute. The small talk of incompetent railway workers broaches up the rhetorical question, "Who is John Galt?" Stadler mentions that he knew of a John Galt once, "He had such a mind that, had he lived, the whole world would have been talking of him by now (334)." Ominously, Stadler declares that this John Galt must be dead, he has to -- even though he appears to be lonely for a like mind.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Taggart Tunnel
 * Dagny's office
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Stadler
 * James Taggart
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt (mentioned)
 * incompetent railway workers
 * Hammond
 * Stockton's sister

Section 213: Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 3

 * Plot summary
 * Rearden receives a mysterious order from the State Science Institute demanding that he sell 10,000 tons of Rearden Metal for a certain Project X. Recent legislation has required that he limit sales to any one customer only 500 tons -- which is clearly an arbitrary sum set by some clueless incumbent, since it's barely enough to lay 3 miles of Taggart rail. Rearden refuses to sell to the State Science Institute.
 * The Wet Nurse, a representative from Washington hired to monitor Rearden's progress, advises Rearden to reconsider, because the source is the government, and that there will be trouble if he rejects it.
 * When a representative of the State Science Institute comes to discuss the issue with Rearden, Rearden states that because it's his creation, he has a moral right to know what use is made of his metal -- regardless of the fact that just a short while ago, the State Science Institute had issued libel against Rearden Metal. The spokesman invokes a bunch of words, stating that it's a great project of great social value, but does not actually state what Project X is. Rearden then gives him the ultimatum -- if you want the metal, just go out and take it like any looter. He can't shoot him, but he will not help make this extortion look moral and legal. The spokesman leaves, ominously stating that he will regret his action. Rearden, however, feels elated. His reaction is a step closer to understanding of his role in the Sanction of the Victim.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Rearden's office
 * Rearden Metal
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Rearden
 * Rearden's Superintendent
 * Miss Ives
 * The Wet Nurse

Section 214: Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 4

 * Plot summary
 * Rearden buys Dagny a bunch of expensive luxury items, some of which he can't afford, in hopes of turning her into his own luxury item. Dagny claims the ownership is righteous because he has bought her long ago through his ability and achievement. (This ritual of courtship through merit is typical in Ayn Rand's romances.) Hank admits that he'd never had a reason for spending the money he'd earned -- he'd always envisioned that he'd buy treasures for a woman, but has not found her until now.
 * Dagny tells Rearden of Quentin Daniels and the possibility of finding a mind to revive the motor. She mentions Stadler, and Rearden tells her that Stadler wanted from Dagny a recognition that he's still great, "to juggle reality for him, so that his greatness would remain. (350)"
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dagny's apartment
 * d'Anconia Copper (mentioned)
 * Elegant and hidden Inn situated in a knoll in the woods
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Rearden
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Dr. Stadler (mentioned)

Section 221: Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Within view of the giant citywide calendar across the street, Dagny reminisces recent events in her office in New York. The giant calendar is a looming presence that haunts her with the thought that her days are limited, and that she's working towards an end it knows, but she does not know.
 * She remembers her meeting with Quintin Daniels, the scientist Stadler suggested to her who might remake the motor. Daniels had refused to work at the State Science Institute on the basis that "Governmental scientific inquiry" is a contradiction in terms. Instead, Daniels works as a night watchman at the Utah Institute of Technology. The low pay is sufficient to pay for his meals, and he has full access to the labs; cut off from the world, he is doing research for his own personal enjoyment. He had refused Dagny's high monthy pay, stating that he would gamble with his own mind and not with her money, uncertain about whether he will succeed in reconstructing the motor. However, when and if he succeeds, he will demand a high percentage of the profits. Daniels' method of payment is both ideally Objective and a tribute to the meaning and worth of money, which is clarified later in this chapter by Francisco's speech at Taggart's wedding.
 * As Dagny leaves the building, the cigarette-collecting old man at the cigar stand stops her, telling her that he'd looked everywhere to try to find the manufacturer of the cigarette with the sign of the dollar she had given him -- though the cigarette is definitely machine made, to the best of his knowledge, "that cigarette was not made anywhere on earth."

 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Giant citywide calendar "Calendar in the sky beyond the windows of her office (352)"
 * Dagny's office
 * Corner cigar stand
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Quentin Daniels
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Dr. Stadler (mentioned)
 * Ted Neilsen
 * Roger Marsh (mentioned)
 * Old man at the cigar stand

Section 222: Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Rearden sits in his room in the Wayne-Falkland Hotel reminiscing his secret meeting with Dannager. He had arranged to give Dannagar enough Rearden Metal to reinforce the roofing of Dannagar's mines from caving in. Dannager is one of the only competent men remaining, and Rearden feels this underhand action is a blow against the looters. Yet, he feels contempt for himself that he is reduced to having to pull a secret meeting for an honest trade.
 * After the waiter has cleared away the in-room dinner cart, Lillian bursts into the room. Rearden is surprised at her appearance. Though he does not want to attend the party, Lillian convinces Rearden to attend Taggart's wedding. The fact that she has convinced him to go to the party means that she still holds him as a victim.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Ken Dannager
 * Hank Rearden

Section 223: Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Cherryl reminisces while she dresses for her wedding under the supervision of a sob sister who had taken Brooks under her protection. Masses of reporters have tailed after Brooks, shooting pictures of her in her slum neighborhood, making Brooks something of a sensation, though to her chagrin. Brooks senses something wrong in the sort of publicity she's receiving -- indeed, Taggart had not only not offered her money to escape the reporters, he had also not hired her an escort to take her to the wedding. The sobsister would be the one to drive Brooks to her wedding.
 * Cherryl also recounts her "romance" with Taggart. She had been surprised that Taggart had dropped by her slum room one day, out of the blue. Taggart seems to find in her an unlikely confidante; he spills out his animosity towards his contemporaries, both heroes and looters, while Brooks, understanding little of what he rambles about, innocently assumes the burden of listening to his words. Taggart is drawn to Brooks by her innocence, her hero-worshipping ideals; he feels like he's winning by making Brooks believe that he is the hero, and Dagny and Rearden the villains.
 * The sob sister warns her that "there are people who'll try to hurt you through the good they see in you--knowing that it's the good, needing it and punishing you for it. Don't let it break you when you discover that. (364)" Rather than taking heed from the sobsister's words, Brooks is optimistic that she'd soon be Mrs. James Taggart.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Cherryl Brooks' Apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Cherryl Brooks
 * Sob Sister

Section 224: Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * The section on Cherryl and Jim Taggart's wedding. Jim has received media attention for his democratic wedding--that his bride is one of the poor.
 * Bertran Scudder states that "Money is the root of all evil". To which d'Anconia gives a lengthy rebuttal.
 * Lillian asks Dagny for the bracelet back, but Dagny refuses to return it. Lillian attempts to get Dagny to admit that she's having an affair with Rearden, yet when Dagny gets to the point, Lillian realizes how ludicrous the speculation is. Taking Dagny's side, Rearden asks Lillian to apologize to Dagny.
 * In Francisco's speech, he asserts that "money is the root of all good." Those who believe it is evil have let money be its own value, when the value of money is dependent on its creator and trader. This value can be deprecated into something evil if money is abused through fraudulent trade.
 * The party ends when Francisco states to Rearden that he has instigated the crash of D'Anconia Copper Stock, and the party guest leave in a hurry to try and talk to their respective stockbrokers.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Cherryl Brooks
 * James Taggart
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Hank Rearden
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * Orren Boyle
 * Bertran Scudder
 * Paul Larkin
 * Eugene Lawson
 * Balph Eubank
 * Wesley Mouch (mentioned)
 * Several unnamed party guests

Section 231: Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Rearden returns to his hotel room in the Wayne-Falkland Hotel after Taggart's party. Lillian announces that she's going to take a train home and complains that she hates d'Anconia, that he could have kept his mouth shut until tomorrow morning, that "he owed a certain duty to his stockholders, didn't he? (392)" The tension in her voice is revealed in a later section.
 * Rearden escorts Lillian by taxi to the train station, still dressed in his evening clothes.
 * Rearden gives the taxi driver the address of Dagny's apartment, and he goes there immediately after dropping Lillian off.
 * At Dagny's apartment, Dagny explains the nature of their love for one another--that it is like a mutual trade. In accords with Ayn Rand's Theory of Sex, Dagny tells Rearden that that her "way of trading is to know that the joy [he] gives [her] is paid for by the joy [he] gets from [her]--not by [his] suffering or [hers]. (394)" She won't accept sacrifices, and if he asks her to give up her railroad, she'd leave him. She tells him that if the pleasure of one is bought by the pain of the other, then the trade is a fraud. She warns him that, "You don't do it in business, Hank. Don't do it in your own life. (394)" Dagny's words remind Rearden of how different she and Lillian are.
 * Rearden asks Dagny who had been her first lover. Dagny refuses to answer, in part because of Rearden's motive in asking, and instead prompts Rearden to understand his error in envy over her first man, "Do you know your only real guilt? With the greatest capacity for it, you've never learned to enjoy yourself. You've always rejected your own pleasure too easily. You've been willing to bear too much. (395)" Ironically, Rearden mentions that that's exactly what Francisco told him at the party. Dagny asks Rearden what he thinks of Francisco, and Rearden admits that he's the one man to whom he'd entrust his life.
 * Rearden apologizes for the insults he threw at Dagny, the morning after at Wyatt's house.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * Taggart Terminals
 * Dagny's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Hank Rearden
 * Francisco d'Anconia (mentioned)
 * taxi driver
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Ellis Wyatt (mentioned)

Section 232: Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * The radio announces the stock-market crash of d'Anconia Copper.
 * Lillian returned to the Wayne-Falkland hotel earlier the previous evening, and is waiting when he returns in the morning, to discover's Hank's unfaithfulness. She wants him to move out but will not allow a divorce and loss of her social status.  He refuses to tell her with whom he has been having an affair.
 * Dr. Ferris wants Rearden to sell the State Science Institute some Rearden Metal for use in Project X. He threatens Rearden with the possibility of ten years jail time for illegally selling Rearden Metal to Ken Dannager.  Rearden has Dr. Ferris thrown out of his office.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel, New York City
 * Rearden's office at Rearden Steel, Pennsylvania
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Rearden
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Gwen Ives
 * Dr. Ferris

Section 233: Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Eddie Willers is talking to the Worker in the employee cafeteria of Taggart Transcontinental. He mentions how Rearden and Ken Dannager were both indicted for the illegal sale of Rearden Metal. He fears what will happen if Ken Dannager quits and abandons his business, because while Rearden can take it, Dannager is barely hanging by a thread; Dagny has recognized that he is "ready for the destroyer" and a small push might set him off and make him quit.  He also mentions that Dagny wishes she knew who the destroyer was, so that she could kill him, even if it meant she had to die in the process.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Cafeteria of the Taggart Transcontinental Building
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Eddie Willers
 * The Worker

Section 234: Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny goes to Pittsburgh to try to see Ken Dannager and prevent him from quitting.
 * There is an unannounced visitor already in the office with Mr. Dannager, who is causing his appointment with her to run late. This is extremely unusual for Dannager, who is as punctual as a train schedule.
 * Dagny is admitted to Dannager's office, only to find that the visitor ahead of her was The Destroyer, who has convinced Dannager to quit. Dagny tries to beg Dannager not to quit, but is unsuccessful, and he will be leaving that day.  Dannager asks Dagny to tell Hank Rearden that he is probably "the only man I ever loved," indicating how much he cared about Rearden.
 * Dannager tells her not to worry, as she'll be seeing him again soon. "Oh?  Are you going to return?"  "No.  You're going to join me."
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dannager's office at Dannager Coal Company in Pittsburgh.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Ken Dannager's Secretary
 * Ken Dannager
 * Unnamed visitor (The Destroyer, actually turning out to be John Galt).

Section 235: Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 5

 * Plot summary:
 * Rearden is sitting in his office thinking about how badly he feels that his friend Ken Dannager has quit. Dagny's mention to him of Dannager's admission of how much of a friend Rearden was to him has made him realize how much he will miss Dannager.
 * As Rearden prepares to leave the office, he discovers Francisco d'Anconia waiting outside. Francisco talks to him about whether his actions in making metal or running his business have given him any benefits, or is he simply being punished for his good qualities, and whether any one should continue under the circumstances.  "Mr. Rearden, if you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders—what would you tell him to do?"  "I... don't know.  What... could he do?  what would you tell him?" "To shrug."
 * As Francisco tries to speak to Rearden about the nature of his burdens and ask him a question, an alarm sounds as a break-out has occurred at one of the furnaces. Rearden and Francisco both run out to the furnace, and both begin acting to stop the furnace from overflowing.
 * While responding to the break-out, Rearden saves Francisco's life as he almost slips and falls into a pool of molten metal.
 * After the crisis is over, Rearden suggests Francisco come work for him in order to appreciate the business he has inherited. Francisco admits he wishes he could, but he can't.  Rearden asks him to tell him the question he was going to ask.  Francisco admits that it's pointless to ask the question, he already knows the answer.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Rearden's office at the mill
 * Mill floor in front of a furnace
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Rearden
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * Various mill workers

Section 241: Part 2, Chapter 4, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Rearden's family prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, but are unhappy that he might end up going to jail over the illegal sale of metal that he and Ken Dannager were indicted over, instead of cooperating with the government.
 * Rearden listens to Lillian's condemnation of him, and realizes what she is stating represents a monstrous system where one's own goodwill is used for one's very destruction.
 * Lillian says they know what he is thinking, and that's why they are cracking down on him. He says they don't, and he's going to tell them at his trial.  Phillip criticises Rearden's attitude, saying he thinks he's guilty as hell and finds it contemptible.  Rearden tells him if he talks that way to him again in his house he will throw Phillip out on the street.
 * Rearden, disgusted with his family, walks out to go to New York.
 * Rearden remembers how the Wet Nurse knew about his deal with Dannager, but never told anyone about it.
 * Rearden goes to Dagny's Apartment in New York, but discovers she's at her office. Rearden goes there and meets Eddie, who tells Rearden that his trial is something he doesn't believe in and even if it's done in the name of the people, he's not one of the people that is represented. Dagny tells Rearden that if he's sent to jail she'll quit, without any destroyer coming to see her.  Rearden does not think that will happen, and informs Dagny that for the sixty thousand tons of steel they ordered, he is actually going to deliver eighty thousand tons of Rearden Metal, and if anyone finds out, he will make it look like he is the only one to blame, and he doesn't want her to ever admit she knows about it.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Rearden's home
 * Rearden's office
 * Dagny's apartment
 * Dagny's office
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Rearden
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Phillip Rearden
 * Rearden's Mother
 * The Wet Nurse
 * Eddie Willers
 * Dagny Taggart

Section 242: Part 2, Chapter 4, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Hank Rearden appears for his trial for illegally selling Rearden Metal. He is asked to enter a plea in his own defense.  He admits he has no defense because he does not recognize the court's right to try him, as he is not before a tribunal of justice, but, in effect, a kangaroo court, and will not allow them to disguise what they are.  They can rule in whatever fashion they please, since he has no rights and no ability to defend himself, but he will not co-operate in their actions.  If they want him to go to jail, they will have to send armed men to carry him; if they want to impose fines upon him, they will have to seize his property themselves, he will not pay it.  He has done nothing but act honorably in his business, and he will neither accept sacrifices from others nor be sacrificed for others, or be a victim.  "If it is now the belief of my fellow men, who call themselves the public, that their good requires victims, then I say: The public good be damned, I will have no part of it!"  The audience in the courtroom cheers.
 * The judges are overwhelmed by Rearden's stand, and choose to fine him $5,000 and suspend sentence. The audience in the courtroom laughs at them.
 * Rearden tries to understand why people had allowed themselves to accept the doctrines of self-destruction such as what the court had effectively been a part of, and that is the real sentence imposed upon him, to learn why.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Courtroom in Philadelphia
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Rearden
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Eddie Willers
 * Mr. Mowen
 * Paul Larkin
 * Bertram Scudder
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Three judges
 * Members of the courtroom audience

Section 243: Part 2, Chapter 4, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny admits to Rearden as a result of the decision in his trial that she will never doubt that right wins in the end. Lillian chides Rearden over his stand in the trial.
 * The Wet nurse asks Rearden a question about his speech: "What's a moral premise?" "Something you're going to have a lot of trouble with."  Rearden discovers that his fellow businessmen are unwilling to refuse to be victims, or to stand up for themselves, despite the results that occurred in his own case.
 * Rearden sits in his hotel room, wanting to see Francisco, then realizes he could simply go see him in his suite in the same hotel. Rearden does so, and discovered Francisco had been listening to Rearden's trial over the radio.  Rearden admits he does not understand why someone with the intelligence and the ability of Francisco has chosen to live as a womanizing wastrel playboy.
 * Francisco introduces Rearden to the value theory of sex, that only a neurotic man chases worthless women, and since he isn't a neurotic, it's another reason: to camouflage his actions for a secret purpose of his own.
 * Rearden admits that since Francisco has told him a secret, he will tell him one: Rearden has secretly ordered copper from d'Anconia copper in order to fill the order for Taggart Transcontinental's rail, an order that is ten times the size of the one he was indicted for.
 * Francisco is furious, reminding Rearden that he had told him never to deal with d'Anconia Copper. Francisco reaches to use a telephone, but stops himself.  Rearden realizes there is something Francisco has the power to prevent, but it is a power he will not use.  Pained, Francisco swears to Rearden that despite what he is going to find out, he is still Rearden's friend.
 * Rearden is informed he will not be receiving the copper, because Ragnar Danneskjold has sunk the d'Anconia ore freighters.
 * Rearden later realizes he must stay away from Francisco, lest he kill him on sight.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Rearden's Office
 * Rearden's suite at the Wayne-Falkland hotel
 * Francisco's suite at the Wayne-Falkland hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Rearden
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Various businessmen
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * Dagny Taggart
 * The Wet Nurse

Section 251: Part 2, Chapter 5, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Various businesses are closing, affecting other business and often causing them to close in turn.
 * The Atlantic Southern bridge over the Mississippi River collapses. After investigation, two other bridges are condemned, leaving the Taggart Bridge as the only train bridge crossing the Mississippi.
 * Dagny is at a Taggart Board Meeting. A Mr. Weatherby from the government is there, although his role is unclear. Taggart Transcontinental is becoming a financial disaster. One reason of many is that there are less goods to ship on any given line due to closed businesses, there is no longer an economy of scale. Mr. Weatherby wants a raise in wages and a drop in rates. Dagny responds that she can't make the company profitable any longer. The Board must close one of the lines in order to use track from one to repair another. They decide to close the John Galt Line for political reasons as opposed to financial ones.
 * Leaving, Dagny sees Francisco waiting for her. He knew what would happen and came to help her get past it. They talk about how the world is being run these days, the injustice of it.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Taggart Transcontinental
 * A diner

 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Jim Taggart
 * Clem Weatherby
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * Danagger's Cousin
 * Mr. Quinn (mentioned)
 * Lawrence Hammond (mentioned)
 * Dwight Sanders (mentioned)
 * Ragnar Danneskjöld (mentioned)
 * Wesley Mouch (mentioned)
 * Bertram Scudder (mentioned)
 * Simon Pritchett (mentioned)
 * Oren Boyle (mentioned)
 * Nathaniel Taggart (mentioned)
 * Buzzy Watts (mentioned)
 * Chick Morrison (mentioned)
 * Tinky Holloway (mentioned)
 * Joe Dunphy (mentioned)
 * Bud Hazelton (mentioned)
 * Kip Chalmers (mentioned)
 * Ellis Wyatt (mentioned)
 * Andrew Stockton (mentioned)

Section 252: Part 2, Chapter 5, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny and Hank are in Colorado to buy any machinery that can be salvaged from closed businesses. They leave on the last run of the John Galt line. They hear other passengers quoting various popular sayings of the time, about their needs being important because of that need, about the greed of the industrialists.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * On a Taggart train
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dany Taggart
 * Hank Reardon
 * Ted Neilsen (mentioned)
 * Roger Marsh (mentioned)
 * Dr. Floyd Ferris (mentioned)
 * Dubious Sellers
 * various passengers

Section 253: Part 2, Chapter 5, Section 3
Lillian meets Jim for lunch. He accuses her of double crossing him regarding Hank's behavior at his trial for illegally selling steel. She was supposed to control Hank. She tells him she didn't betray him, she just failed, and she doesn't yet know why.
 * Plot summary:

Lillian decides to meet Hank when his train comes in, but there is no car reserved for anyone named Hank Rearden. She realizes that Hank must be in a car under some other name, and suspects that he is having an affair. This pleases her, as she has been waiting for this moment. She saw that Hank was good and pure and hated him for it. She married him solely to destroy the good in him.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * A fancy restaurant in New York City
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Jim Taggart
 * Mr. Weatherby
 * Gwen Ives
 * Dagny Taggart (mentioned)
 * Hank Rearden (mentioned)
 * Wesley Mouch (mentioned)
 * Balph Eubanks (mentioned)

Section 254: Part 2, Chapter 5, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * Lillian confronts Hank at Taggart Terminal. She was hoping that Hank's mistress was a nobody, and is angry to learn that it is Dagny because Dagny is a true threat. Hank confirms the affair but is completely unapologetic, he tells Lillian to either divorce him or let it be. Either way, she is not to speak to him of Dagny again.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The Taggart Terminal
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Lillian Rearden
 * Hank Rearden
 * Dagny Taggart

title: Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 2


text:
Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 2A

=Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Chapters 6-10=

Section 261: Part 2, Chapter 6, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * The Washington gang discuss their problems with revenue & jobs. They decide it is time to move forward with Directive 10-289, which dictates that:
 * 1) Workers can't quit
 * 2) Businesses can't close for any reason
 * 3) Patents and copyrights are to be signed over to the government
 * 4) No new inventions are to be allowed
 * 5) Businesses will produce the same output as the last year, no more, no less
 * 6) Every private citizen will spend the same per year as they did the year before.
 * 7) Wages, profits, dividends are frozen as is
 * 8) A new Unification Board will be the judge of all disputes
 * Fred Kinnan who represents labor insists that the Unification Board be all labor men, and through threats of causing trouble with the workers he gets his way.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Entry
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Wesley Mouch
 * James Taggart
 * Orren Boyle
 * Dr. Floyd Ferris
 * Mr. Weatherby
 * Fred Kinnan
 * Eugene Lawson
 * Others

Section 262: Part 2, Chapter 6, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny wakes in her office around 9:30am, having worked into the early hours. She learns of Directive 10-289 via a call from Francisco and resigns. She tells Eddie that she'll be at the Taggart cabin in Woodstock, although he is not to tell anyone else.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dagny's office at Taggart Transcontinental
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Eddie Willers
 * Francisco d'Anconia (via phone)

Section 263: Part 2, Chapter 6, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Workers are quitting at Reardon Steel at a slow but steady pace, just disappearing. Dr. Ferris visits Hank without an appointment but Hank sees him. He wants Hank to sign a Gift Certificate giving away his rights to Reardon Steel. He blackmails Hank by threatening to expose Dagny as his mistress, to ruin her reputation. Hank signs.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Hank's office at Reardon Steel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Reardon
 * Gwen Ives
 * Dr. Ferris

Section 271: Part 2, Chapter 7, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Eddie Willers is in the cafeteria at Taggart Terminal talking to "the anonymous worker", telling him just about everything. He talks about Dagny quitting and even includes where she is (the Taggart cabin outside Woodstock). He also tells him about the orders to take the extra diesel engine from the mouth of the Taggart Tunnel for Chick Morrison's publicity tour.
 * He tells how Hank Reardon signed over his metal to the government, how Orren Boyle was going to start making it until his mill was blown up by Ragnar.
 * The anonymous worker mentions that he will be gone on vacation for a month.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The cafeteria at Taggart Transcontinental
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Eddie Willers
 * The Mysterious Worker

Section 272: Part 2, Chapter 7, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Hank Reardon is walking home in the dark from his mills to his apartment in Philadelphia. Ragnar steps out from some bushes to give Hank a bar of gold. He explains that the gold is repayment for money taken from him by force.
 * Ragnar says he wants to kill off the idea of Robin Hood, that he himself is the opposite of Robin Hood. Ragnar takes from the (thieving) poor and gives to the (productive) rich.
 * He explains that he never attacks private ships. Nor does he attack military vessels because the military is a proper function of government. He attacks looter's ships filled with goods that were taken by force from productive men, or relief ships.
 * He explains that he sells the goods for gold, either to some American friends or to black marketeers in the People's States of Europe (who he considers forced into crime by their laws).
 * A cop car comes by, looking for Ragnar, the policemen recognize Hank. Instead of turning Ragnar in Hank protects him, telling the police that Ragnar is his bodyguard.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The road between Reardon Mills and Hank Reardon's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Reardon
 * Ragnar Danneskjold
 * A couple cops

Section 273: Part 2, Chapter 7, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * A Taggart train loses its diesel engine just short of the Taggart Tunnel in Colorado. Kip Chalmers is on board and demands that a replacement engine be found.
 * The spare diesel engine kept by the tunnel for exactly this situation has been ordered elsewhere by the government. The story leads us through the various Taggart personnel who don't want to make a decision. The only engine available is a coal burner. This is very risky because of the fumes and the length of the tunnel. But Kip Chalmers orders it so that he can make it to a big rally. Finally an engineer with a record of safety lapses who is also drunk agrees to drive it.
 * The men swapping the engines and switching the tracks know that they are creating a dangerous situation but do nothing to stop the train.
 * We are told about some of the people on the train, and why they are worthless. Lastly, the train goes into the tunnel and we know they are going to die.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The Taggart Comet
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Kip Chalmers
 * Various railroad workers
 * Various passengers

Section 281: Part 2, Chapter 8, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Having quit her job, Dagny is staying at a cabin on a self imposed vacation, but she is having a hard time enjoying herself, she feels the urge to work. Francisco visits, telling her that he is destroying d'Anconia Copper to avoid giving it to the looters.
 * On the radio, Dagny hears of the Taggart Tunnel disaster, she immediately leaves for New York to deal with it.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The Taggart Cabin
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Francisco d'Anconia

Section 282: Part 2, Chapter 8, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * At Taggart Transcontinental, Jim is contemplating his resignation over the tunnel disaster. He yells at Eddie to tell him where Dagny is, which Eddie refuses to do. Dagny shows up, and starts planning how to deal with the disaster. Wesley Mouch calls from Washington full of promises. Dagny calls Hank to let him know she is back. He tells her about the "Gift Certificate", signing over Reardon Metal to the government.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Taggart Transcontinental
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Jim Taggart
 * Eddie Willers
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Hank Reardon(via phone)

Section 291: Part 2, Chapter 9, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny wakes in her apartment, feels for the first time that her work is pointless. Francisco visits, essentially admits that he is with "the destroyer". Hank shows up and is angry that Francisco is there and slaps him. Francisco leaves without fighting back. Dagny gets letter from Quentin Daniels that he will no longer work for her on the motor. He will keep working, but plans to keep any discoveries he might make to himself. Dagny arranges to take the Taggart Comet to see Daniels to convince him to continue.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * Hank Reardon

Section 292: Part 2, Chapter 9, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Eddie Willers is at Dagny's apartment getting instructions while she packs. He sees a man's robe with the initials H.R. and realizes that she is having an affair with Hank. He feels jealous and realizes that he loves her.
 * Later he goes to the company cafeteria and meets the anonymous worker. Eddie tells him about Quentin, and about Hank. The worker excuses himself.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart's apartment
 * The cafeteria at Taggart Terminal
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Eddie Willers
 * Dagny Taggart
 * The Anonymous Worker

Section 2A1: Part 2, Chapter 10, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny is on the Comet train heading out West. She meets a "bum" hiding in the vestibule of her car who used to be a skilled lathe operator. He once worked at the 20th Century Motor Company. He described the "new plan" put into place 12 years ago by the children of the company founder after his death. It was based on the idea of "to each according to his need, from each according to his ability". He was there at the company meeting when John Galt said, "I will stop the motor of the world". As their company started to fail, the bum and his coworkers started the phrase "Who is John Galt" to express hopelessness.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * A Taggart train
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Owen Kellogg

Section 2A2: Part 2, Chapter 10, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny wakes to find that the train has stopped. She find that Owen Kellog is on the train. They walk up the tracks to find an emergency phone and she arranges for a new crew. She walks to a small nearby airport and buys a plane. She flies to Afton to see Quentin Daniels, to convince him to continue working on the motor for her. When she lands, the airport staff member tells her that Quentin Daniels just left in the plane that took off as she landed. She follows that plane, back to Colorado. She encounters a strange phenomenom that stalls her engine, and she goes down in a crash landing.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * A Taggart train
 * An airport
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Owen Kellogg

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 2A


text:
Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 3

=Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Chapters 1-5=

Section 311: Part 3, Chapter 1, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny is unconscious from crashing her plane in the Colorado Valley. When she wakes up, she is shocked to discover John Galt beside her. She soon finds out that the industrialists who have disappeared now live and work in the Colorado Valley. Some of these industrialists include: Midas Mulligan, Ellis Wyatt and Richard Halley. Galt talks to Dagny and shows her around this new place, while showing her around this place he takes her to where the motor is kept in which everyone is looking for.

 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The Colorado Valley
 * Dr. Akston’s home
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Hugh Akston
 * Midas Mulligan
 * Dr. Hendricks
 * Quentin Daniels
 * Dwight Sanders
 * Dick McNamara
 * Ellis Wyatt
 * Ted Nielsen (mentioned as lumberjack)
 * Roger Marsh (mentioned as cabbage tycoon)
 * Andrew Stockton
 * Ken Danagger
 * Richard Halley (mentioned)
 * Judge Narragansett

 * Mysteries:
 * “I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” John Galt tells Dagny that quote is a secret and he doesn’t mind telling it to her because he knows that she “won’t pronounce those words until you [Dagny] mean them the way I intended them to be meant.” How did he intend for it to be meant?

Section 312: Part 3, Chapter 1, Section 2
. At the end of dinner, Dagny goes home with John Galt and spends the night at his house in “a room he never intended her to occupy”.
 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny goes to dinner at Midas Mulligans house where Galt and the others explain to her that they are all on strike
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The Colorado Valley
 * Midas Mulligan’s home
 * John Galt’s home
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Midas Mulligan
 * Ellis Wyatt
 * Ken Danagger
 * Hugh Akston
 * Dr. Hendricks
 * Quentin Daniels
 * Richard Halley
 * Judge Narragansett
 * Mysteries:
 * Is John Galt a labor worker for Taggart Transcontinental?
 * Why does John Galt say to Dagny, “This is the room I never intended you to occupy”. but then let her sleep there?

Section 321: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny has breakfast with John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjold. She learns that Danneskjold is married to Kay Ludlow and that they were married four years ago by Judge Narragansett. She also talks with John Galt about how long she plans to stay in the Colorado Valley and John tells her he has already decided she will stay for one month.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Ragnar Danneskjold
 * Kay Ludlow (mentioned)

Section 322: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Owen Kellogg tells Dagny that everyone in the “outside world” thought she was dead. Dagny also thought about Hank Rearden a few times, but those thoughts and feelings went away every time she saw John Galts face. Francisco tells Dagny how much he loves her and will always love her.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Owen Kellogg
 * Francisco d’Anconia
 * Mysteries:
 * Why do Dagny’s feelings about Hank Rearden go away as soon as she sees John Galt?

Section 323: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Francisco talks to Dagny about the “rebirth of d’Anconia Copper”. He tells her that to start this “rebirth” he needs to start out again here in he Colorado Valley, so he bought land from Midas to start. Dagny realizes that she is in love with John Galt and that he has everything she is looking for.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Francisco d’Anconia
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt

Section 324: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny speaks with various residents of Galt's Gulch: Richard Halley and Kay Ludlow explain their opinions on art, music, and stage performance.  An unnamed mother describes raising her two sons as a "profession".  Dr. Akston reminisces about teaching the young John, Francisco, and Ragnar at university.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Richard Halley
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Kay Ludlow
 * The Wife and children of Dick McNamara
 * Hugh Akston
 * John Galt
 * Francisco d’Anconia
 * Ragnar Danneskjold

Section 325: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 5

 * Plot summary:
 * Francisco takes Dagny and John Galt to see the first d’Anconia mine of Galt's Gulch. Later, a small private plane is seen flying search patterns over the Gulch, though the community remains hidden by the giant holographic ray screen.  The plane eventually moves on.  Dagny anxiously presumes the pilot is Hank Rearden, searching for the wreckage of her own missing aircraft.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Francisco d’Anconia
 * John Galt
 * Hank Rearden
 * Minor appearances:
 * Lawrence Hammond
 * Dwight Sanders

Section 326: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 6

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny decides to return to the "outside world" to save her railroad. Galt announces he will follow, though remain hidden, watching and waiting for Dagny's decision to return.  Mulligan, Akston, and Francisco voice disagreement with Galt's decision to leave, citing the dangers of the collapsing society outside, but they also voice respect for his choice.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Midas Mulligan
 * Hugh Akston
 * Francisco d’Anconia

Section 327: Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 7

 * Plot summary:
 * Galt flies Dagny, blindfolded, back to the "outside world".
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt

Section 331: Part 3, Chapter 3, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dr. Stadler is ordered to Iowa by Dr. Ferris. There he witnesses a demonstration of the new weapon, "Project X". It is based on sound waves and has a range of 100 miles, using principles discovered by Dr. Stadler.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * At Project X, in Iowa, about 50 miles west of the Mississippi River.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dr. Stadler
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Wesley Mouch
 * Dr. Simon Pritchett

Section 332: Part 3, Chapter 3, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny, having left Galt's Gulch, returns to New York City. She speaks to Hank.
 * She returns to her office, where she meets Cuffy Miegs, the Unification Director and learns of the Railroad Unification Plan.
 * They want her to appear on the radio show of Bertrum Scudder, to say that she endorses the actions of the government, their directives. She refuses.
 * Dagny is visited by Lillian Reardon, who tells Dagny that she knows about her affair with Hank, and blackmails Dagny into appearing on the radio show. She also tells Dagny that Hank signed over Reardon Metal for the same reason, to keep the affair quiet, and that is was she, Lillian, who told authorities about the affair. Lillian takes pleasure in the thought that she took Reardon Metal away from Hank.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The streets of New York City
 * Taggart Terminal, Dagny's office.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Jim Taggart
 * Eddie Willers
 * Cuffy Meigs
 * Lillian Reardon

Section 333: Part 3, Chapter 3, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny makes her appearance on the Bertrum Scudder radio show. She short circuits the blackmail by announcing her affair with Hank on the air. Then she tells the listeners that Hank only signed the Gift Certificate due to the blackmail, and that Directive 10-289 is horrible.
 * Chaos breaks out and Dagny leaves the radio station, returning to her apartment. There she finds Hank, who tells her he loves her. She tells him she doesn't love him anymore, that she love someone else, John Galt, "the destroyer". Hank says that he already knows, because on the radio she spoke of him only in the past tense. He says he is ok with it. She also tells Hank that John invented the motor.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Radio station
 * Dagny's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Bertram Scudder
 * Jim Taggart
 * Lillian Reardon
 * Chick Morrison
 * Hank Reardon

Section 341: Part 3, Chapter 4, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * A long conversation between Jim Taggart and his wife Cheryl. She married Jim because she admired Taggart Transcontinental and thought he was the brilliant mind running it, thought he was a great man. A year after the marriage, she now understands that Dagny runs Taggart and that Jim is a looter.
 * Jim tells her about the upcoming deal wherein on Sept 2nd, Chile will nationalize d'Anconia Copper. Chile will appoint a new company "Interneighborly Amity and Development Corporation" to run all the industrial properties of South America. Jim and his buddies are going to sell their shares of d'Anconia Copper and invest in "Interneighborly Amity and Development Corporation", thereby become very much richer.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Jim and Cheryl Taggart's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Jim Taggart
 * Cheryl Taggart

Section 342: Part 3, Chapter 4, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Cheryl visits Dagny and apologizes for insulting Dagny at her wedding and Jim's wedding. They part on good terms.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Cheryl Taggart

Section 343: Part 3, Chapter 4, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Lillian Reardon visits Jim Taggart. She spends some time complaining about Hank. Jim mentions the impending September 2nd nationalization. Jim and Lillian go to bed together.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Jim and Cheryl Taggart's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Jim Taggart
 * Lillian Reardon

Section 344: Part 3, Chapter 4, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * Cheryl comes home, hears the noise of Jim and Lillian from behind the closed door. She and Jim fight, she leaves. She commits suicide, jumping off a bridge.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Jim and Cheryl Taggart's apartment
 * The streets of New York
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Cheryl Taggart
 * Jim Taggart

Section 351: Part 3, Chapter 5, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny is aware that all of the Taggart supplies are being stolen, by men who only recently started working for Taggart. Also, her trains are being re-routed without her control. Government men have authority to commandeer trains and they take bribes to send trains on special runs.
 * In Jim's office, he complains that she is supposed to keep the company running regardless of the looting. She says she can't, and won't.
 * The Argentinian government tries to nationalize d'Anconia Mines, but at the time of the announcement, all the mines and all d'Anconia facilities worldwide (ports, warehouses, ships, etc.) blow up.
 * Dagny meets Hank at a restaurant. Once there she mentions her problems with the trains being diverted. He mentioned that his mill is running at full capacity. Other restaurant goers are complaining about the copper shortage. Through a window, she sees the big city calendar change days at midnight, only to show a message from Francisco, "You asked for it". Hank laughs to see it.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Taggart Terminal
 * A restaurant in New York City
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Jim Taggart
 * Hank Reardon

Section 352: Part 3, Chapter 5, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * The copper mines in Montana themselves need copper wire to repair machinery so that at least some copper can be produced. Dagny sends them half of what she has in Minnesota.
 * Reardon's brother Philip comes to ask for a job, although really he was told go be a spy at the mills for the Washington gang.
 * The Wet Nurse asks Reardon for a job, wants to quit his government post. He mentions that he has a degree in metallurgy, but that it isn't worth anything. Reardon explains that the government won't let him go, that he has to stay at his present job.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Taggart Terminal
 * Reardon mills
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Jim Taggart
 * Eddie Willers
 * Hank Reardon
 * Philip Reardon
 * The Wet Nurse

Section 353: Part 3, Chapter 5, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * People are becoming desperate for various supplies and are begging Dagny to find these supplies for them. A soy bean project in Louisiana advocated by Ma Chalmers the socialist is brought up.
 * Cuffy Meigs is mentioned as a looter and a racketeer.
 * Wheat production is concentrated in Minnesota. However much of the wheat harvest in Minnesota winds up left to rot. Almost half of the trains had been diverted to the new harvest of soy beans. But the soy beans had been reaped too early and were unfit to eat. The desperate story of trying to find as many train cars for Minnesota is described, as well as the efforts of farmers to transport their harvest to the grain elevators in other ways. The road network is in disrepair as are the farmers' cars and trucks, so few make it. Other farmers riot, burning government builders and even their own farms.
 * Whatever crop there may be next year will be much smaller with so many farmers dead and so many farms destroyed.
 * And as for this year, large portions of the nation's population will be starving to death by Spring.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Minnesota: at the local Taggart terminal, grain elevators, farms, and roads.
 * Taggart Transcontinental
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Various farmers and Taggart employees

Section 354: Part 3, Chapter 5, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * Jim asks Dagny to attend a dinner with the Washington gang. They are deciding whether to shut down Taggart's Minnesota line, deciding between Minnesota and the western part of the country.
 * Dagny tells them they must shut down Taggart's lines to the west. She says to let agriculture go back to manual labor but that they must save the Eastern seaboard and its industry. She says that if the industrial base is destroyed, it will take centuries to rebuild it.
 * Cuffy Meigs pushes to keep trains running to the west, because there is still plenty to loot there. He says Minnesota is milked dry so they should abandon Minnesota.
 * The signaling system at Taggart Terminal breaks down. Dagny leaves the dinner to attend to it. She arranges the loan of a repair person from her competitor, but in the meantime organizes a large number of men with lanterns into a manual signaling system. One of these men is John Galt. She talks to him for a while, then he leaves to go be a human lamppost.

 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * A restaurant at the Wayne-Falklands Hotel
 * Taggart Terminal
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Jim Taggart
 * Wesley Mouch
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Cuffy Meigs
 * John Galt

title: Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 3


text:
Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 3A

=Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Chapters 6-10=

Section 361: Part 3, Chapter 6, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Hank finds out that the Steel Workers Union went to the Unificiation Board to demand a raise, and was denied. The mood in the mill becomes tense and there are some minor altercations. Hank finds it odd that he has had no part in any of this.
 * Hank is informed that there was a hearing about a tax issue, that he was found guilty, and that all his assets are frozen. He decides to do nothing. Then he is informed that it was all a mistake and will be rectified, although it will take a little time. He is asked to go to New York the evening of Nov 4th, which he agrees to. He knows there is a trap in all that has been happening, but does not yet see it.
 * His mother calls and asks to see him, insists that he come before going to New York. When he gets there, he finds that his mother has had Lillian living there as well. They beg him for money, he says he doesn't presently have any. He realizes that they hate him and want to destroy him. They let slip that they are worried that he will drop out. He realizes that Lillian only married him in order to try and break him, to corrupt him. They all want him to take care of them and try to use guilt and scorn to motivate him. But he realizes that they have just been using him, and tells them that he no longer cares about any of them, or what happens to them, and leaves.
 * In New York, he sees the Washington gang, who try to flatter him. They reveal their intentions for a Steel Unification Plan. Basically, they want him to hand over his profits to Orren Boyle, to run his mill at a loss and to put the last of his wealth into the mill. They want what he has left, and do not think beyond the present to the time when Hank will be broke. They just assume that Hank will figure something out, that he will save them all. Hank leaves.
 * On the way home, he comes to the mill. He finds a staged riot in progress. It was supposed to happen while he was still in New York, except that Hank left earlier than planned. The Washington gang wanted it to look like his workers were very unhappy and mistreated. But his workers defended the mill in an armed battle. One of Hank's furnace supervisors saw what was coming, got the workers ready and directed the battle. The Wet Nurse was part of the gang's plan but wouldn't go along so they shot him. As Hank tried to enter the mill via a back way, he finds The Wet Nurse, who has finally figured things out just as he is dying in Hank's arms. Hank enters the mill and is attacked by some stray thugs but is saved. It was the furnace supervisor who saved Hank, and who turns out to be Francisco. Hank is finally ready to hear what Francisco has to say.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Hank Reardon's apartment, in Philedelphia
 * Hank Reardon's house (where his mother and brother live)
 * The Wayne-Falkland Hotel in New York
 * Reardon Mills
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Hank Reardon
 * Hank Reardon's mother
 * Philip Reardon, Hank's brother
 * Lillian Reardon
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Tinky Holloway
 * Jim Taggart
 * Claude Slagonhop
 * The Wet Nurse
 * The mill supervisor
 * Francisco d'Anconio

Section 362: Part 3, Chapter 6, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Entry
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Entry
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Entry

Section 371: Part 3, Chapter 7, Section 1
- - - -
 * Plot summary:
 * In a panic, Jim wakes Dagny at her apartment to tell her that Hank is gone, as are the top people at his mill. And the news is out. Dagny notes that people notice his absence more than they ever noticed his achievements. Businesses that rely on steel in turn start going out of business. Some of those people commit suicide.
 * Dagny gets a note from Hank, he has met John Galt, is aware that Dagny now loves John, and is ok with it.
 * She knows Galt works at Taggart Terminal but resists seeking him out.
 * Through railroad reports, Dagny is aware of escalating lawlessness around the country, news not mentioned in the papers.
 * The radio announces an important speech by Mr. Thompson to be on Nov 22, in a week.The speech is widely publicized.
 * Jim asks Dagny to come see Thompson at the studio, but promises he isn't trying to get her to participate and endorse the speech. At the studio, every main character is there. Jim had lied to her, they wanted her to join the discussion all along. But she refuses.
 * The head technician tells them they can't broadcast, some strange transmission is blocking and overpowering theirs, country-wide. At 8pm, instead of Thompson, John Galt speaks. The remainder of the section is his speech:
 * "I have deprived you of victims, and thus destroyed your world." I will tell you why you are perishing, you who dread knowledge.
 * You sacrificed justice to mercy, independence to unity, reason to faith, wealth to need, self esteem to self denial, happiness to duty.
 * I have withdrawn those who live by the mind. I have stopped your motor, deprived your world of man's mind.
 * We don't owe you, your need is no claim on us. We, the men of the mind, are on strike. On strike against self immolation, that life is guilt. You said we were evil, so we left. The battle has been whether your life belongs to god or to your neighbor. No one has told you that your life belongs to you.
 * Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. Plants and animals can't decide, they just live by instinct.
 * Man has the power to act as his own destroyer, which is how he has acted through most of history.
 * Your own life must be your motive and goal, otherwise you are an agent of death.
 * Man's life is not the life of a mindless brute but of a thinking being. Not survival at any price since there is only one price that pars for man's survival: reason.
 * A doctrine that gives you as an ideal, the role of sacrificial anima seeking slaughter on the alter of others is giving you death as a standard.
 * Since life requires a specific course of action, any other course will destroy it.
 * The purpose of morality is to teach you not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live.
 * Sweep aside those who preach that the highest virtue man can practice is to hold his own life as no value.
 * If you choose not to think, you default on existence and pass along the deficit to some moral man expecting him to sacrifice his good for the sake of letting you survive by your evil.
 * When a man declares "Who am I to know" he is declaring "Who am I to live".
 * You who prattle that morality is social and that man would need no morality on a desert island - it is on a desert island that he would need it most. Let him there try to claim that a rock is a house, that sand is clothing, that food will leap into his mouth.
 * Some paragraphs about
 * Rationality
 * Independence
 * Integrity
 * Justice
 * Productiveness
 * Pride
 * The symbol of all relationships among such men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is THE TRADER.
 * No man may INITIATE the use of physical force against others.
 * I have no benefits to seek from human vices: from stupidity, dishonesty, or fear.
 * Original Sin is supposed to be when man at of the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
 * I am speaking to man the victim, not man the killer, the word that has destroyed you is sacrifice, the rejection of the good for the sake of the evil.
 * They wish you to sacrifice materially but they also wish you to sacrifice your values.
 * The mystics of spirit, the mystics of muscle
 * A is A, the identity principle.
 * They say, I want it, therefore it is.
 * The law of identity does not permit you to have your cake and eat it too. The corrallary to causeless in matter is the unearned in spirit.
 * Who pays for the orgy? Who causes the causeless? Who are the victims condemned to remain unacknowledged?
 * WE are, we, the men of the mind.
 * They proclaim that the only requirement for running a factory is the ability to turn the cranks of the machines, and blank out the question of who created the factory.
 * They are taking you back to darker ages than any your history has known. The goal is not the era of pre-science, but the era of pre-language.
 * Let the cannibal that snarls that the freedom of man's mind was needed to CREATE an industrial civilization, but is not needed to maintain it, be given an arrowhead and bearsking, not a university chair of economics.
 * To a savage, the world is not the unknown, but the unknowable.
 * He can count on nothing, he can only wish.
 * They proclaim that every man born is entitled to exist without labor and is entitled to receive his minimum sustenance with no effort on his part, as his due & birthright.
 * Every man, they announce, owns an equal share of the technological benefits created in the world.
 * Your gangs of mystics, of spirit and muscle, are fighting for power to rule you, you who have agreed to have no mind.
 * Society - all of it is the same performance for the same & only purpose: to reduce you to the kind of pulp that has surrendered the validity of your consciousness. But it cannot be done without your consent. If you permit it to be done, you deserve it.
 * A mystic, afraid to think, is left at the mercy of unidentified feelings. He struggles to hide from himself that the nature of his feelings is terror. His lust is to command, not to convince.
 * The forces let loose in your world today do not want to own your fortune, they want you to lose it. They do not want to succeed, they want you to fail. They keep running, trying not to learn that the object of his hatred is himself.
 * Theirs is a conspiracy against the mind, against life and man.
 * It is a conspiracy of those who seek, not to live, but to GET AWAY with living. The professor who, unable to think, cripples the minds of his students. The businessman who, to protect his stagnation, takes pleasure in chaining the ability of his competitors. The eunuch who takes pleasure in the castration of all pleasure.
 * We are no longer there to save you from the effects of your chosen belief.
 * You have been living on borrowed time - and I am the man who has called in the loan.
 * Twelve years ago when I worked in your world, I discovered a source of energy available since the birth of the globe, but which men had not known how to use. I created a motor that would have made a fortune for me and those who hired me. Then one night at a factory meeting, I heard three parasites assert that my brain and my life were their property. That my right to exist was dependant upon satisfying their desires. I had no right to live by reason of my competency, their right to live was unconditional, by reason of their incompetence.
 * Then I saw what was wrong with the world, and that the only weapon of evil was the willingness of good to serve it.
 * I quit that factory and your world. I made it my job to warn your victims and to give them the method and the weapon to fight you.
 * Ask yourself how much you have invented and how much you make of others inventions.
 * When you clamor for public ownership of the means of production, you are clamoring for public ownership of the mind.
 * Did you want to know who is John Galt? I am the first man of ability who refuses to regard it as guilt.
 * I have done by plan and intention what has been done throughout history by silent default, gone on strike.
 * The Dark Ages were an era of intelligence on strike.
 * The road of human history was a string of blank-outs with only a few brief bursts of sunlight when the released energy of the men of the mind performed the wonders you gaped at, admired, and then promptly extinguished.
 * I have foreshortened the usual course of history and have let you discover the nature of the payments you had hoped to switch to the shoulders of others. Do not pretend that a malevolent reality defeated you - you were defeated by your own evasions.
 * But to those of you who still retain a love of your life I offer a chance to make a choice - be "moral" or live.
 * pg 965 - mentions he has spoken for two hours.
 * But the price is to start from scratch, reversing a costly historical error, to declare, "I am, therefore I'll think."
 * The three of us, Francisco, Ragnar, and myself started this and I am completing it. We resolved to avenge this country that was built on MY morality, but you failed to live up to it.
 * We will not return until the road is clear to rebuild this country, until the wreckage of the morality of sacrifice has been wiped out of our way.
 * The source of man's right is the law of identity.
 * No right can exist without the right to translate one's rights into reality, which means, the right of property.
 * The only proper functions of government are the police, the army, and the courts.
 * Look past the moment, you who fear to compete with men of superior intelligence. When you live in a society where men are free to trade the value of your work is determined not only by your effort but by the effort of the best productive minds around you.
 * When you work in a modern factory you are paid not only for your labor, but for all the productive genius which has made that factory possible (industrialist, investor, inventor, engineer, scientist).
 * It is the value of his time that the strong of intellect transfers to the weak.
 * Material products can't be shared, it is only the value of an idea that can be shared with unlimited numbers of men, making all sharers richer at no one's sacrifice or loss, raising the productive capacity of labor.
 * In proportion to mental energy spent, the inventor receives a small percentage of the value he created no matter what his material payment. But a janitor receives an enormous payment in proportion to his mental effort.
 * We dragged you out of your hovels but you called our palaces and yachts unfair.
 * We asked to deal with your minds, you chose to deal using your gun. Our answer was "May you be damned".
 * Some of you might please ignorance. But the guiltiest among you are those who had the CAPACITY to know. The intellects who create weapons are the unforgivable (Dr. Stadler).
 * To those who love life and the mind, I urge you to go on strike as I did.
 * If you have to stay among them, keep your inventions to yourself, as a captive should. If you have a chance to vanish into a wilderness beyond their reach, do so. We will return after the collapse, of the morality of sacrifice. Our city will act as a rallying point for such hidden refuges as you create.
 * The dollar sign will be our symbol.
 * In the name of the best within us....
 * My last words are to those heroes who still are held prisoner by their virtues and desperate courage. They hold you by your innocence, which gives them the benefit of the doubt (Dagny)
 * You can win this new world, by a total break with the old. His oath is "I swear - by my life and my love of it - that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine"
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart's apartment
 * The broadcasting studio in New York City
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * James Taggart
 * John Galt (via radio)
 * Mr Thompson
 * Most all of the group from Washington

Section 381: Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * The Washington group talk about Galt's speech, flustered. Fred Kinnon finally brings up the food crisis, but the group has no solution. Dagny tells them that they have no answers but John Galt does, so they should step aside and let John Galt take charge.
 * Thompson realizes she is right but rather than give up power he thinks to himself that he can coopt Galt. Dagny leaves with Eddie Willers. Thompson resolves to find Galt and make him solve the problem. They set a tail on Dagny so she'll lead them to him.
 * Alone now, Eddie tells Dagny that he realized that he's known John Galt for years as a common track worker at the Taggart Company. Dagny tells him that if he doesn't want Galt destroyed that he is to forget ever knowing him, never to tell anyone.
 * All around the country, the "better men" are now starting to "drop out" as a result of the impending food crisis and John Galt's speech. They are heading off into isolated & unpopulated areas of the country.
 * Nobody qualified can be found to fill meaningful, important positions. People turn down raises and promotions rather than take a position of responsibility. The country starts to fall apart. Inflation takes hold.
 * Thompson goes on the radio to send a message to John Galt that they will negotiate, that they will do whatever he says.
 * With Hank having dropped out, Reardon Steel is taken over by the government, but the mill is closed after several months of mismanagement culminating in a fire.
 * Feb 3 is the last date mentioned in this decline (in a passage about a pilot who sees no flame from Reardon Steel).
 * Thompson tells Dagny to contact Galt and to tell him that Thompson wants to negotiate. He also says that Ferris and others are trying to find Galt in order to kill him, and perhaps have already killed him. He frightens her into contacting Galt.

 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Wesley Mouch
 * Jim Taggart
 * Fred Kinnan
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Eddie Willers
 * Tinky Holloway
 * Chick Morrison
 * Eugene Lawson
 * Ma Chalmers
 * Dr. Simon Pritchett
 * Mr Mowen

Section 382: Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny doesn't have a way to contact John Galt, but thinks she can find him. While working at the Taggart company, he had given a home address. She goes there and finds that he is in fact there. They spend a little time together. He shows her his laboratory hidden in the apartment, including the static electricity motor.
 * He warns her that she has been followed and that they are coming to take him. He urges her that when they come she should act as though she was tracking him down to turn him in, that she is on their side. They come, and she does. They force their way into his laboratory, but he has booby-trapped it and everything inside is dust before they can gain entrance.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The streets of New York City
 * John Galt's apartment
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Four thugs

Section 383: Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Thompson pleads with Galt to take control of the economy, but refuses to cede power or change the overall system. Galt refuses. Thompson tries various forms of persuasion. He slyly asks if Galt has any loved ones he'd like to speak to. Galt knows that these loved ones would become hostages and says that there is no one.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Mr. Thompson
 * John Galt

Section 384: Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 4

 * Plot summary:
 * Chick Morrison explains that their propaganda that John Galt is with them and planning a solution isn't convincing anyone. They mention factory closings, and also hunger riots in West Virginia. We learn of South Dakota farmers marching on their capital, burning state buildings and luxury houses. The State of California is in civil war between various factions.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Chick Morrison
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Wesley Mouch
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Fred Kinnon
 * Dagny Taggart

Section 385: Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 5

 * Plot summary:
 * Thompson summons Dagny to see him. She is still acting as though she is on their side. She tricks Thompson into showing John his confidential reports on the chaos around the nation, which she knows will encourage John.
 * Mr. Thompson & Jim Taggart try to persuade Galt to no effect. The next day, Thompson brings Chick Morrison, who does no better.
 * Dr. Ferris is next but also fails. The importance of the Taggart Bridge across the Mississippi River is brought up.
 * Dagny talks to Eddie Willer at the Taggart Company. Eddie leaves for San Francisco and says good-bye to Dagny as he doesn't expect to see her again.
 * Dr. Stadler is ordered to talk to Galt. Stadler tries to make excuses to John for selling out.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The Taggart Company
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Jim Taggart
 * Chick Morrison
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Eddie Willer

Section 386: Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 6

 * Plot summary:
 * Chick has Galt brough at gunpoint to a dinner gala to announce the John Galt Plan. It is also being broadcast over television and radio. They are trying to tempt him with what they themselves would want as a bribe (The dinner held in his honor, the power). Mouch makes a speech promising contradictory things. The plan to lower taxes but raise government spending. The rich get to keep everything they have but the poor get more. Higher wages but lower prices.
 * When the TV camera goes to Galt, Galt dodges away from the man holding a gun to his back so that the gun is apparent to the camera, thus showing that the leaders have been lying, that he isn't cooperating, and there is no John Galt Plan. Galt then says to the camera "Get the hell out of my way!".
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne-Falkland Hotel
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Chick Morrison
 * John Galt
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Jim Taggart
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Wesley Mouch

Section 391: Part 3, Chapter 9, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dr. Robert Stadler drives out to Project X (the weapon based on sound waves). An armed militia has taken it over, calling themselves "The Friends of the People".
 * Dr. Stadler talks his way in, and is taken to see the leader, Cuffy Meigs, in the control room. Cuffy is drunk and talks about his ambitions and demands.
 * He and Dr. Stadler get into a fight over who will control Project X, they hit into the control levers, and Project X is randomly activated. It destroys itself and everything in a 100 mile radius; buildings and people. The vital Taggart Bridge over the Mississippi River is among the destroyed.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Project X, somewhere in Iowa, within 100 miles of the Mississippi River
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dr. Stadler
 * Cuffy Meigs
 * Various militia men.

Section 392: Part 3, Chapter 9, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * The washington group argues about how to make Galt take control and save their system. Dagny is present and listening but the group still doesn't consider her an enemy. When the talk turns to torture, she slips out to call Francisco and warn him of their plans for Galt. She packs some things and meets him at a nearby street corner.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Wayne Falkland Hotel
 * Dagny's apartment
 * The streets of New York City
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Mr. Thompson
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Jim Taggart
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Wesley Mouch
 * Tinky Holloway
 * Chick Morrison
 * Eugene Lawson

Section 393: Part 3, Chapter 9, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * Galt is hooked up to an electric shock torture machine. His torturers want to break him so that he'll do what they want. But they are also afraid of killing him because they want him to save their system. Galt endures the pain but doesn't break. As the torture grows more severe, Galt remains steadfast but the torturers become more and more afraid of possibly killing him. The machine breaks and nobody can fix it. Galt tells them how to fix it, which partially freaks them out. Jim Taggart realizes that he actually hates himself and not John Galt and this fact breaks Jim, leaving him unresponsive. This freaks out the others and they use Jim as an excuse to stop torturing Galt for the night, planning to return the next day.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The "Project F" building at the State Science Institute in New Hampshire. The "F" stands for Ferris.
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dr. Ferris
 * Wesley Mouch
 * Jim Taggart
 * John Galt

Section 3A1: Part 3, Chapter 10, Section 1

 * Plot summary:
 * Dagny, Francisco, Hank, and Ragnar force their way into Project F, killing several guards and capturing several others. Hank is shot in the shoulder. They rescue John Galt, freeing him from an electric shock torture machine that had been used on him.
 * They fly back to their secret town of Galt's Gulch in the Colorado mountains. Passing over New York City, they see the gridlocked masses attempting to flee the impending catastrophic food shortage. As they fly by, the city goes black as the power stations are abandoned.
 * John, Francisco, and Ragnar look at the dying city and take satisfaction, as it is the culmination of 12 years of work.
 * Dagny is also happy, and focuses on the future. She considers the world a blank slate waiting to be written upon.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * The "Project F" building at the State Science Institute in New Hampshire
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Dagny Taggart
 * Ragnar Danneskjold
 * Hank Rearden
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * The Guards
 * John Galt

Section 3A2: Part 3, Chapter 10, Section 2

 * Plot summary:
 * Despite the fighting in the streets of lawless San Francisco, Eddie Willers was able to get a Comet train out of from San Francisco, only to have it break down in the middle of the Arizona desert. The crew can't fix it and there is no Taggart company left to send repairmen. An old fashioned wagon train pulled by horses comes by and invites the passengers to join them. Eddie looks at the people on the wagon train and thinks that they don't have what it takes to survive. Even though he is in the desert with no food and water, Eddie Willers stays with the train. The crew and other passengers load into covered wagons and leave.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * A Taggart Comet Train (the last one)
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Eddie Willers

Section 3A3: Part 3, Chapter 10, Section 3

 * Plot summary:
 * It is late winter, and we visit various cabins in Galt's Gulch to see what the characters are doing.
 * Richard Halley is playing his Fifth Concerto. It is triumphant, it "swept space clean and left nothing but the joy of an unobstructed effort".
 * Midas Mulligan is thinking about investments he'll make in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, other places.
 * Dagnar and Kay are relaxing.
 * Judge Narrangansett is rewriting the constitution, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of production and trade...".
 * Francisco, Hank, and Ellis are together. Francisco is planning a smelter for Hank, Hank envisions a railroad. John will design the engines. Dagny will run it.
 * Elsewhere John and Dagny are out walking. He says "The road is cleared. We are going back to the world."
 * End of the story.
 * The following Places in Atlas Shrugged are used as settings in this section:
 * Galt's Gulch, a Colorado Valley
 * The following Characters in Atlas Shrugged appear in this section:
 * Richard Halley
 * Midas Mulligan
 * Ragnar Danneskjold
 * Kay LudLow
 * Judge Narragansett
 * Hank Rearden
 * Francisco d'Anconia
 * Ellis
 * Dagny Taggart
 * John Galt
 * Quotations:
 * "The road is cleared. We are going back to the world" page 1069 said by John Galt

title: Atlas Shrugged/Synopsis/Section 3A


text:
Atlas Shrugged/Structure

Atlas Shrugged is divided into three parts, with ten chapters in each part. Chapters are divided into any number of sections.

{|

Part 1 - Non-Contradiction

 * 1) The Theme
 * 2) The Chain
 * 3) The Top and the Bottom
 * 4) The Immovable Movers
 * 5) The Climax of the D'Anconias
 * 6) The Non-Commercial
 * 7) The Exploiters and the Exploited
 * 8) The John Galt Line
 * 9) The Sacred and the Profane
 * 10) Wyatt's Torch

Part 2 - Either-Or

 * 1) The Man who Belonged on Earth
 * 2) The Aristocracy of Pull
 * 3) White Blackmail
 * 4) The Sanction of the Victim
 * 5) Account Overdrawn
 * 6) Miracle Metal
 * 7) The Moratorium on Brains
 * 8) By Our Love
 * 9) The Face without Pain or Fear or Guilt
 * 10) The Sign of the Dollar

Part 3 - A Is A

 * 1) Atlantis
 * 2) The Utopia of Greed
 * 3) Anti-Greed
 * 4) Anti-Life
 * 5) Their Brothers' Keepers
 * 6) The Concerto of Deliverance
 * 7) "This is John Galt Speaking"
 * 8) The Egoist
 * 9) The Generator
 * 10) In the Name of the Best within Us
 * }

title: Atlas Shrugged/Structure


text:
User:Kingturtle

I teach U.S. History, World Cultures and Psychology in a California public high school.

title: User:Kingturtle