The chapter revolves around Juniper Blakely's tense virtual meeting with Pittsburgh's Mayor Charles Nelson Taft and Jason Delsey of the City Planning Commission. Juniper apologizes for his earlier missteps but faces sharp criticism from Taft, who accuses him of overpromising and damaging trust. Despite this, the city offers Juniper a consulting role for his concept of an animated figurine attraction, while planning to hand over the project's execution to John Sayre's firm, M-Bots. Juniper, feeling betrayed and angered by Sayre's alleged theft of his idea, rejects the offer and announces his intention to collaborate with Indiana County instead. He dramatically references the movie It’s a Wonderful Life to emphasize his principles and accuses Taft and Sayre of unethical behavior. Juniper ends the meeting by asserting his ownership of the concept and threatening legal action if Pittsburgh attempts to use his idea without permission.
