The Jargonauts would like nothing better than for the truth to come into focus like a Polaroid photo, with a clear and favorable outcome, a phoenix from the ashes, a swan from an ugly duckling. But they are plagued by setbacks, false leads, and dashed hopes. The head of the snake is elusive, and the multitudes under Pharma influence have become unwitting but loyal enemies of reason, freedom, and all that is good. If there is to be a light at the end of the tunnel, it seems that a showdown on a grand scale--far greater than the ones at the Chicago warehouse, on the Uncharted Territory, in Tombstone, on the Red River bridge, and at Bumper Cropp's barn--is imminent.