Boone feels defeated by the possibility that Julia has turned against him. He thinks about talking Julia back to his side but becomes self-conscious when he remembers that Jill can hear his thoughts. When they hear Julia crying to Viv, they realize that Boone is about to die. Boone hopes that everyone he knows in Heaven will congratulate him for being successful throughout his life. Boone’s fantasy is broken by a brief spell of disorientation and the reminder of where he is: not in one of his grand estate homes, but in the guest room of the Dallas house—also called the “Slop Room”—where he will die of cancer after months of treatment.

Boone quells the anxiety over his impending death with the knowledge that he is bonded to Jill and thinks with her as though they are one spirit. He reluctantly confesses that he has made mistakes in his life, including championing the position that industry should prosper at the cost of the environment. He admits to feeling shame at seeing the effects of his business on the climate, horrifying disasters he saw on the global news. He says he did his best with the hypothesis he believed in, even if it turned out to be wrong. He distances himself from his company, trying to suggest that the latter was responsible for more explicit misrepresentations of the truth, such as the paid publication of articles supporting their position. He suggests that even if it is all his fault, he doesn’t know what good it would do to recant his position now.

The room starts filling up with the souls of the dead from Texas and its neighboring states. They bring up the college student from Chicago who challenged Boone at an open forum. The student reiterates his challenge, stressing the studies that conclude the Earth is warming, not cooling, as Boone had claimed. Boone repeats his defensive answers, but when the student elaborates on his challenge, accusing Boone of leading executives to lie about the climate, Boone tries to discredit the student’s claims. The spirits refuse to accept Boone’s explanation that he knew nothing about his company’s research on global warming. Boone resigns the argument, preferring to be free from his body so that he can feel powerful again.

Boone actively desires death, seeing the very last part of his life as a difficult ordeal. Just before he dies, Boone tells Jill that he “got swept up [… in] myself” (154) but had no other choice. Jill recognizes that Boone is achieving elevation and encourages him to detach from the self. Boone indulges his ego one last time by telling Jill what it was like to have the kind of power he had. He thanks God for making him who he was. He dismisses the importance of elevation and tells Jill she failed, but he turns sentimental when he remembers his mother. The spirit of his mother appears and helps him to recall his childhood. She quietly absolves Boone and affirms his goodness, which comforts him. When he learns that his mother still has things to do in the world before she moves on, Boone starts dying.

Viv and Julia stand alongside Boone’s mother and father as Boone passes. The Mels, both still in denial that the beliefs they championed in life were wrong, return with a thick rope and try to wrangle Boone’s spirit. Hoping to spare himself from this fate, Boone retreats to Jill and fully admits his guilt, as well as his resolve to atone for his sins. Jill tells him it is already too late to undo what he has done.

The Mels drag Boone’s spirit through the wedding party as it comes to an end. The crowd of spirits similarly disperses. Jill feels guilty that she is powerless to stop suffering from happening. When she remembers the feeling of discovering what happened to her and her world after she died, she remembers her conclusion about inevitable occurrences: Boone did not choose the kind of person he was born to become. His predispositions made his choices inevitable and therefore immune to judgment. Jill uses her new powers to disperse the Mels and liberate Boone. 

The Frenchman is shocked that Jill would do such a thing, asking her if she really thinks Boone deserves to be freed despite his sins. Boone kneels at the Frenchman’s feet and asks to join in his mission of convincing other people to repent for their actions. The Frenchman is moved by the request, which reminds him of his own moral conversion years ago. He asks Boone where they should go. Boone directs him to his old business rival in Santa Barbara, who will soon die. The Frenchman and Boone proceed there together.

Now that her mission is accomplished, Jill’s form starts to waver. She considers the Mels as inevitable occurrences and wonders if it was hypocritical of her to be so harsh towards them. She acknowledges, however, that this was made possible by the part of her that is no longer elevated. To feel equal pity for all beings, Jill must fully elevate herself once again, letting go of her old self.

Jill returns to the heavens and restores herself with the memory of Paul Bowman reflecting on his life and his actions. When she reminds herself that he is an inevitable occurrence, she reminds herself of her task to comfort all beings. She begins to fall once again, regaining form as she prepares to comfort a woman on the brink of death.