Father Kleinsorge and a fellow priest obtain living quarters first in a shack and then in a barracks sold to them by the city. They hire a contractor to build a new mission house. Against his doctor's orders, Father Kleinsorge does not rest but instead visits possible new church members. A year after the bombing he goes back to the hospital in Tokyo for a rest.
The new municipal government, under the direction of the Allied Military Government, plans projects to rebuild the city, including the restoration of electricity and water as well as the construction of small housing units. Meanwhile, the statisticians begin to calculate the damage to lives and buildings, and the scientists converge on Hiroshima to measure the force and heat of the bomb in various locations.
The chapter ends with a summary of each character's current conditions. Speculation about the bomb's aftermath in theoretical and philosophical terms is joined by opinions from the medical and religious professions regarding the ethical justifications for the bombing. However, the people of Hiroshima (those that Hersey writes about) do not think about the ethical implications at all but rather about resignation — what is done is done.
The children of Hiroshima still see the day of the bombing as a great adventure. Months later their descriptions are factual details of the destruction and the dead.
