Reading the book, John learns that Bokonon is a Black man born in Tobago as Lionel Boyd Johnson. His family gained wealth by discovering and reinvesting pirate treasure. Like St. Augustine, to whom Bokonon compares himself in one of his poems, Bokonon led an indulgent lifestyle as a youth.

In 1911, young Bokonon sailed to London to seek an education. He left school to fight in World War I. After recovering from an injury, he set sail for Tobago, but a series of captures and employment opportunities allowed Bokonon to travel around the world seeking his purpose; he even spends two years in India as a follower of Mohandas Gandhi.

In 1922, Bokonon met Earl McCabe, an intelligent deserter from the Marines, and agreed to take him from Haiti to Miami. A storm wrecked his ship, leaving him and McCabe stranded on San Lorenzo, where he started a new life as Bokonon, which is how “Johnson,” his family name, is pronounced in San Lorenzo’s unique dialect.

John’s reading is interrupted by Hazel, who suggests that he meet two fellow Hoosiers who got on the plane. He is not interested until he realizes she is talking about Angela and Newt.