Chapter 13, "Morpheus Deferred," follows Jacob's teenage journey from high-school wrestling and drug-fueled misadventures to uneasy commerce with the Dream Society. As he travels to Herefordshire College and confronts inner voices and a lingering sense of derealization, the narrative traces his loss of identity and the haunting pull of the Ghost Fortress. Interspersed is an interlude of the older Jake's most recent purgation.

The episode blends memories of friendships, adolescent rites, and encounters with mentors, highlighting themes of choice, agency, and the maps — literal and figurative — that guide and unmoor him.

An off-kilter memoir episode about a summer in the ‘Ghost Palace’ where young Jake Isakson drifts into the Dream Society’s underworld—initiation rituals, petty crime, and the slow creep of possession reshape his life.

Set against family fractures and reckless strategies, the chapter maps a purgatorial detour that reveals how choices, karma, and lost bearings steer a life away from the beaten path.

A surreal, darkly comic episode following a narrator through dreamlike assassinations, Dream Society rites, and strange encounters—blending ritual, humor, and haunting imagery as the Academy’s proceedings unfold.

In Chapter 10, the narrator pedals the strange, aromatic Broadwalk of the Bardo with a companion named Ken of the Travelers encountering third-eyed denizens, on his wobbly bardonic vehicle. Reflections on identity in a dreamlike waiting room.

The episode wanders through digressions about shoes and shoe-throwing, failed teaching jobs and janitorial work, and the slow, ambiguous lessons, with a side-eye to legendary Chinese physician Sun Simiao's Ghost Map, of patience, power, and self-discovery while awaiting admission to the Academy of the Dream Society.

In Episode 9, “The Piyyut of the Djinn,” opening chapter of "The Proceedings of the Academy of the Dream Society," the narrator and his beloved arrive at the Academy of the Dream Society and encounter the mysterious Registrar who admits them only with a cryptic password, from a piyyut tied to a rain-making djinn, Af Bri. Surreal initiation rituals, probing examinations, and intimate encounters with the librarian explore memory, interpretation, and the strange bureaucracy that governs entry into the dream world.

In the explosive finale of "A Mobster's Midrash," "Chapter 8: Armageddon," chaos reigns as the Kings of Zion prepare for the Battle of the Bands in Atlantic City. Haunted by visions of ectoplasmic cows and prophetic utterances, the band navigates internal conflicts, mounting threats from rival bands, and bizarre supernatural elements.

Amidst artisanal pot dealings and music rag rumors, the band's journey is fraught with power struggles, sabotage, and relentless ambition. As they face off against formidable competitors, including the iconic Beastie Boys, unexpected alliances and betrayals unfold, bringing forth a spectacle of musical prowess, mob influence, and theatrical flair.

Tensions reach a fever pitch behind the curtains, a dramatic confrontation that sets the stage for an unexpected climax. With every county heard and dark forces at play, the Kings of Zion are on a mission, whatever that might be, their fate intertwined with the mysterious pull of Atlantic City's storied sands.

Welcome to the clandestine world of Zion, a hidden encampment nestled in the greenway of Northern Jersey, just a stone's throw from Princeton University. Here, a wacky band of academic dropouts and nonconformists gather to grow weed and make music.

Hades, the first charismatic leader, rules the nocturnal assembly of misfits with a genial smile and an eye for pranks. Together with his companions, Wiggy and Jag and Uncle, they navigate wilds of The Delaware and Raritan Canal and environs, weaving their cultivation of cannabis, free-spirited jamming sessions, and interplanetary ambitions into an intoxicating spell.

Emmett the shamus reveals the history and metaphysical mechanics of the ritual of self-nullification, an epiphany he achieves whilst walking the canal with his buddy Stretch. Then he shifts the reader's focus to Atlantic City's history as a premier seaside resort and mobster hangout. Along the way, Enoch's origin story, the nullification of his self in the service of the Interworld. The narrative winds its way around the New York, New Jersey and Philly mobs as they size up Atlantic City for control. The deep dive is Philly, where lie Emmett's roots, the home of the most vicious contender for ownership of The Boardwalk Empire, Little Nicky Scarfo.