 En route, he is robbed and his illumination taken. Francis completes the journey to New Rome and is granted an audience with the Pope, who was modeled after Pope John XXIII. Francis presents the Pope with the remaining documents, and the Pope comforts Francis by giving him gold with which to ransom back the illumination; however, Francis is killed during his return trip by a group of "The Pope's Children" (an affectionate name for the people who have been so severely affected by the genetic mutation caused by radiation that they are subhuman in both intelligence and capacity for reason), receiving an arrow in the face. The Wanderer discovers and buries Francis's body. (The book then focuses on the vultures who were denied their meal; they fly over the Great Plains and find much food near the Red River until a city-state, based in Texarkana, rises).
