War is coming. We know this because it's in the chapter title. Also, "War" is in the book's title too, so there are a lot of hints that war is a big part of this story. This chapter, the unnamed narrator tells us about Mars as though we already know it. "Mars is running out of resources as everyone knows..." In this chapter, the narrator is lucky enough to see Mars from an observatory with his old pal Ogilvey. This is a good place to start, as they just happen to be witnesses to bright flashes of light on the planet, one a day for 10 days. I'm sure it's nothing...