{"id":"01KG0M1G0GC1YHHGX7J971Q7G0","cid":"bafkreibz75ny6pjtdwk64r6d2aabzqy65l6abdvp3w2ndflgfenalkh76y","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":425,"extracted_at":"2026-01-27T20:59:06.317Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 5","source_file":"01KG0K71QM71M0G20X5B9DHB1X","start_line":367,"text":"no basis for any of the accusations you’re making; nobody’s ever said a\r\nword to me about any of these things. Maybe you haven’t read the latest\r\ncontracts I sent in. I’ll set off with the eight o’clock train, as\r\nwell, these few hours of rest have given me strength. You don’t need to\r\nwait, sir; I’ll be in the office soon after you, and please be so good\r\nas to tell that to the boss and recommend me to him!”\r\n\r\nAnd while Gregor gushed out these words, hardly knowing what he was\r\nsaying, he made his way over to the chest of drawers—this was easily\r\ndone, probably because of the practise he had already had in bed—where\r\nhe now tried to get himself upright. He really did want to open the\r\ndoor, really did want to let them see him and to speak with the chief\r\nclerk; the others were being so insistent, and he was curious to learn\r\nwhat they would say when they caught sight of him. If they were shocked\r\nthen it would no longer be Gregor’s responsibility and he could rest.\r\nIf, however, they took everything calmly he would still have no reason\r\nto be upset, and if he hurried he really could be at the station for\r\neight o’clock. The first few times he tried to climb up on the smooth\r\nchest of drawers he just slid down again, but he finally gave himself\r\none last swing and stood there upright; the lower part of his body was\r\nin serious pain but he no longer gave any attention to it. Now he let\r\nhimself fall against the back of a nearby chair and held tightly to the\r\nedges of it with his little legs. By now he had also calmed down, and\r\nkept quiet so that he could listen to what the chief clerk was saying.\r\n\r\n“Did you understand a word of all that?” the chief clerk asked his\r\nparents, “surely he’s not trying to make fools of us”. “Oh, God!”\r\ncalled his mother, who was already in tears, “he could be seriously ill\r\nand we’re making him suffer. Grete! Grete!” she then cried. “Mother?”\r\nhis sister called from the other side. They communicated across\r\nGregor’s room. “You’ll have to go for the doctor straight away. Gregor\r\nis ill. Quick, get the doctor. Did you hear the way Gregor spoke just\r\nnow?” “That was the voice of an animal”, said the chief clerk, with a\r\ncalmness that was in contrast with his mother’s screams. “Anna! Anna!”\r\nhis father called into the kitchen through the entrance hall, clapping\r\nhis hands, “get a locksmith here, now!” And the two girls, their skirts\r\nswishing, immediately ran out through the hall, wrenching open the\r\nfront door of the flat as they went. How had his sister managed to get\r\ndressed so quickly? There was no sound of the door banging shut again;\r\nthey must have left it open; people often do in homes where something\r\nawful has happened.\r\n\r\nGregor, in contrast, had become much calmer. So they couldn’t\r\nunderstand his words any more, although they seemed clear enough to\r\nhim, clearer than before—perhaps his ears had become used to the sound.\r\nThey had realised, though, that there was something wrong with him, and\r\nwere ready to help. The first response to his situation had been\r\nconfident and wise, and that made him feel better. He felt that he had\r\nbeen drawn back in among people, and from the doctor and the locksmith\r\nhe expected great and surprising achievements—although he did not\r\nreally distinguish one from the other. Whatever was said next would be\r\ncrucial, so, in order to make his voice as clear as possible, he\r\ncoughed a little, but taking care to do this not too loudly as even\r\nthis might well sound different from the way that a human coughs and he\r\nwas no longer sure he could judge this for himself. Meanwhile, it had\r\nbecome very quiet in the next room. Perhaps his parents were sat at the\r\ntable whispering with the chief clerk, or perhaps they were all pressed\r\nagainst the door and listening.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 5"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG0KZ63AN6E7Q81KCVNXRVF0","peer_label":"Metamorphosis","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG0K71QM71M0G20X5B9DHB1X","peer_label":"metamorphoses.txt","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KFXT0KM64XT6K8W52TDEE0YS","peer_label":"More Classics","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG0M1FZ1PE3VN5SJ7KC7EDV2","peer_label":"Chunk 4","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG0M1FZ1S4Z1ZMRSTHM3NSWN","peer_label":"Chunk 6","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-27T20:59:06.931Z","ts":"2026-01-27T20:59:18.143Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}