Captain Church, the commander of Todd's unit, insists on testing the abilities of the new soldiers against those of his proven older ones. The new soldiers outperform the old soldiers in every way. In a combat exercise held at the top of climbing chains, a new soldier, Caine 607, easily defeats two of the original soldiers before Todd gouges out Caine's eye. Caine knocks Todd from the top of the chains; though he is presumed dead, the body of another dead soldier actually cushioned his fall and he is simply stunned and knocked unconscious. Mekum classifies it as a training exercise gone wrong and orders their bodies disposed of like garbage. Declared obsolete by Mekum, the remaining older soldiers are removed from combat duty and demoted to menial unarmed support roles.