Carter Murphy was engulfed by snow on December 7th of the 10th year, but he couldn't be sure if his arrival at the hotel had also been in the 10th year. Time inside the hotel was relatively chaotic. He had seen Indians dressed in their native attire, soldiers in Third Reich German uniforms, and even individuals in astronaut suits who might have been performance artists or people from the future.
The hotel staff remained tight-lipped about inquiries regarding the current date. The guests, however, were far more enthusiastic. A guest staying next to him (a Portuguese man with a large beard) took him to a residents' committee consisting of hundreds of guests. He introduced Carter to some of the committee's circumstances and the rules for survival in the hotel.
