The sky held scattered clouds; at that instant the sun came out from behind one and a shaft of light hit him.
His clothes vanished. He stood before them, a golden youth, clothed only in beauty—beauty that made Jubal's heart ache, thinking that Michelangelo in his ancient years would have climbed down from his high scaffolding to record it for generations unborn. Mike said gently, "Look at me. I am a son of man."

In Chapter XXXVII, Mike steps outside of the hotel in which he is staying to martyr himself to the angry mob that has assembled. Although Mike's wish to teach the world a lesson by accepting his own murder with grace is heartfelt and deep, he nonetheless performs as if he is an actor in a scene. Mike has learned from his experience in the carnival, and from the Fosterites, that it is inherent to human beings to want their lessons to be couched in salesmanship and showmanship. The narration in this scene observes Mike's followers watching his martyrdom on a "stereo tank" (a futuristic television), so we see Mike's performance as a show. Mike uses his telekinetic powers to create an impressive lighting effect as he is about to be killed, and to strikingly vanish his own clothing. Mike speaks a carefully scripted line, and then the stereo tank cuts to a commercial. Heinlein satirically lambasts the crassness of the media, who sell products as Mike is about to be murdered. This scene also demonstrates that Mike understands the media and understands humanity's attachment to entertainment. Mike designs his own death not as a protest against crass media, but as his own crass media event, to reach the maximum number of people.