p. 247

S. opens the valise to find the following a stack of papers, some photographs, and what can be assumed to be weapons used to kill, most notably, “a black fountain pen inlaid with mother-of-pearl” The author writes, “In bright light, it would be beautiful.” By literally portraying the pen as a lethal weapon, Straka is making a statement about the power words and writing as a form of expression. Straka identifies with S. in this moment.

Eric and Jen are discussing the feasibility of Straka’s works each being written by different authors, when Eric says, “Simplest explanation is that we’re just seeing influences. Also possible: Erlebnistager theory – that VMS collected stories from other people, translated them, rewrote some parts, added details, etc. Then published them as his own”
While there is no published theory called the Erlebnistrager theory, the German word “erlebnistage” translates to “days of adventure,” which is somewhat consistent with what Eric is talking about.