S learns the names of his pseudo-captors (Pfeifer and Ostrero), and the three men begin moving, though Pfeifer still dislikes and doesn’t trust S. He says “I’m not letting go of him,” and he pushes S roughly (82).

For the first time in several pages, S expresses pain. He bemoans his hunger and the cold (82), after not mentioning it for several pages. After he begins to get to know his captors a little bit more, he loosens up and begins to notice his surroundings.

As S is escorted towards the dais where the demonstrators are gathered, S can feel them judging him-“inventing a narrative” about him (82). He feels self-conscious, which implies that he still has dignity and self-respect.

Ostrero tells Pfeifer that they should take S to Stenfalk. As Eric note in the margins, “Stenfalk is Swedish for “Merlin,”” (82), tying into the theme of birds that recurs throughout the book.

Merlin

Interestingly, though this discourse originates in intellectual discourse, it quickly becomes personal-Jen calls out Eric by saying “Everything’s Ilsa with you,” to which he responds “Everything’s Jacob with you,” responding her to apologize and blush (82). This shows that their relationship has moved beyond a purely academic one, and they are beginning to have stronger feelings for each other.

Later in the footnotes, Jen confesses that she withheld information from Eric-she talked to Ilsa about Straka. Eric is not pleased, writing

“You should understand that it’s just a matter of time before she (+ thus Moody) figures out that there’s a connection between us.”

(82) This leads to an incredibly significant quote on the next page.