S. thinks about Sola, now certain that he does know her somehow. He wonders how they know each other, and why she is so important. Suddenly he begins to doubt himself, wondering if he is hopelessly trying to invent a self out of glimpses and fragments. One of the major themes of S is identity. Here, S. complicates the theme. Instead of trying to discover things about himself, S. wonders whether his notion of identity is simply a construction. This passage begs the question, is there such a thing as a self?

S. and Stenfalk watch a bird climb an aspen, and Stenfalk comments that birds offer “much comfort and strength.” Birds are a common symbol in Ship of Theseus, and are as important to Straka as they are to the characters in his book.

After a little while, S. and Stenfalk begin to climb the rock face.

Jen writes that the name of the hotel in Prague that Ekstrom and Durand checked into translates to “The Aviary.”

Eric wonders if it was smart for Straka and his friends to all use birds as codenames.

Jen responds by saying, “they were writers, not spies.” Although Straka and his companions are shrouded in mystery and conspiracy, it is important to remember that they were in fact writers. Jen is suggesting that while it may not have been smart for them to all use bird names, the choice has a certain poetic and literary value to it.