Ostrero and Stenfalk have already been killed by the agents so S., Corbeau, and Pfeifer must figure out a way to avoid facing the same fate. Pfeifer makes a comment about how “Ostrero led [the agents] halfway here” which Jen comments on. Assuming the theory that the characters of the story are representations of people in the real world of S. is correct, Jen forms a connection between the story and a misunderstanding in the real world. She “wonder[s] how this chapter would be different if Straka had known the truth about Garcia Ferrara/MacInnes.” This is a reference to a discovery Jen and Eric make about the theoretical group “the S.” which could have altered the dynamic of the S. – and this chapter – had the truth come out.

Corbeau is broken after the death of Stenfalk and S. must gain her attention in order for them to escape. “S. takes her by her good hand and says her name” to which Jen comments that he has “remind[ed] her of who she is and what she still has.” This is a moment between Jen and Eric in which their life intertwines with the novel. Eric has done for Jen what S. did for Corbeau.