With each passing detail, S. tries to form a map of where he has come from to where he is going. After some time, “he accepts that his mental map has become hopelessly jumbled” but the story of the K–––– continues to develop. He sees a contrast between theur own people and the others, those “with featureless faces.” This contrast is then extended to the “us vs. them” that comes up several times throughout the book and then more specifically, “[Eric] vs. Moody/Ilsa,” “the S. vs. Bouchard/Agents” and so forth. The novel seems to be centered on this idea of opposition. There is always a person of organization that S. is running to or from.