S. describes the Winter City relative “to the world of which the newspaper speaks.” He believes that the City is “of” the newspaper, but not “in” it. This is similar to how ficitional writing works; while Jen and Eric may be “of” the world we live in, they are not “in” it because they are fictional. S., as a text, explores the contrast between reality and fiction.

Eric’s phone call with Summersby’s lawyer’s daughter reveals that “a little girl whose parents were both dead, was being chased by bad people all around the world.” She had two uncles that would take turns taking care of her.  Jen suggests that Signe is the little girl, and Eric suggests that the “uncles” were Summersby, and one unknown man.