This page continues to detail the murder of the archduke. Although not outrightly stated, surrounding context makes it clear that this passage is referring to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Archduke was assassinated in Sarajevo, where this agent currently is, and this murder is incredibly historically significant. As the text explains, Agent #4 is involved in the murder.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Throughout the novel of S., it is stated that Straka was expected to have been the cause of historically significant events. It was even said that Straka himself was responsible for assassinating The Archduke. This murder, which in turn caused World War I, was just one of the many things that Straka, an unidentified man, was blamed for.

The footnotes on this page refer to a potential Straka. As the text explains, certain people believed that, “Straka’s works had been written by ‘Apis’s Amanuensis’ – the mysterious, rarely seen, never-photographed (and possibly not-real) aide to Dragutin Dimitrjevic (“Apis”),” (300). FXC makes it clear that she does not believe that this could be possible, but she does note how Straka is alluding to this rumor through the interlude. She also mentions another Straka text, The Black Nineteen.

Within the margins Jen states, “Agent #4 is an asshole. Even apart from the whole starting WWI thing.“ Throughout the text Jen seems more emotionally invested in the text, through comments about her personal opinions, or highlighting cool words. Meanwhile, Eric seems to be more engaged by the actual problems with the book.

Another comment made within the margins, by Eric, states how The Black Nineteen is not similar in style to other VMS books, and that without that text, nobody would assume or believe that Straka was Amanuensis. As Jen then states, that theory would not exist at all if it weren’t for the rumors about Straka being a murderer.