Agent #34

Agent #34 is in a coroner’s office in Edinburgh, dead. The Agent is identified by his Dutch passport. The passport, however, is fake. The Agent gave up his real identity and old life when he joined Vévoda.

The man experienced cardiac arrest, which was brought on by an untraceable poison swabbed into his hatband in a pub. In the dead Agent’s pocket are two pages from a Finnish novel called Archerin Tarinat, by Jänkä Sääksi.

In a footnote FXC complains that too many connections have been made between Straka and the “Santorini Man” deaths.

Jen notes that there were some “Santorini Man” deaths in the late 70s.

Jen discovers a recent example of a “Santorini Man” death. Last October an unidentifiable body was found in the water near Barcelona. The man seemed to have died from a fall. In his pocket was a page from a book. Jen hopes that this death is just a coincidence.

Eric notes that a lot of things that resemble the workings of The S have been happening recently. He wonders whether The S or The New S have returned. Perhaps Desjardins found something out.

It is certainly noteworthy that deaths occurring in the “real world” of Jen and Eric resemble the deaths in Ship of Theseus. This adds a new level of eeriness to the story. What if the murder and secrecy and conspiracy of Ship of Theseus also exist in the real world? This also suggests that Jen and Eric may be in danger if they continue their work on Straka.

Eric writes that the novel, Archerin Tarinat, is another Archer’s Tale, the mysterious book that appears throughout S.’s world.

Eric notes that Sääksi is a fictional author.

Jen comments that Sääksi is Finnish for “osprey.” Straka has an obsession with birds, and they appear throughout the novel in various forms. Straka and his companions all used birds for their codenames.

Jen wonders if the Agent’s lack of identity is like Straka’s complicated identity. She then realizes that all of the Straka candidates continued to live their lives even if they wrote under Straka’s name.

Later Jen brings up Vaclav as an exception.

Eric writes that Vaclav’s history was not erased; rather, his future was destroyed after everyone thought that he had died. Vaclav, if he really did survive, was a man who should not have existed.