#41 and #9 fall to the ground as two darts pierces their throats. Their bodies remain undiscovered until the staff notices the stench. When the editor-in-chief seeks assistance from the police, he is reminded that a war is going on and the bodies are his problem.

The interlude then returns to the ship, now with fewer sailors and whistles. The air is saturated with terrible resonance, which is supposedly the sound of war. The orlop becomes the last shelter from such tumult.

What stands out from the line is that VMS uses “a dying aviary” to describe the ship. Eric nimbly captures this use of diction and points out that “The S writers dying one by one”. As discussed previously, “S writers”–candidates for Straka–are referred to as birds in different languages. On other hand, Jen mentions a get-together party but is upset that, compared to many of her friends, she does not have a sense of purpose. “They all know what they’re doing”, writes Jen. While Eric suggests that she should go, Jen says that all her friends want to talk about is Eric, “Jenny’s new boyfriend.”