This interlude is from Letty’s perspective. Even after the incident at the Old Library, Letty doesn’t see herself as a bad person. No one understood how hard it was for her. She only got a chance at Oxford after her brother’s death, and she worked hard and got in on merit and initiative—studying on her own and sending her essays to tutors at Babel. “She thought the Empire inevitable” (438), so her cohort’s efforts to overthrow it were naïve. They talked about justice, but they were unkind and condescending when they told her about the discrimination they faced. They never gave her credit for the discrimination she faced as a woman. They went too far when they committed crimes; their response lacked civility and respect for morality and the law. They were going to drag her down with them. She was resolute enough to choose herself.

Robin and Victoire hide in the safe room and use a silver warning beacon to let the rest of Hermes know what happened in London. They then occupy Babel using weapons. They tell their hostages how Babel is complicit in the British Empire’s imperialist exploitation.