Stunned after Griffin’s death, Robin drifts through shock while Victoire directs their escape from Oxford Castle. They creep through woods and along a riverbank as dogs pass, then slip back into town toward the Radcliffe quadrangle. Robin suggests the canal or fleeing to the Cotswolds, but Victoire warns the canal leads to the police and the countryside will be searched.

When Robin objects to a known safe house, Victoire reveals another: a tunnel entrance behind Vaults near the Radcliffe Library, which Anthony once showed her. With dogs still in the distance and Griffin’s wúxíng bar in hand, they move cautiously, paradoxically calmed by Oxford’s familiar facades even as a manhunt spreads.

Seeing Babel and the colleges, Robin recognizes the city’s serene veneer masks exploitation—the universities built on slavery, silver, and stolen translators. He admits they never belonged and asks if Oxford can be redeemed; Victoire says no. They acknowledge their naivety—pamphlets will not sway those profiting from empire—and conclude only force can compel change.

Griffin’s credo guides them: scholars are not soldiers, and Babel can be taken with decisive violence. The notion grows from fantasy to plan. Gazing at the tower, Robin wants it to crumble; Victoire wants it to burn. Together, they commit to taking the tower.