Griffin keeps his promise and cuts off all contact, leaving Robin to rationalize staying inside Babel as exams approach. The cohort faces grueling preparation: written papers in their languages and etymology, a viva voce led by Playfair, and a silver-working test. Anxiety mounts; silver study bars keyed to “meticulous” induce dread, and the group suffers insomnia, tremors, and hallucinations—Robin even thinks he sees Anthony alive, then doubts himself.

Seeking help, Cathy O’Nell quietly supplies a pamphlet on match-pair research that warns against religious texts, advises using cognates carefully, and explains daisy-chaining. They mine the Current Ledger for ideas, marvel at innovations, and notice Eveline (Evie) Brooke’s prolific entries abruptly stop years ago; her untouched desk suggests she vanished, possibly linked to the ill-fated class of 1833. Uneasy, they return to cramming.

Exams begin: Robin translates Chakravarti’s Classical Chinese passage, wrestles with Craft’s prompt on Cicero’s interpretes, navigates Lovell’s translation tasks (including hieroglyphs), and survives Playfair’s performative viva. Exhausted but steady, he finishes each component without disaster.

On silver-test day, Letty goes first, then Robin. Coached gently by Chakravarti, Robin engraves 明白 and “Understand.” The bar flares into a warm sphere of comprehension that both perceive, proving his theory’s effect. He emerges relieved and shares lemon biscuits with Letty; Ramy soon joins, confident his own attempt worked.

Victoire takes longest. Her Kreyòl–French pair functions, but Professor Leblanc dismisses it as useless to non-Kreyòl speakers and laughs; shaken, she retries with a French–English pair that works less cleanly. She then confirms they all passed. The friends bask in a rare, uncomplicated happiness—“Like drawing with the hand of God”—and savor a brief golden afternoon of relief.