At dawn, barricades unexpectedly ring Babel, built from carts, rubble, and scavenged metal. Abel Goodfellow, a striker who once heckled the scholars, reveals he organized them to resist the Army and shield protesters. Scholars and workers immediately collaborate: mapping choke points, planning low-level obstructions, and listing silver aids; Abel even delivers mattresses to improve conditions inside.

That evening, redcoats march into Oxford. Abel negotiates directly with their mustachioed commander, who grants a 48-hour ultimatum before withdrawing, signaling hesitation to storm a crowded city. The barricades create an impasse and secure supply lines, drawing growing ranks of labourers, local youths, and women, transforming the protest zone into a supportive community around the tower.

Inside, the scholars intensify pressure on London by publicizing how silver underpins transport, food, water, mills, and railways. Yusuf predicts rapid market collapse from panic; Professor Craft notes exiled faculty can only partially counter failures without Babel’s ledgers. Pamphlets warn of cascading “plagues,” while exiles in London fight a losing rearguard. Oxford’s dominance—jealously guarded from Cambridge—proves a national vulnerability.

Government telegrams repeat demands and threats as infrastructure deteriorates. Road and transport failures kill civilians; Oxford starves and rioters surge but cannot breach the warded tower. Robin issues pamphlets with two demands—no China war and amnesty—and embraces escalation, arguing fear is necessary. Victoire resists, urging restraint and survival; they quarrel over how many resonance rods to pull.

Researching ledgers, Robin discovers Westminster Bridge’s silver foundations expire within a week; a collapse would paralyze London. He presses to let it fall; Victoire warns this crosses into retribution. A vote narrowly backs Robin—students for, professors against—scheduling Saturday by inaction. Professor Chakravarti condemns the plan as malice, counters Robin’s “let them hate so long as they fear,” and, invoking ahimsa’s limits, leaves the tower after surrendering his materials, while the others watch in strained silence.