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Summary: Chapters 27 & 28

Chapter 27

Inside Babel, everyone anxiously awaits a response from the government. Robin dwells on England's various failed strikes but maintains that theirs could be different since the country relies on Babel so extensively. Chakravarti reveals that he knows very little about the Hermes Society, has no additional contacts, and was the only one who responded to Robin and Victoire's message. They receive a telegram from London instructing them to reopen the tower and commence regular activities. Parliament has not taken their strike seriously, causing morale within the tower to drop as they question the effectiveness of their strike. 

The next morning, Magdalen Tower, which had been reliant on Babel's silver-working for structural support, collapses. The strikers debate how this will reflect on their cause. Chakravarti and Craft maintain that Parliament will wait out the strike, constructing a new translation center to support the country in the meantime. Robin suddenly remembers the resonance bars inside the tower that Chakravarti once showed him. If they are destroyed, England's large supply of silver that relies on the resonance bars for power will weaken. Chakravarti warns of civilian risk but Robin is adamant. Victoire wants to incapacitate the resonance bars slowly, but Robin wants to speed the process up, prompting Victoire to carefully remind him that what they're doing is not for revenge.

After removing two dozen rods, Oxford begins to crumble, deteriorating rapidly as things like transportation, postal services, sewage systems, and clockwork grind to a halt. Chakravarti explains that the country's heavy reliance on Babel was intentional; Babel scholars invented the system and even designed external bars to need frequent upkeep so that they could charge for services, bringing in more money for the institute. Oxford's collapse is therefore the cost of "artificially creating demand." The extent of the damage reveals the magnitude of British dependence on Babel, and therefore foreign scholars and stolen languages. Robin privately hopes that the destruction is prolonged until nothing remains, fueled by revenge for Ramy and Griffin. 

Agitators arrive outside, demanding the scholars to come out and attempting to burn Babel. Enticed by the violence, Robin wants to use the bar that killed Evie and Lovell against the crowd, but Victoire stops him. The next day, they begin to fortify the tower, preparing for the inevitable next attack. Victoire once again calls Robin out on his thirst for violence, reminding him that they are trying to defend the tower, not instigate a riot. 

The group receives word from London that workers across the city are striking; Anthony's pamphlets must have worked, as laborers across different fields lobby for Parliament to abandon their war plans. All these strikers, caught in the same "web of coercion and exploitation," begin to realize that their struggles are interconnected and part of a larger, systemic pattern. United at last, they hold the power to change the course of history.

A telegram from Parliament arrives offering a ceasefire and granting amnesty to each of them if they reopen Babel. Another telegram informs them that the Army is on its way, which Robin interprets as a sign that Parliament is scared. 

Chapter 28

The next morning, haphazard barricades have sprung up around the tower. A man arrives outside, who Robin and Victoire identify as one of the mill workers who once protested outside Babel and threw an egg at Victoire. The man's name is Abel, and it was he and his fellow protestors who built the barricades to hold off the Army. They have come to support them. Abel says that they are on the same side; their protests had never been about silver but about unlivable wages and inhumane working conditions. Thus a strange partnership begins: men who had once protested the tower are now invited inside to plan their resistance movement together. 

The Army arrives the next morning, and the commander gives Abel forty-eight hours to clear the barricades. Abel reports back to Babel and calls the Army's bluff, knowing that the Army risks breaking the city if they dismantle the barricades and they'll stall as long as they can. More people flock to join the cause and Robin feels hope. Outside the tower, the country continues to feel the loss of Babel's silver as Babel maintains a near monopoly on the country's resources. It seems that Babel's greed will be what finally brings the country to its knees. 

Parliament continues to send telegrams demanding their surrender. In the outside world, their strike turns deadly as the failings of infrastructure lead to civilian casualties nationwide. But Robin has been fully swayed by Griffin's philosophy of violence, reflecting that "London had to suffer to learn." Victoire objects, arguing that Robin's actions are coming not from a place of strategy but from grief. 

Newspapers begin to announce either support for or opposition to the strike and the war. Some also publish articles about inhumane working conditions. Abel confirms the accounts, explaining that only horrific incidents are publicized while day-to-day atrocities are ignored. Craft is disturbed by her past ignorance and complicity. 

Robin and Victoire realize that Westminster Bridge is due for upkeep from silver-workers and if the appointment is missed, it will collapse. Robin is thrilled with the imminent destruction but Victoire is not, noting that Robin is using the strike for revenge. They decide to hold a vote n whether or not the strike should continue and Robin's side narrowly wins. 

Chakravarti warns that the bridge's collapse will kill dozens of people but Robin maintains that Parliament's inaction will hold the blame. Robin contends that it is a colonialist strategy to hold those who rebel accountable for the damage that accompanies rebellion even though the Empire is truly culpable. Still, Chakravarti responds that he cannot follow Robin down this path and decides to leave the tower. As he prepares to depart, Chakravarti speaks of ahimsa, an Indian principle of nonviolence that accepts violence only when used to fight righteous wars for a grand cause, not for personal or selfish reasons. The latter, warns Chakravarti, is the path down which Robin has begun to stray. Chakravarti leaves the tower.

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