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Summary: Book II: Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5

At the Twisted Root, Robin's doppelgänger, who appears to be slightly older than Robin, introduces himself as Griffin Lovell and confirms that he is also Lovell's son, making them half-brothers. He reveals that Lovell has a wife and a son and daughter in Yorkshire who don't know about his bastard children. Griffin and his associates regularly steal silver and other materials from Babel and smuggle them to people in other countries who need them more. He likens his group’s ideology to that of Robin Hood, in that they redistribute what they steal. In helping them the night before, Robin has committed treason. Griffin then forces Robin to confront the difficult truth that Lovell may have intentionally let his mother die.

They leave the pub and Griffin asks a shocked Robin whether he would like to begin stealing from Babel. Griffin belongs to a group called the Hermes Society, and Babel is aware of their existence. He is vague about the details, and Robin is hesitant to trust Griffin—though he wants to. Griffin tells him to trust the same instincts that prompted him to help the group the night before.

The larger purpose behind the Hermes Society, Griffin says, is to combat the efforts of the British Empire, as is extremely exploitative of and predatory toward other cultures and hoards its resources. Babel is fueled by colonialism, and to bring an end to this system and prevent England from amassing all the world's wealth, the Hermes Society funnels silver away toward causes like slave rebellions, resistance movements, and humanitarian aid. The speech breaks Robin's illusions about Oxford. Griffin gives Robin five days to consider, instructing him to mark a nearby birch tree if he decides to join them. Griffin explains that he used to be a student at Babel but something happened that forced him to run. He is unsure if Lovell knows his whereabouts. 

Chapter 6

In Translation Theory, Playfair speaks about the idiosyncrasies of translation, explaining that no languages ever fully align and deriving meaning from one language to the next therefore poses a challenge. Some interpretations of the biblical story of Babel suggest that what was lost at the tower was the original language, or the Adamic language, though there is debate over what that language actually was. Playfair theorizes that through translation, the original language can be recovered and that here at Babel, what academics seek to regain is nothing less than magic. Robin wonders aloud if the purpose of translation is to bridge divides between cultures and achieve unity. 

The students also have Latin lectures with Professor Maragret Craft, a dull and robotic woman who brushes Letty aside when she tries to connect with her as women in a male-dominated space. Robin also has solo tutoring sessions with Professor Anand Chakravarti; Robin comes to realize that, because he is the only native Chinese speaker at Oxford, Chakravarti speaks to him as a colleague, not a student. Robin seeks information from Chakravarti about previous Chinese students. Chakravarti begrudgingly speaks of Griffin Harley, but notes that Griffin died during a research mission. After Robin questions the lack of Chinese students at Babel, Chakravarti cites Lovell's argument that Chinese students would not acclimate well. 

Robin dines with Mrs. Piper and Lovell and tells them about his studies. Having now experienced his classes at Oxford, Robin feels that he is on slightly more equal footing with his father. Lovell rejects the idea that there is an original language but does think that "there is a pure realm of meaning—a language in between, where all concepts are perfectly expressed." He argues that Babel needs to expand beyond the Romance languages, which will soon grow too similar to one another, which explains the decision to branch out to countries like China. Robin questions why countries that provide valuable languages and resources to the British Empire are then denied resources in return, including silver bars. Lovell replies that these countries can't afford them, prompting Robin to argue that England seems to be unjustly stockpiling knowledge and resources that should be shared. Emboldened and slightly drunk, Robin asks why Lovell did not use the silver bars to save Robin's mother, and Lovell replies that she was “only just a woman.” Robin leaves, carving a mark on the birch tree to indicate to Griffin that he wants to join the Hermes Society.

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