The hinterlands is all about recursion. I'm probably dumb for pointing out the obvious so late, but the hinterlands is like a labyrinth, except it has Storm at the center instead of Asterion. I like to think that P broke the recursion by rescuing the minotaur from the labyrinth rather than some substitute for princess Ariadne. Or perhaps the Tapir God, the Colonel, or Storms Mother is the real monster of the labyrinth and Storm is the princess. Or perhaps, like the true tale of the minotaur, the Colonels wife is Ariadne who engineered the whole tragedy. Either way, its my favorite part.