“It was one thing to achieve perfection in a closed environment, but whenever they [Felix, Naomi, and Priya] tried to force it in an open setting, using data from the real world, the scenario always ended up the way it had moments ago. A disaster.”

From the beginning, it is clear that Felix and his team realize that making the Haberson Map “perfect” is impossible. It is “awe-inspiring” (67), but it is never truly perfect. As Felix will later tell Wally, every time they try to make the map perfect, a new variable will bring them “right back to square one” (325). This realization and acceptance mark a contrast between Felix and Wally, in that Felix is able to accept flaws and move on with his life, while Wally becomes consumed by his obsession with control.

“Wally looked miserable, as he always did every time it was clear someone else was about to join our friend group.”

Even from the beginning of The Cartographers, Wally’s behavior reflects his desire to keep Tam for himself. Romi, the first addition to the group, notices this dynamic immediately, as will the others. However, Wally keeps his feelings quiet in favor of promoting Tam’s happiness, and this dynamic foreshadows his future spiral and obsession with control.

“Daniel shrugged, still smiling, not at all embarrassed at how silly we clearly thought his essay was. ‘They’re [fantasy maps] as real as real maps. Just in a different way.’”

Daniel is characterized as a cheerful person who pushes the Cartographers to think outside the box. Even from his first interactions with them, he pushes them to broaden their horizons. When he defends the legitimacy of fantastical maps, his fervor foreshadows the original Dreamer’s Atlas project, Agloe, and the theme of Fantasy Versus Reality.