I loved how Etzel Olsch describes the parabola as "the most contemporary thing he'd ever seen" (303) because a parabola is really just an arch, a prominent element of many ancient and space-age architectural styles, but mainly associated with the ancient (Roman aquaducts and coliseums, etc.). Using a mathematical term, "parabola," in lieu of the arts-associated "arch," the narrator manages to detach the aesthetic from architectural design and emphasizes the sterility and clinical nature of the rocket factory and the people that get dragged into the war machine. While its tragic that Olsch can't recognize an arch in a "sports stadium" he can't even summon up enthusiasm when he finds out that rockets are launched in parabolic paths, responding with "Oh, that's nice." I think an absence of cultural and right-brain sensitivity is apparent in almost all of the other characters too, implying perhaps that in wartime, everyone is lost to these types of indifference. While there are song lyrics peppered throughout the novel, most of them belong to drinking songs, and only Mexico is ever really shown to react meaningfully to song, or to culture. Actually I'm sure I've missed something here.