Where's your common sense? None of those books agree with each other. You've been locked up here for years with a regular damned Tower of Babel. Snap out of it!" - Captain Beatty

The reference to the "Tower of Babel" in the context of Captain Beatty's quote is an example of **allusion**. An allusion is a literary device that refers to a well-known story, event, or object to make a point or draw a comparison. In this case, the Tower of Babel refers to the confusion of languages and communication breakdown, paralleling the chaotic situation Beatty describes.