The coroner gives the pages found in the dead man’s pockets to the Detective Inspector. The Detective tells the coroner that the pages are meaningless; however, the Detective inspects the paper closely.

It seems as though the pages are important to the Detective Inspector. Perhaps the man has seen this sort of death before. Perhaps he is even working for Vévoda.

Meanwhile, S. describes what it is like when he is writing on the orlop deck. When he writes, images seem to appear on the paper and bits of memories and impressions flash in front of him. The pieces refuse to from a coherent story. He believes that some of these images are from his past, but knows that many of these fragments are from the lives of others. S. “chronicles the suffering he has seen and that of which he has only heard.”

Writing is an incredibly intense, emotional process for S. Through writing he is able to tap into long lost memories. His writing also seems to connect him to other people, strangers and friends, allowing him to feel their feelings. He has the job of memorializing their lives in writing.

The description of S.’s incoherent writing reminds Jen of Straka’s Coriolis. Perhaps Straka is describing his own, passionate writing process.

Eric writes that many critics hated Coriolis because of the writing style. Writers and literature professors, on the other hand, generally liked Coriolis.