p. 27

S eases himself from the sling of the hammock and feels feverish and slow. He wobbles up the ladder and on his way, he observes a knife-cut S symbol on the bulkhead. The symbol seems to say that the cabin is the final destination of S. As S struggles up the ladder, he is surprised to find that the hatch is unlocked. He peeks out cautiously, meanwhile pondering his identity in this mysterious boat–is he a prisoner, or what is he for?

The highlight of this page no doubt resides between the marginalia. The first FXC code is solved by Jen, who, by taking out the first and last letters in each Chapter 1 footnotes and arranging them in their order of appearances, reveals the secret message FXC intended to send to Straka. The message reads:

“ARGOSY EVERY 19th 1900 HRS.”

Jen points out that there’s indeed an Argosy hotel on East 38th St. She thinks that FXC believes VMS is alive. She writes:

“FXC did believe VMS was alive and was telling him how/when/where they could meet.”

Once again, Jen’s intelligence is met with condescendence from Eric, who comments on the finding,

“Good catch. You know, for an undergrad.”

Jen fights back, urging Eric to focus on the problem—was VMS alive?

While S seems to have reached his final destination, a room with mark of “S”, after an unhappy act of shanghaiing, he is again confronted with new mysteries about his identity and his whereabout. He finds himself sailing in the sea, and will soon be appalled by the strange crew and the lack of destination. Similarly, while Jen has successfully decoded the first cipher, she and Eric are confronted by more unresolved codes, and more questions about the relationship between FXC and VMS. As Eric nimbly points out, the question of “Was he [VMS] alive” is one question. The breakthrough of S’s journey and Eric and Jen’s investigation are shadowed by conundrums and uncertainties, echoing the title of the chapter–“What Begins, What Ends.”