S. is startled by the sound of a scratchy voice, repeatedly saying S—, the voice is coming from the deck below him. The voice approaches him, saying You, S—. “A behemoth of a man, clad neck-to-shin in sailor’s osnaburg,” appears.

Eric and Jen comment interesting for a character who worries about cowardice. he doesn’t show any here.

S. is his own worst critic, I guess.

Like most of us.

This exchange connects the character S. to FXC, VMS, Jen and Eric. One recurring theme throughout all the storylines is uncertainty and caution. Everyone is very critical of themselves and their actions. S. is always questioning who he is and showing cowardice by staying in the background of the ship. VMS may be considered cowardly for never identifying himself and requiring total secrecy. FXC is cautious in her exchanges with VMS and even more-so in her coded footnotes. Jen and Eric are cautious about the connections they draw and about who might find their research. It is interesting to see the contrast of S. standing up to the mysterious voice.

Eric makes a connects to a picture found with a striking resemblance to this. This picture is not presented in the book.

CF Man in Photo from The Santana March Film Shoot.

Wow-that’s uncanny. Who is that?

“Unidentified crew”
You’d think someone who looked like that would be pretty memorable.

This might be a direct parallel of a person VMS knew in real life. Between pages vi & vii of the Translator’s Note and Forward, there is the letter from VMS about the film production of Santana March. Santana March was one of the novels written by VMS and was adapted into a movie.