S. gasps as he sees “the crewman’s lips stretch to the side, straining the threads and turning the pink spots blood-red” and immediately wishes that he didn’t see “what passes for a smile on this nameless, monstrous vessel.”

S.’s reaction suggests his adversity to the idea of him being on this ship. Along with the ship’s physical makeup, S. seems to reject the crew as well. This portrays S. as an outsider, and sets the stage for potential development on board the ship.

Jen suggests that regret portrayed by S. could suggest some of Straka’s own regrets, but Eric reminds her that You have to be careful. Not everything a writer writes is about the writer. Jen replies with a clever remark about how condescending Eric is coming across.

While Jen is being her normal, insightful self, Eric continues to show signs of cynicism. Alternatively, he could just be trying to prove Jen wrong as to impose intellectual superiority over her in an effort to impress her. These indications suggest that their relationship is still fairly new.