The emphasis on this page is the “failure to connect.” S. tries desperately to gain the attention of the other ship in the distance but is quickly silenced by the crew. Upon throwing his torch over board, S. watches as it “disappear[s] into the breaking waves with an insignificant hiss that the wind instantly sweeps into oblivion.” This image captures the essence of much of what happens between S. and Sola in the novel. S. sees Sola at a distance but can never reach her, she “instantly sweeps into oblivion.”

Likewise, Jen and Eric suffer from a form of misconnection on this page as well. Eric did not show up when he was supposed to meet Jen. He partially blames his absence on “fear” which can be considered central to the connection between Sola and S. There is an underlying fear about when they might one day meet. Jen tells Eric that she is leaving to “NY in 2 months” for a job so if he wants to meet her, he’ll need to overcome his fear. This is applicable to S. and in a sense, Straka, he must overcome the fears that prevent him from being with Sola (or FXC) to have what he desires most.