Pfiefer begins to tell a story about the ghost of his grandmother, who he claims haunts the wealthy family that she used to work as a servant for. He says, “Every time they think she’s gone, plates and glasses start smashing against the walls.” Next, Stenfalk begins with a story about the Hjaarn, a creature that devours livestock and farmers’ daughters. As he gets to the story’s climax, he lets out a strangled scream, sending a rush of adrenaline through S. and almost cause Corbeau to topple off her log…

Stories seem to be a motif throughout Ship of Theseus, and, in a way, Pfiefer and Stenflalk’s stories apply to S.’s situtation. Both stories have to do with being haunted by some sort of unseen entity. In the stories it was Pfiefer’s grandmother and the Hjaarn, but for S. it seems to be his past. He can’t quite visualize or conceptualize it, but he knows its there and he knows that in some way it is impacting him in his current state. Will he ever rid himself of the thought of his past, or is he doomed to be haunted by it for the rest of his life?

Jen and Eric talk about Triptych of Mirrors, which they both agree is Straka’s worst novel:

(in response to a pencil note that Eric refers to Triptych of Mirrors in) That’s the worst Straka book I’ve read. Everyone ragged on Winged Shoes, but it’s 10 times better than Triptych. At least it’s a love story.

I agree. The three parts don’t hang together at all (no pun intended).

Oh, hang. I get it. Like a painting. Wow. Don’t quite your day job.

There’s a lot of pseudo-philosophical bullshit in Triptych, too–esp. in part I. If that was a style VMS was trying out, I’m glad he ditched it quickly.

All the flirting aside, we learn that Straka wasn’t a perfect author, considering he wrote a novel bad enough to inspire conversation between Jen and Eric about it. This shortcoming seems to bring Straka down to earth a bit; he MUST be human if he’s capable of writing a novel worthy of such criticism. Assuming this is true, we can begin taking a look at the Straka candidates a little more closely.