Rather uneventful, page 288 tells us a little about Straka and his obligation to his cause.

While F.X.C. mentions that Straka should not be equated with S. in his novel, it is hard to avoid these relations if this book really is a message to F.X.C..

First, from S. it seems that Straka may feel a waste in part of his life.  He is getting older and older, but he is still doing the same missions that help his greater cause, and not himself.  On top of this, his mention that he is not aging on the boat could mean that his work is not going well, and that he is not finding much success.  However, from later on the page, it seems that Straka feels some sort of obligation to continue to work.  If he walked away, who would he be, and what would he do.  To an extent it is maybe less of an obligation, and more of a fear of not knowing who he really is.  Straka is not willing to take a risk, because of his fear of failure, so he sticks with his unhappy life.