While nestled under the fishing net is Waqar and Anca’s boat, S begins to recall what had happened on the ship previously. Maelstrom reprimands him, “Int no time f’ excursin allwheres jus’ so y’ can solve y’self.” At this moment, S had realized that Maelstrom’s argument was right. “How much could one person’s identity matter?” he thought to himself. Or rather, how much did it matter for someone to know about their identity?

Right before S had left the ship, on the orlop deck, he had been writing about paddling in a tropical river, sensing Sola in the margins of his paper. When his shift in the orlop deck ended, he did not follow the regular procedures expected of sailors. He did not blow his whistle to signal for the next sailor’s shift in the orlop deck and he did not “climb the ratline and take his place in the tops” which was his next duty. Instead, he cut the stitches sewn into his mouth with a piece of obsidian.

Just as readers began to think that S was conforming to the ships’s mundane routines, we are pleasantly surprised when we see that S still retains his personality and has not surrendered his mind to the brainwashing duties of the sailors.

Jen makes an announcement to Eric, “I’ve pretty much gotten my shit together in my Marketing class.” She admits there was “begging, tears, etc. involved” but that she has completed the work for that class and she is on track to graduate. However, she is afraid the Art History final and Ilsa will prevent her from graduating.