S begins to think of the governor, Nemec, his next target for assassination. The humid air lulls him to sleep, however, and he immediately begins dreaming. In his dream, he is sitting in the stern, steering a steel canoe like the one he is in currently. He paddles confidently as the sun beats on him, making him sweat. Sola is in the bow, her hair no longer just dark black curls, but rather streaked with gray to mark her aging appearance. A monkey sits in a sling on her back in the same fashion that the Anca’s baby is slung.

In the footnote, FXC points out Straka’s message that there is “something meaningful and durable about names,” referring to S’s efforts to remember Nemec’s name. FXC contradicts Straka, however, by noting the unquestioned identity of the ship which is never given a name.

S’s dream about Sola may be a sign that she is nearby and is meaningful to S’s plans to assassinate the governor. While the only time Sola was present in S’s thoughts was when she crept into the margins of S’s writing in the orlop deck, now she is in his dream, suggesting her presence is closer than before.