S. describes what has become his normal routine. After a few days (or weeks) Maelstrom will tell S. that they have nearly reached their next target. S. will then study the target, memorizing his face and the information about how he has served Vévoda. When S. hears a certain whistle he knows it is time to leave the ship. He cuts the threads that restrict his lips, knowing that his beard will cover the scars and that no one pays much attention to him anyway. “This is his work, his ritual, his life.”

In a way, S. now has exactly what he has always wanted: purpose. S. has a cause and a daily routine. The interlude is a very strange section of the book because it is the only chapter in which S. really knows what he is doing. This might not be the life that he had imagined or hoped for himself, but it has become his reality.

FXC writes in a footnote how Straka agonized about how to describe the sound of Maelstrom’s whistle. The manuscript of this page was covered in Straka’s edits until he finally decided to call the sound “Phrygian.” FXC writes that she found this decision trivial.

Jen writes that FXC’s footnote is so random that it must have a clue buried in it.

Jen asks Eric how he is able to move around so much without being noticed. She is clearly thinking about how S. was able to go unnoticed.

Eric says that people won’t remember you if you avoid eye contact. He also writes that he uses the steam tunnels as much as possible.