ATDTDA (19): Possibilities beyond secular geography, 520-522

[Paul Nightingale]

The ship's identity is again brought into question, this time because of
local 'ignorance'; there are no terms of reference adequate to the task of
explaining its presence. It then disappears after Kit et al are "rowed
secretly ashore" (521), although Kit makes no attempt to remain hidden
(other "civilian passengers" are quietly dumped by the narrative in favour
of Rahman and Moises). The mysterious "metal visitation" or "tall predator"
cannot be explained; its disappearance is as sudden as its appearance, and
then Kit, just as mysteriously, starts hanging out at the bar. As yet, the
narrative records no attempt to connect him to the ship, and Rahman seems to
explain his presence as a quality of the town itself: "... here we're pretty
cosmopolitan".

Kit has rejected one career move on offer, as stoker, but subsequently goes
to work on a steam trawler. Before his departure, Moises explains the
two-Agadir story, which might be supposed enlightening. Moises perhaps
replaces Root here as a guide: on 517 Root has "sources" and "[d]ifferent
witnesses [recall] different [ship]yards" etc. Moises says "the
Two-Stupendica problem" is "[n]ot unusual for these parts, actually": such
an effortless explanation contrasts sharply with the initial response to the
ship's appearance out at sea. So realism is problematic: one ship is a
mystery, but its doubling can be easily explained away.