Elsewhere

Back at their cabin, Thandi excitedly tells Liz that they’ve arrived; a PA announcement confirms this a moment later. Liz questions why Thandi is so happy, and Thandi shrugs that there’s no point being sad. Saying she needs some time to herself, Liz tells Thandi to go on without her. Once alone, Liz listens to the sound of the other passengers leaving the ship and reflects that, while being dead might be tolerable if she were old, it seems “terribly lonely” as things stand (42).

Meanwhile, Liz’s grandmother Betty is driving to the pier to meet her. The two have never spoken—Betty died of breast cancer shortly before Liz was born—and Betty is nervous. Nevertheless, she resolves to do her best to be a friend to Liz for her daughter Olivia’s sake.

Liz remains in her cabin as the noise on board the ship dies down; she hopes to stow away and sneak back to Earth. When someone begins opening her door, she hides under her bunk, watching as a roughly seven-year-old boy in a uniform enters. Undeceived, the boy introduces himself as the Captain—a position he has held for nearly a century. Liz is confused, but she says she wants to return to Earth.