I was a ten-year-old oceanographer who had taken a wrong turn. And in that instant, I remembered the life I was supposed to have led.
Todd was supposed to apreciate the ocean/nature and now he is trying to shape it - his life's mistake. But the seasteading is not/cannot be all bad. It could be beneficial for Makataeans and they get to decide. What does their decision mean in the metaphor of the book? How can it mean anything without undercutting the islanders' self-determinance?
