Eventually he swaps prostheses and they have to call him Captain Force-Feedback Myoelectric Hand instead.

But he tires of that, and after one big haul Starkey buys out his share. They drop him at an island with a cabin. He reads books and plays the flute; he delights in the discovery of watercolors.

Years later the doctor makes troubled noises about his heart, and recommends a pacemaker. The Captain agrees on one condition: that it be made to tick.

On the beach, he lets it call across the water, wondering if sometimes he hears an echo. He hopes he will.