[Long silence]
Mr. Okamoto: “Yes, that’s it. Let’s go.[/translation] Well, Mr. Patel, I think we have all we need. We thank you very much for your cooperaticon. You’ve been very, very helpful.”
“You’re welcome. But before you go, I’d like to ask you something.”
“Yes?”
“The Tsimtsum sank on July 2nd, 1977.”
“Yes.”
“And I arrived on the coast of Mexico, the sole human surviwor of the Tsimtsum, on February 14th, 1978.”
“That’s right.”
“I told you two stories that account for the 227 days in between.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Neither explains the sinking of the Tsimtsum.”
“That’s right.”
“Neither makes a factual difference to you.”
“That’s true.”
“You can’t prove which story is true and which is not. You must take my word for it.”
“I guess so.”
“In both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?”
Mr. Okamoto: “That’s an interesting question…”
Mr. Chiba: “The story with animals.”
Mr. Okamoto: [translation] “Yes. [/translation] The story with animals is the better story.”
Pi Patel: “Thank you. And so it goes with God.”
[Silence]
Mr. Chiba: [translation] “What did he just say?”
Mr. Okamoto: “I don’t know.”
Mr. Chiba: “Oh look—he’s crying.” [/translation]
[Long silence]
Mr. Okamoto: “We’ll be careful when we drive away. We don’t want to run into Richard Parker.”
Pi Patel: “Don’t worry, you won’t. He’s hiding somewhere you’ll never find him.”
Mr. Okamoto: “Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Mr. Patel. We’re grateful. And we’re really very sorry about what happened to you.”
“Thank you.”
“What will you be doing now?”
“I guess I’ll go to Canada.”
“Not back to India?”
“No. There’s nothing there for me now. Only sad memories.”
“Of course, you know you will be getting insurance money.”
“Oh.”
“Yes. Oika will be in touch with you.”
[Silence]
Mr. Okamoto: “We should be going. We wish you all the best, Mr. Patel.”
Mr. Chiba: “Yes, all the best.”
“Thank you.”
Mr. Okamoto: “Goodbye.”
Mr. Chiba: “Goodbye.”
Pi Patel: “Would you like some cookies for the road?”
Mr. Okamoto: “That would be nice.”
“Here, have three each.”
“Thank you.”
Mr. Chiba: “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Goodbye. God be with you, my brothers.”
“Thank you. And with you too, Mr. Patel.”
Mr. Chiba: “Goodbye.”
Mr. Okamoto: [translation] “I’m starving. Let’s go eat. You can turn that off.” [/translation]
Chapter 100
Mr. Okamoto, in his letter to me, recalled the interrogation as having been “difficult and memorable.” He remembered Piscine Molitor Patel as being “very thin, very tough, very bright.”
His report, in its essential part, ran as follows:
Sole survivor could shed no light on reasons for sinking of Tsimtsum. Ship appears to have sunk very quickly, which would indicate a major hull breach. Important quantity of debris would support this theory. But precise reason of breach impossible to determine. No major weather disturbance reported that day in quadrant. Survivor’s assessment of weather impressionistic and unreliable. At most, weather a contributing factor. Cause was perhaps internal to ship. Survivor believes he heard an explosion, hinting at a major engine problem, possibly the explosion of a boiler, but this is speculation. Ship twenty-nine years old (Erlandson and Skank Shipyards, Malmo, 1948), refitted in 1970. Stress of weather combined with structural fatigue a possibility, but conjecture. No other ship mishap reported in area on that day, so ship-ship collision unlikely. Collision with debris a possibility, but unverifiable. Collision with a floating mine might explain explosion, but seems fanciful, besides highly unlikely as sinking started at stern, which in all likelihood would mean that hull breach was at stern too. Survivor cast doubts on fitness of crew but had nothing to say about officers. Oika Shipping Company claims all cargo absolutely licit and not aware of any officer or crew problems.
Cause of sinking impossible to determine from available evidence. Standard insurance claim procedure for Oika. No further action required. Recommend that case be closed.
As an aside, story of sole survivor, Mr. Piscine Molitor Patel, Indian citizen, is an astounding story of courage and endurance in the face of extraordinarily difficult and tragic circumstances. In the experience of this investigator, his story is unparalleled in the history of shipwrecks. Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger.