Part I, Big John: Chapters 1 - 3 Summary

October 3, 1993 Western Pacific Ocean

The Divine Star is a Japanese cargo ship adrift and apparently abandoned in the Western Pacific. Norwegian cruise ship, the Narvik, comes upon the Divine Star shortly after a typhoon passes through. A brief discussion between Captain Arne Korvold and his chief officer, Oscar Steen, convinces the captain to send a boarding crew over to the listing ship. If they are successful in bringing the Divine Star to port, they are eligible for a huge salvage value payment. Captain Korvold gives permission, and Steen takes a small crew over to the abandoned cargo ship.They find the ship empty of human life, except for a body that had once been human, burned from the inside out. A call back to the Narvik informs Captain Korvold of the sinister feeling...