 What does the dead man represent for Ben?
A Coffin for Jacob By EDWARD W. LUDWIG Illustrated by EMSH With never a moment to rest, the pursuit through space felt like a game of hounds and hares ... or was it follow the leader? Ben Curtis eased his pale, gaunt body through the open doorway of the Blast Inn, the dead man following silently behind him. Most of the big room lay obscured behind a shimmering veil of tobacco smoke and the sweet, heavy fumes of Martian Devil's Egg. For an instant, Ben's mind rose above the haunting vision of the dead man. Again, its face would be a pop-eyed mask of surprise as Ben's fist thudded into its jaw. Under interplanetary law, that would mean ten years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
 His conscious. He is manifesting as Ben's unaddressed guilt, and what he can never run away from.
 His conscious. He is manifesting as Ben's rage, and the anger that he felt during the incident.  The end of his freedom. He represents his new life as an outlaw.  His conscious. He is manifesting as Ben's unaddressed guilt, and what he can never run away from.  The end of his career. He sees the dead man as the loss of his livelihood.