 What is significant about the captain's initial reaction to Mr. Janssens attache case being stolen?
"As I recall," Ellason said, "there was something about stunners." We don't think anything is going to happen, but if it does, we want to get an impersonal, unprejudiced view. The theft of Carver Janssen's attache case occurred on the thirty-first day out. In Ellason's mind the incident, though insignificant from the standpoint of the ship as a whole, could very well be the cause of dissension later on. He said it was significant that all en route had passed stability tests, and that it was to the ship's discredit that someone with criminal tendencies should have been permitted aboard.
 It shows that the captain wants to give people the impression that he thinks the passengers are all okay
 It reveals his negligence as a leader  It proves that the captain does not think anything could be wrong  It shows that the captain wants to give people the impression that he thinks the passengers are all okay  It shows the passengers that the captain cannot be trusted