This, in brief, is the purpose of the story's plot, to increase the drama over the story's outcome. In Moscow, those in the military and communist party begin to fear what Ramius might be planning, and plot his destruction. Ramius outmaneuvering the soviet submarine fleet brings about an order that the soviet surface navy find an destroy him. The Soviet navy going on alert in the Atlantic puts the Americans on the alert. When they learn that a nuclear-armed submarine is on a course toward America, decisions must be made about the nature of the Soviet threat, and, if the Red October is a rogue submarine, the Americans should destroy it.
Tensions escalate in Washington D.C. and Moscow.
But CIA analyst Jack Ryan suspects Ramius' true purpose. Because he operates in a free system, his council is given weight and listened to. His actions are tied to the fact that Jack is listened to because he operates in a free system. Thus, the description of Jack also ties his actions into the story's underlying premise. An American attack submarine that has picked up Ramius' trail passes along information about the Red October.