When Judge Fang followed his host out onto the deck, he was finally able 
to make out their surroundings. They were on the open ocean, with no land in 
sight, though the urban glow of Greater Shanghai could clearly be seen to the 
west. It was a clear night with a nearly full moon that was illuminating the 
hull of an enormous ship nearby. Even without the moonlight this vessel would 
have been noticeable for the fact that it blocked out all of the stars in one 
quadrant of the sky.