From the Episode 1 · Telemachus thread on Swerve of Shore, by Brandon Nicklaus.
We are using the original 1922 First Printing by Shakespeare & Co. - section attached
As Stephen walks on, he expects Buck Mulligan or Haines to speak to him, but he remains silent. His thoughts turn inward, slipping into playful, symbolic associations. He drags his ashplant cane along the path, its metal ferrule (tip) squealing as it scrapes against the ground. The sound takes on a life of its own—an animalistic, ghostly presence trailing behind him. Stephen, attuned to the poetry of experience, embraces this eerie sensation, interpreting it as a voice calling his name:
For me, this moment evokes something much deeper: a spectral echo of his mother, visiting him in death. We already know from earlier that Stephen is haunted by guilt over refusing to kneel and pray at her deathbed. Here, his cane—the familiar—becomes an extension of that haunting, a presence calling after him like a restless spirit.
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