Now she's on her way to another land
During my lunch break today, I started reading Child of Fortune by Norman Spinrad, a novel I picked up at a used bookstore some months ago for no other reason than that it had my name on it. (Tychonievich means "son of Fortune.")
When I set it on the table in the café, the waitress said (in Chinese), "Excuse me, is that the Bible?"
"No, it's just a novel."
"Really? It looks just like a Bible!"
This is the book she was talking about. If your Bible looks anything like this, you're much cooler than I am.
On the second page (p. x of an Introduction that begins with p. ix), I read this:
In the Second Starfaring Age we call that journey, as in another era deep in the past, the wanderjahr, though for some it is measured in weeks and for others in lifetimes. By whatever name that passage has been called -- wanderjahr, summer of love, grailquest, voyage d'ark . . .
That "voyage d'ark" obviously syncs with the song, by a band with Dark in its name, about Jeanne d'Arc being "on her way to another land."
I have some thoughts about this voyage but will have to think for a bit about how best to express them without being indiscreet.
3 comments:
Shortly after reading this I thought of Joanna Dark, protagonist of the Perfect Dark games. I've never played any of them so had no idea that they involve extraterrestrials (potentially relevant?).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Dark
Second Starfaring Age is interesting; I am currently reading a book which implies that there will be a second starfaring age after the end of it, the Urth of the New Sun. But the timescales are much longer.
The connection of Child of Fortune with the author's name, Norman Spinrad, is potentially interesting. Norman means "Man from the North", and last month you related a dream in which you were referred to as one of the "Northern Peoples". Spinrad is something like a "Spinning Wheel". Seems like it could be a Wheel of Fortune reference, since on the game show that was literally a spinning wheel.
Spinning can be associated also with Spiders, I guess in the more negative Ungoliant/ Mommy Fortuna sense (Spider comes form the root meaning "to spin")
The Ungoliant reference would make sense in light of the girl confusing the book with the Bible. As you know, Nephi saw that the Great and Abominable Church would corrupt the Book of the Lamb, which in the more traditional Mormon interpretation is thought to be the Bible.
Spin also means to turn around, which could link to your "180" reference in that same dream, a connection you made as well. Nephi cited that the GAC acted to "pervert" the right ways of the Lord. Pervert, according to Etymonline, has the literal meaning ""turn the wrong way, turn about," from per "away" (see per) + vertere "to turn, turn back, be turned; convert, transform, translate; be changed."
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